Overview

Calico Hills Loop Trail is 6.5-mile hike that circumnavigates the Calico Hills. The hike can be considered a series of trail segments that start and stop at any of 6 trailheads (3 along the Scenic Loop Road and 3 in Calico Basin). Most of the loop runs on easy, gently sloping trails, but there are a few steep parts, some off-trail in a wash, and the Ash Canyon segment requires a fair bit of Class-2 and Class 3 scrambling getting down and around boulders and pour-overs.

Views from many parts of the loop are grand, with those on the west side of the hills spreading out across all of Red Rock Canyon, and those on the east side looking southeast across Calico Basin and points south. For hikers who have only driven along the Scenic Loop Road, this hike offers an up-close and personal encounter with the Calico Hills that is quite different from the road-side perspective.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this hike is fairly safe and usually not far from a road or trailhead. Ash Canyon requires a bit of Class 3 scrambling, so be extra careful when high enough to fall and get hurt.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and please try to Leave No Trace of your passage. This is a long hike, so be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials. The Ash Canyon segment of the loop goes into the La Madre Mountain Wilderness Area, so pay particular attention to respecting the land.

The Hike - Ash Canyon

Near the top of Ash Canyon, the use-trail fades out as the route runs onto sandstone. The route passes through a cleft that opens onto an overlook (Wpt. 24) with nice views down Ash Canyon, and beyond the overlook, a well-used use-trail runs down the canyon.

At a trail junction down the canyon (Wpt. 25), the loop stays right and drops past white sandstone crags into what looks like might be narrows with pour-overs. Fortunately, there are no difficult pour-overs, but the route provides plenty of scrambling and route finding as it descends the canyon. Keep an eye out for use-trails on the west side of the canyon.

Hikers pass out of the La Madre Mountain Wilderness Area about halfway down the canyon, which ends at Ash Spring (Wpt. 26).

Ash Spring is tucked behind two huge red-sandstone boulders, and the route weaves between them and through heavy forb vegetation to reach the spring, which is shaded by Ash trees.