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La Madre Trailhead
Hiking Around Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Trailhead

The La Madre Trailhead is hike is located in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, about 50 minutes west of Las Vegas, inside the Scenic Loop Road fee area. Access to this trailhead requires a high-clearance vehicle and sometimes a 4WD vehicle to drive the last 0.1 miles.

From town, drive out to Red Rocks. From West Charleston Blvd at the Scenic Loop Road (Table 1, Site 519), turn right onto Scenic Loop Road and drive north for 0.2 miles to the entrance station (Site 855). Pay the fee, then drive around the one-way Scenic Loop Road for 7.2 miles to Willow Spring Road (Site 526), which is 0.5 miles past Mile Marker 7. Turn right onto Willow Spring Road and drive north for 0.6 miles to the end of the pavement at Willow Spring picnic area (Site 181). Without a high-clearance vehicle, park here and use the Willow Springs Trailhead.

Link to trailhead map.

La Madre Trailhead

For those with high-clearance vehicles, continue north on Rocky Gap Road (a rough dirt road) past the picnic area for 0.5 miles to where the road crosses Red Rock Wash (Site 858). If the road ahead looks bad, stop before crossing the wash (either in the wash or in one of the pullouts before the wash). The road gets worse the closer you get to Red Rock Wash, so it might be better to just park at the picnic area and enjoy the walk up the canyon. Continuing across the wash, the rough and rocky road runs another 0.1 miles to a parking area (Site 0406) on the left side of the road.

The La Madre Trailhead provides access to hikes in the Red Rock Wash area, including access to Rocky Gap Road, La Madre Spring, the Miner's Cabin, and many miles of moderate to strenuous hiking.

Trails: La Madre Spring Trail, La Madre Miner's Cabin Trail, White Rock Loop Trail, Waterfalls Canyon Route.

La Madre Trailhead
Without suitable vehicle, hikers walk across Red Rock Wash (view NW)
La Madre Trailhead
Arriving at La Madre Trailhead (view NW)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Trailhead Parking; room for several vehicles (view NE)
La Madre Trailhead
Rainbow Mountain Wilderness boundary sign (view NW)
La Madre Trailhead
Rainbow Mountain Wilderness boundary sign (view NW)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Trail (view NE from trailhead parking)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Trail (view NE from Rocky Gap Road)
La Madre Trailhead
Trail sign indicates right turn (view NE)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Spring trail sign indicates right turn (view NE)
La Madre Trailhead
Start of the trail (view NE)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Mountains Wilderness boundary sign (view NE)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Mountains Wilderness boundary sign (view NE)
La Madre Trailhead
Information sign about the trail with map (view NE)
La Madre Trailhead
The information sign is hard to read these days (view NE)
La Madre Trailhead
Hiker on La Madre Trail returning to the trailhead (view SW)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Trail returning to the trailhead (view SW)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Trail passing the wilderness boundary sign (view SW)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Trail arriving at Rocky Gap Road (view SW)
La Madre Trailhead
Hiker on La Madre Trail at Rocky Gap Road (view SW)
La Madre Trailhead
Hikers will continue down Rocky Gap Road (view SE)

La Madre Spring Lower Trailhead

For hikers who don't have a vehicle suitable for Rock Gap Road, they can part at Willow Springs and start from there.

La Madre Trailhead
End of the pavement at Willow Springs (view NW)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Spring Trailhead sign (view NW)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Spring Trailhead sign (view NW)
La Madre Trailhead
La Madre Spring Trailhead sign (view NW)

Table 1. Highway Coordinates (NAD27; UTM Zone 11S). Download Highway GPS Waypoints (*.gpx) file.

Site # Location Latitude (N) Longitude (W) UTM Easting UTM Northing Elevation (feet) Verified
0181 Willow Springs Picnic Area 36.16104 115.49798 635106 4002654 4,575 Yes
0406 La Madre Trailhead 36.16565 115.50653 634329 4003154 4,849 Yes
0519 Charleston at Scenic Loop Entrance 36.13161 115.42048 642131 3999501 3,681 Yes
0526 Scenic Loop Rd at Willow Spring Rd 36.15609 115.48918 635906 4002118 4,441 Yes
0855 Scenic Loop Entrance Station 36.13252 115.42282 641918 3999598 3,682 Yes
0858 Rocky Gap Road at Red Rock Wash 36.16486 115.50586 634390 4003067 4,741 Yes

Happy Hiking! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
copyright; Last updated 240330

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