Red Rocks Rock Climbing

Human waste is a major issue plaguing the area. The Las Vegas Climbers Liaison Council originally identified this problem years ago and has been replaced by the Southern Nevada Climbers Coalition (SNCC) who continue to provide "wag bags" free of charge in several locations: Black Velvet Canyon, The Hamlet, Kraft Mountain Area, The Gallery, and The Black Corridor. These bags are designed so that you can pack your waste out. Consider bringing one to be part of your daily kit no matter where you go. Once used, please dispose of them properly. Do not throw them in the toilets at the parking areas.

See https://www.southernnevadaclimbers.org/wag-bags for more information on the program.

Many of the Red Rocks climbing destinations are best accessed via the Scenic Loop Drive.

Timed entry reservations are required for the Scenic Drive between October 1 to May 31 for entry between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. There are no timed entry reservations required for entrance before this time (6 a.m. to 8 a.m.) or during the summer months at any time. Reservations are made on recreation.gov and cost an additional $2 on top of the normal entry fee which is required regardless of entry time.

If exiting the scenic loop after hours, a late exit permit is required to avoid tickets. This is also available (for free) on recreation.gov. Historically, ticketing has been lenient and tends to only happen for vehicles parked throughout the majority of the night, but it is best to acquire one of these permits if possible.

There are limits to the number of commercial use, competitive or organized group permits available as established with the Resource Management Plan and other Environmental Analysis documents. Rock Climbing Guest Permits are for one calendar year and are offered through a lottery. Applications accepted beginning June 1 and must be received by September 1 for the following year. For more information, visit the Special Recreation Permits section of the Red Rock website.

Visitors may reserve single campground sites at Red Rock Canyon Campground online or by phone for visits starting in 2019.
As of January 2019, Red Rock Canyon Campsite reservations are made at recreation.gov, or by calling the national reservation hotline 1-877-444-677. Reservations can be made up to six months in advance but not less than 48 hours of the desired arrival date. Camping rates have not changed and are $25 per night for the standard and RV sites, $12 for the walk-to sites, and $80 for the group sites.

As of January 2019, 66 of the 80 single campsites and seven large group campsites are available on the system for reservation. The remaining 14 single campsites are offered on a first-come first-served basis.

Recreation.gov is managed by National Recreation Reservation Service. The NRRS is a partnership between Federal Land Management Agencies to provide quality reservation services for facilities and activities on public lands. Additional information about recreation opportunities at BLM’s Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area can be found here.

The pluralization of the “Red Rocks” area page has been debated frequently on MP (and elsewhere). Generally, those in favor of “Red Rock” cite the BLM area name, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (RRCNCA), formerly Red Rock Recreation Lands, as the primary reason for dropping the last letter.

Here are a couple of reasons why “Red Rocks” is being used for the MP area page name:

- The RRCNCA is a huge land designation which includes a number of other MP areas. Parts of Blue Diamond Area, Mount Potosi, and La Madre Area all fall within the RRCNCA. These areas are notably all limestone, so the term “Red Rocks” can be thought of as more specifically referring to the red, sandstone rocks that are climbed on within the NCA, and thus this page contains a specific subset of the complete RRCNCA.

- By far the most popular and prevalent guidebook has the pluralization, perhaps for the same reason as listed above.