Overview

The southwestern section of the Bowl of Fire is an area where brilliantly-red outcrops of Jurassic-Age sandstone crop out and are surrounded by gray limestone mountains. The limestone forms the sides of the bowl, and the red sandstone forms the fire in the bottom. The southwestern section of the Bowl of Fire is a place to wander about in a wonderland of jumbled piles of red sandstone; a place to go and just hike about with no particular destination. If you have a map, you can keep track of where you are (at least in general), but if you get confused about exactly where you are, just hike downhill to get out.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this is fairly safe hiking area if you stay in the bottom of the washes that dissect the sandstone outcrops. The outcrops are inviting, however; so if you climb on the rocks, watch your step and watch your kids. This is a backcountry area, so rescue would be time consuming and fairly difficult. It would be easy to get turned around in the maze of size canyons and boulder piles, so if you get "lost," just hike down any wash (always go downhill) and you will come out were you went in.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this hike is moderately long, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials.

Trail Guide

Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located along Northshore Scenic Drive in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, about 1 hour northeast of Las Vegas.

From town, drive out to Lake Mead. From the intersection of Northshore Scenic Drive and Lakeshore Scenic Drive (Table 1, Site 654), drive north on Northshore Scenic Drive to Mile Marker 16 (Site 782), which is 4.7 miles east of (beyond) the turnoff to Callville Bay. At Mile Marker 16, the unpaved Callville Wash North Road (Road 94) starts up Callville Wash.

From the intersection of Northshore Scenic Drive and Road 94, either drive up Road 94 in a 4-wheel-drive (WD) vehicle or continue east for 2.2 miles on Northshore Scenic Drive in a 2-WD vehicle.

In a 4-WD vehicle, drive up the sandy Road 94 for about 1.8 miles. Avoid places where you see that other drivers were stuck in the sand. The road passes to the south of a small mountain that is capped with wildly-folded sedimentary layers, and shortly arrives at the mouth of a large wash that comes in from the north (Site 786). This is just past the first place in the wash where you can look north and see red sandstone outcrops. Stop at the mouth of the side-wash (Site 786). Park here; this is the Road 94 trailhead.

In a 2-WD vehicle, continue east on Northshore Drive to mile 18.2 (0.2 miles past Mile Marker 18) and park in the pullout on the left side of the road (Site 804). Park here; this is the Northshore Scenic Drive trailhead.

The Hike

At the pass through the limestone hills (Wpt. 5), the wash narrows as it cuts through a narrow layer of gray conglomerate rock and forms a small waterfall (which is easy to pass). The conglomerate is composed of coarse limestone fragments set in a matrix of smaller limestone fragments, which is interesting enough, but where it was polished by flowing water, the color is blue and very pretty.

Atop the waterfall, the wash splits and you are on the edge of the Bowl of Fire. From here, wander about the washes admiring the eroded red sandstone outcrops and how they contrast with the surrounding gray limestone hills.

The red rocks seem to go on forever, or at least to the mountains in the distance. This is a place to hike about with no particular destination. You might consider a big loop up one fork of the wash, across the north side of the bowl to the other side, and then back down the other wash. If you have a map, you can keep track of where you are (at least in general), but if you get turned around in the maze of boulder piles, just hike down any wash (always go downhill) to get back out.