Our favorite hiking trails in Calico Basin
Calico Basin is one of our favorite hiking areas! It can be accessed off SR 159/Charleston Blvd and sits on the back side (to the East) of Red Rock Canyon. It is FREE to enter. This makes it advantageous, because you can enter as you please without having to make a reservation and there is no guilt if you only stay for 30 minutes (which sometimes happens to us with kids, as everyone somehow becomes “too tired”). There are lots of great hiking trails and the scenery is just as magnificent as Red Rock Canyon.
Some of our favorite trails are: Calico Basin Trail, Girl Scout Trail, and Ash Spring Trail. All 3 trails are under 2 miles round trip and are good for kids.
Calico Basin Trail can be accessed from the Red Springs parking lot. There is a moderate climb at the beginning, but then it levels out. It is a rocky terrain, so be sure to wear appropriate shoes. This is one of our favorite hikes, because 1) you can usually see rock climbers “bouldering” and climbing as you hike which has been a point of interest for my kids, 2) there are really unique “spots” and “wave” patterns on the rocks as you hike farther back, and 3) the juxtaposition of the red rocks and the blue sky is just something that never gets old. Towards the end of the Calico Basin Trail, you will encounter the trailhead to Girl Scout Trail.
Girl Scout Trail is a .5mile out trail that curves around one of the rock formations and connects over towards Kraft Mountain. You could easily just add this onto Calico Basin Trail or to Ash Springs Trail if you start there instead.
Ash Springs Trail can be accessed from the Kraft Mountain Parking area. It is a .5 mile out trail that goes down towards what looks like a “springs” area (or a source of water) as there are more trees and vegetation in this area. The trail on the map looks like an out and back, however we did more of a loop when we explored this trail. I can’t discern which trail we were actually on from the map, but visually you can tell that the trails converge and you can make it back to where you started.
Other trails in the Calico Basin area that we have not hiked, but are on our list: Calico Overlook Trail, Kraft Mountain Loop Trail, and Gene’s Trail.
Other information to note is that there are bathrooms at the Red Springs parking lot as well as picnic tables. There are also picnic tables off of the Girl Scout Trail. This makes it easy to pack a lunch and explore for a half day or full day.
Happy Trails!