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Non-Vegas Vegas Weekend Travelog #4
Lake Mead National Recreation Area - Sat, 15 Feb 2025, 1:15pm
After starting hiking the Owl Canyon Loop trail on Saturday and spending a while exploring atop a butte we scrambled back down to the main trail and towards the mouth of one of the actual canyons. This part of the trail parallels the Las Vegas Wash, which drains from Lake Las Vegas, a small reservoir, to Lake Mead, which is a huge reservoir. We could see there was water flowing in the wash. There were also rocky spires, named as pillars on our topographic map, close to the water. Thus when our trail turned left at a junction— away from the river— I opted instead to turn right, toward the river.
Did I mention our map also showed one of these pillars next to a spot identified as "Slot Canyon River Rapids"? Yeah, there was no way I was not taking a detour to see that. And it did not disappoint. Here's a short video I recorded next to the river:
This river is both natural and artificial. It's natural, in that it really is a real river, the Las Vegas River. It drains the Las Vegas basin into the Colorado River. But it's also artificial—or, rather, its flow is artificial— because there's a dam upstream. But today's flow is also natural because it actually rained in Las Vegas two days ago. And not just a quick sprinkle but a full day. Las Vegas gets, like, two days of rain a year. So half the year's rainfall is pouring through this slot right now.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area - Sat, 15 Feb 2025, 1:15pm
After starting hiking the Owl Canyon Loop trail on Saturday and spending a while exploring atop a butte we scrambled back down to the main trail and towards the mouth of one of the actual canyons. This part of the trail parallels the Las Vegas Wash, which drains from Lake Las Vegas, a small reservoir, to Lake Mead, which is a huge reservoir. We could see there was water flowing in the wash. There were also rocky spires, named as pillars on our topographic map, close to the water. Thus when our trail turned left at a junction— away from the river— I opted instead to turn right, toward the river.
Did I mention our map also showed one of these pillars next to a spot identified as "Slot Canyon River Rapids"? Yeah, there was no way I was not taking a detour to see that. And it did not disappoint. Here's a short video I recorded next to the river:
This river is both natural and artificial. It's natural, in that it really is a real river, the Las Vegas River. It drains the Las Vegas basin into the Colorado River. But it's also artificial—or, rather, its flow is artificial— because there's a dam upstream. But today's flow is also natural because it actually rained in Las Vegas two days ago. And not just a quick sprinkle but a full day. Las Vegas gets, like, two days of rain a year. So half the year's rainfall is pouring through this slot right now.
