Hotels near Ice Box Canyon

Ice Box Canyon is the one canyon hike near Las Vegas that earns its name. The trail runs 3.7 km (2.3 miles) round trip from the Scenic Loop Drive into a north-facing box canyon whose 300-metre sandstone walls block direct sun for most of the day, and the air inside sits noticeably cooler than the open desert you crossed to get there. Elevation gain is 175 m (577 ft), the round trip takes 2 to 3 hours, and the Bureau of Land Management rates it strenuous - not for the distance, but because the last 800 metres is boulder-hopping up a jumbled wash with no maintained path.

Two seasonal waterfalls run at the head of the canyon from roughly December through April, fed by snowmelt off the Spring Mountains. By June they are dry stains on the rock. The final scramble to the upper pool is a genuine hands-and-feet class-4 move over polished sandstone that is worse coming down than going up, and it is where most Red Rock Canyon rescues on this trail start. Turn around at the lower falls and you still get the whole canyon.

Pro Tip: The trailhead is a small pull-out at mile 7.7 with room for about 20 cars and it fills by 9am from October to April. Book the 8am timed-entry slot, drive straight past the Calico overlooks, and do Ice Box Canyon first while the shade is deepest and the parking still exists.