When you you live in New Jersey and are looking for a warmer spot to head for spring break in early April, consider one choice of Nevada and Utah! This was the destination with our 10 and 12 year old tweens, and it was the perfect family friendly area to be outside, explore and be together. Check out the details for stop 1 of our trip to Red Rocks Canyon in Nevada.
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One task on my 50 Before Fifty list included taking the kids to a National Park and after doing some research and polling some travelers, we landed on Zion National Park in Utah. In order to extend that trip, we first flew into Las Vegas and hit Red Rocks Canyon, a National Conservation Area. Read the follow up post on the second Zion destination in a later post.
Where We Stayed Near Red Rocks Canyon
Hampton Inn & Suites Las Vegas-Red Rock/Summerlin – After flying into Las Vegas airport, we picked up a rental car and drove the 15 minute drive over to Summerlin, a suburb of Vegas, to relax after our long travel day. This hotel was very clean, spacious for our family of 4, and offered a nice continental breakfast the morning before our hike. (Note: there’s a waffle station behind me in this photo). It was a near a Super Walmart so we were able to pick up a case of water and snacks for the week.
Our Red Rocks Canyon Hike Recap
Red Rocks Canyon is a National Conservation Area which includes a 13 mile scenic route with stops along the way for scenic overlooks and hiking trails. At the time of our trip April 2026, the cost to enter was $20 for our car and we began our exploration at the 8am – 9am time frame where we never had a problem finding a parking spot at the stops. Before you head here, make sure to pack a picnic lunch, water and snacks for later stops as there is nothing to buy there for that on the route. Check out the exact itinerary we experienced in this beautiful part of Nevada.
- Visitor’s Center – This visitor center is beautifully done with lots of information about the area, your last stop for flushing toilets and sinks, plus helpful park rangers. If you have kids, make sure to ask the park rangers for a Junior Ranger booklet where kids can complete activities to receive a pin, whistle and sticker at the end of their trip. The booklet includes lots of helpful information about the plants and animals you’ll see, how to “leave no trace” and ways to entertain them on the ride. Tip: there’s a hide and seek activity for animal statues around the visitor’s center so make sure to do that before heading out to have one page done!
- Calico I – This is a pull over stop that heads you down the hill and allows to climb your first set of red rocks. Go as far down or up as you want, but remember you have 13 miles of this road and many more stops to still explore!
- Calico II – Yet another fun spot to hike down and explore the landscape that includes a mix of sandy walks, rocks to climb and unique formations to fit your body into.
- Sandstone Quarry, our favorite stop! – This next stop includes our favorite hike of the whole trip – Calico Tanks! This moderate 2.2 mile hike says it takes about 2 hours but I think we spent more time at the top and did eat our packed picnic lunch on the hike so we were here longer. Bring your trekking poles and shoes with grip for this one as this hike included lots of vertical climbing, sometimes sandy rocks, and a one way “hug the rock ledge to get by” area. My tweens loved exploring all these unique land formations and were required with quite a view at the top!
- High Point Overlook – This is a quick stop where you can take beautiful group shots like this!
- Willow Springs Loop with the Lost Creek Trail – The final hike we took at Red Rocks Canyon was the Willow Springs Loop that we started at the Willow Springs picnic area. The landscape of this area was completely different than the other spot where Calico Tanks was with some more shade on the first half of the hike.
Hiking Accessories
Since my research for this adventurous vacation showed long hiking days and non stop reminders on the water you should bring and snacks to fuel up with, I made sure to prepare each of us with some new hiking bags and some other accessories for the trip.
- Lightweight Packing Backpacks for the Kids – I gifted both the kids these foldable backpacks that we packed in their carry on luggage. They offered comfortable straps and a big enough large pocket to include their stainless steel refillable water bottle, light sweatshirt, their Junior Ranger booklets, a bunch of snacks, another smaller pocket that my oldest put her phone and portable charger, and side pockets for sunglasses and chapstick. They come in a bunch of fun colors so one had pink and one had purple, a classic color choice for them lately.
- Ultra Lightweight Packable Backpack – I also wanted to upgrade my backpack option for the trip and grabbed one of these foldable backpacks, which was larger than the kids. It had comfortable straps, with plenty of pocket options to hold our lunches, snacks, extra water bottles, sweatshirt and all the accessories needed for longer hiking days.
- TheFitLife Nordic Walking Trekking Poles – Some of the hikes in Red Rocks Canyon and Zion National Park required climbing up or down rocky paths and these Trekking Poles came in handy to keep stable. The kids used them most of them time, but because they are adjustable in height, my husband was able to rock them on these hikes. These come with an assortment of tips so you can swap them out for different surface types. They also come with a travel bag and I can confirm they do fit inside a 22″ standard suitcase.
- Soap Paper Sheets in Cute Animal Containers – Most of the stops at Red Rocks Canyon and Zion National Park included porta potty type bathroom options with no flushing toilets and no sinks. When you’re taking a snack break on the go you might need to clean your hands before your eat so these adorable soap sheets came in handy as they active with just a little bit of water and are compact to fit in your bag. They came as a set of three so my girls are I were each able to carry a set in our bags.
- Shoes with Grip – While I didn’t think hiking boots were necessary for everyone, I did have everyone bring 2 pairs of sneakers for our trip. I’m glad I did as day 1 we realized my eldest’s sneakers were a bit old and worn on the bottom so she slipped a little more than her sister. The remainder of her trip was spent wearing shoes with better grip for all the sandy rocks we experienced in the following days.
- Bonus: License Plate Journal – While not an accessory for hiking, per say, we were across the country from where we live and saw lots of new license plates we never see. This journal came in handy for my license plate documenting kids as you can easily cross off each one your see from USA, Canada or Mexico with room to document 50 trips!
- Cooler for the car – As your time spent at Red Rocks Canyon requires a car for the 13 mile loop, you can easily keep cold waters or food in a cooler in your car, only taking what you need on longer hikes out of the car. We grabbed a collapsible one from the Walmart the day before so I highly recommend that approach for a refresher.
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