I love Red Rock Canyon. I’ll never go to Red Rock Canyon again.

I’m thankful to have known Red Rock Canyon when it was a wilderness and very few cared about it. A lifetime of beautiful memories. 

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is a nightmare of government control and bureaucracy of the worst kind. Nature is apprehended. Fences, gates and locks are immediately erected and government control becomes absolute. Citizens can purchase access and are allowed limited visitation that is aggressively and heartlessly enforced.

And now it’s not safe to leave your vehicle unattended.

Vehicle break-ins and spray painted graffiti have been increasing at RRCNCA for years. Why has law enforcement never become proactive? Do sting operations not work anymore? No money? 

Pretty obvious that no one in law enforcement in Clark County, NV cares enough about theft and vandalism at Red Rock. Worst of all is that they don’t care about us either. 

I understand your frustration. Loved Red Rocks when I first visited it couple decades ago, and was shocked at the difference when I visited last winter. Not just the crowds, and the timed entry permits and all the hassle. I remember walking through the boulder field at Calico basin when I first went there many many years ago -- there was a nice, mostly-solid-ground trail. Now you are walking on the completely-destroyed pulverized fine dust, and it's not just the trail, pretty much the entire field is destroyed.

I feel the same way about a lot of other places, too, not necessarily just climbing-related. I loved Yellowstone when I first visited it, 25 years ago. It was magical. I wanted to take my kids there to see it, too, so we did it last year. It was a horrible shitshow, and the best part of the trip were all the hikes we did OUTSIDE of Yellowstone, in Caster Galatin National Forrest. It was the same gorgeous terrain/flora/fauna as Yellowstone, only we encountered no one on our hikes, we didn't have to pay to crawl along the road at 20mph behind a line of cars, and we had no trouble finding parking, or camping.

Same with any man-made tourist attraction, not just parks and climbing.

It is what it is. There are more climbers, There are more tourists. There are more people. You either adapt to the "new normal" at your favorite places, or you go elsewhere, if you are fortunate enough to be able to do so.

Mick wrote:

And now it’s not safe to leave your vehicle unattended...

lolz.  just lately it's not safe to leave your vehicle unattended? i think your view of the past is a little overly-rosy here.

I understand the need for the regulation. Red Rock sits over the glow of one of the biggest, wildest and tourist-heavy cities in the world. Without any sort of regulation, Red Rock quickly would become a overrun and trashed.

Remember that while RR is known to our community as a climbing destination, it also draws many other visitors who aren’t there to touch the rocks, but simply experience the views — like every other major park in the US (Yosemite, Joshua Tree, etc) climbers are a small fraction of the visitors and regulation is built to suit the majority of visitors, people who are simply there to take quick pictures or go on a hike. The regulation currently in place fits this demographic very well.

So I get it. I’ve only been climbing a couple years and the first time I’ve ever gone to RR was two years ago, so I don’t know how incredible the experience once was. Do I have a lot of criticisms about HOW the regulation is run? Oh fuck definitely, and as a climber, the heavy restrictions annoys absolute the shit out of me. The lack of crime patrol for a place so heavy regulated also pisses me the fuck off and it makes me so angry that nothing seems to be done about it. Do I think management is necessary? Yes. (Imagine the break-ins without any sort of regulation) Do I think management can be done differently? Absolutely.

But I guess I am just happy to have the privilege to being able to climb at such an incredible place and I’m willing to run through the hoops to do so. 

Ry C wrote:

The lack of crime patrol for a place so heavy regulated also pisses me the fuck off and it makes me so angry that nothing seems to be done about it. 

You’d be surprised (or maybe not) about how much of that crime goes unreported, or how often people are content to make a report over the phone.  I had a rental get broken into out there and the lady that answered BLM’s law enforcement line was shocked that I wanted someone to physically come out to the scene.  But I insisted, and they sent someone.

BLM isn’t going to take it seriously until you make it a hassle for them to do otherwise.

Are the break-ins occurring at the pull-outs on the loop road, or the areas where climbers park to avoid driving the loop? Are the perpetrators hiking all the way in for smash-and-grabs, or do they purchase a permit to drive the loop to commit their crimes?

Paradise Lost

Insert any outdoor place in the OP instead of RR. 

I blame instagram more so than the 8 billion people now inhabiting earth. Definite acceleration from social media that outpaces the population growth, IMO. 

See aforementioned conspiracy theory here:

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/123200099/conspiracy-theory-calico-basin-break-ins-are-being-done-by-residents

But good news, the former BLM assistant manager has taken off to greener pastures in Idaho.

Andrew Krajnik wrote:

Are the break-ins occurring at the pull-outs on the loop road, or the areas where climbers park to avoid driving the loop?

Both places. I had my car broken into at Willow Springs about three years ago, but I have read of break-ins at the First Creek Pullout (not on the loop road) and the like.

Are the perpetrators hiking all the way in for smash-and-grabs, or do they purchase a permit to drive the loop to commit their crimes? 

I can't imagine a thief walking in from outside to break in. One good stolen credit card spree would pay for a yearly pass, with a lot left over.

 I spoke to a BLM supervisor who said they are actively pursuing these burglaries. He was reassuring, though I don't know how "actively" they are pursuing it. I was surprised when he told me they have cameras at some areas.

But police (BLM) reports should be made, so they know where to focus their efforts.

tl;Dr: Don’t fence me in, brah.

I blame Alix Handholdz, ever since he moved in the neighborhood has really gone to pot.

On one hand, MP lists 3100+ routes in Red Rocks, for all the world to come and partake, arms and legs wide open. The Red Light has been over the porch for a long time now. That's Las Vegas for you - for sale.

On the other hand, southern Nevada is going to run out of water, same as most of the rest of the western US. All us westerns have been over-drawing the aquifers for a long time now too and the environmental bill is coming due.

So cheer up, Las Vegas is going to collapse sooner or later. It is simply not sustainable.  

Too bad the park couldn’t spend some of that entrance fee $ on some bike lockers at the VC so peeps could store valuable gear for the day. 

I finally made it to RR, and I'll admit, the classics bring too popular paired with the permitting system (the exit tickets make no sense) is all BS.

But I suppose the people making the decisions are getting the outcome: determine travelers from climbing.