My husband and I are going to Vegas in 3 weeks. We’re both training, so we want to fit in some runs. We plan on getting up very early the first morning we are there and heading out to Red Rocks. Can someone familiar with the area give us some insight on the best place to run, how to get there from the Strip, etc? Or is there a better place to run? We’d like to spend the morning running and exploring the area. Obviously we know its going to be ridiculously hot, so we hope to get out there just as the sun is coming up (and then spend the rest of the time there partying hard and sleeping late!)
We’ve run the scenic drive each time. One word of caution, the end of the trail is not back at the parking lot, if I remember correctly it was at least another mile back to where we started. Even early in the morning it is very hot and there is no shade. There is also no water on the drive so you need to bring plenty with you, unless one person runs and the other drives out to meet you, which we have also done.
It is maybe a 15 or 20 minute drive from the strip, but well worth it! I always feel like I’m in a movie scene running there.
I second the other posts, in that running at Red Rocks is a great experience, however it is not an easy run (very hilly) and this time of the year it is extremely hot. If you go, make sure you go very early in the morning. It is a 100% road run on pavement but the traffic is light (especially early in the morning) and it is a one way road. However, you do have to watch out for the motorcycles cutting the corners.
Like others said, start out at the visitor center and run the 13 mile loop counter clockwise. If you don’t have someone waiting for you at the finish, you will have to run the extra mile or so along the highway back to your car because it is not a complete loop. The first part is mostly uphill and the last is all downhill. There is no water out there so most people either drive the loop first (it cost $5 to drive) and strategically stash water, carry a ton, or have a support car follow you.
I once ran the 13 miles in 113 degree heat training for IM Canada and had my girlfriend follow me in her car. I carried two bottles, one with ice water which went over my head and the other full of iced Gatorade which I drank. Every 20 minutes she would pull up and I would refill.
It was a tough experience but epic. People driving by just looked at me like I was from outer space. It is extremely pretty and you may even get a treat of seeing the wild Burros that hang out in the area of the last 3 miles or so. They walk on the road and the cars all stop to take pictures.
If I were you, I would get out there about an hour before the sun comes up, which will get you to the high point right around sunrise, which will be stunning as the view from there to the East is unbelievable. I thought Vegas was flat, but it turns out from the strip to RR canyon is 20 miles steadily uphill.
I rented a road bike at Pro Cyclery, and since it sounds like you’ll have a car, you might want to consider a ride out by Lake Mead on the Silverman course, which was also pretty highly recommended although i didn’t get out there myself. Coming from the east coast, getting up at 5AM is not so painful, even in Vegas…
Charleston Boulevard will get you to Red Rock. You take Las Vegas Boulevard north of the Strip, and then go west on Charleston Boulevard; it turns into Blue Diamond Road when you get outside of town. There are signs that will tell you how far to Red Rock. Also, note the amount of sprawl and offer up a prayer that Red Rock remains unspoiled.
The talk of how hot it is makes me laugh — because the only time I’ve been out there was in the winter, when it was about 60 and cloudy. That said, I can only imagine what it’s like in the unshaded canyon in the middle of summer.
Red Rock Canyon is gorgeous, but to me it seems a waste to simply run the road (bike the road instead!). If you are going, consider a trail run. I parked at the Willow Springs Area and did the loop around White Rock (clockwise), which was about 6-7 miles and beautiful. See this map:
I did it in January on a day that was very cold and windy, but I would not do it alone in the summer. If you park at Willow Springs, the loop I ran will be uphill immediately. If you want a more mellow warm-up, there was another trailhead, after the “High Point” on the map, but before Willow Springs, that would offer a downhill for about a mile or so to begin the clockwise run. Have fun!
Red Rock Canyon is gorgeous, but to me it seems a waste to simply run the road (bike the road instead!). If you are going, consider a trail run. I parked at the Willow Springs Area and did the loop around White Rock (clockwise), which was about 6-7 miles and beautiful. See this map:
I did it in January on a day that was very cold and windy, but I would not do it alone in the summer. If you park at Willow Springs, the loop I ran will be uphill immediately. If you want a more mellow warm-up, there was another trailhead, after the “High Point” on the map, but before Willow Springs, that would offer a downhill for about a mile or so to begin the clockwise run. Have fun!
What he said. I lived in vegas for a year, and Red Rock kept me more or less sane. I never ran the scenic loop (biked it a lot), but did a lot of stunning trail runs out there. Hot won’t even begin to describe running out there this time of year.
