Overview

This hike starts at the Cowboy Trail Rides parking and works up and across the northwest face of Blue Diamond Hill to the North Ridge, then turns south and climbs the ridge. At about 1.8 miles out, the trail passes the Muffin Rocks, which are Lower-Triassic-age Timpoweap Conglomerate rock. The Muffin Rocks make a nice destination, or at least a nice place to rest in the shade and gaze east over the Las Vegas Valley, or if you prefer, gaze west to the Sandstone Bluffs of Red Rock Canyon.

From the Muffin Rocks, hikers can return over the same trail or continue south towards the summit of Blue Diamond Hill and take one of the several Blue Diamond Hill Bike Trails back down to the trailhead.

Link to map

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this is a fairly safe hike, but there the trail runs along the top of some cliffs where a stumble would be fatal, and be careful climbing around on the muffin rocks.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though this hike is short, be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, about 30 minutes from town, but not on the Scenic Loop Road. Drive out West Charleston Blvd, past the entrance to the Scenic Loop Drive, to the Cowboy Trail Rides Trailhead on the left. Park here; this is the trailhead.

The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 1, Waypoint 01), the hike runs northeast on the dirt road about 200 yards towards corrals ahead on the left. Just past the corrals, the trail departs the road to the left (Wpt. 30) aiming for the deep canyon left of the limestone ridge in the foreground. Hiking through this area, there are lots of Eastern Joshua Trees and many clumps of Big Galleta Bunchgrass with a few Silver Cholla mixed in.

The trail intersects several trails on the desert flats (Wpt. 31, Wpt. 32, Wpt. 33) as it runs towards the deep canyon ahead. Trails seem to breed on the flats, so aim for the deep canyon on the left side of the ridge in the foreground.

At a trail junction near the mouth of the canyon (Wpt. 34) and on the edge of a deep wash, the hike goes right and up the hill, while another trail goes down the wash.

Across the deep wash, the trail climbs steeply as it switchbacks up the face of the hill (north side of the canyon) to yet another trail junction (Wpt. 35). Here, the Muffin Trail stays left and heads uphill, while the other trail turns south and runs slightly downhill before turning into the canyon.

The Muffin Trail turns another switchback, and now heading northeast, climbs a bit more before running more or less on the contour. In this area, the hiking is easy, and the views are grand. To the west lie the Sandstone Bluffs of Red Rock Canyon, and to the north lie the limestone ridges of the La Madre Mountain Range. On these rocky slopes, which are limestone, cactus does well, evidenced by the number of cactus species here (including California Barrel Cactus, Engelmann's Hedgehog Cactus, Desert Spinystar, Beavertail Pricklypear, and Silver Cholla. Watch for gastropods, corals, and two types of sponge fossils in the rocks along the trail.

The trail climbs gently along the hillside, then turns eastward and up somewhat steeply into a shallow canyon. From the back of the canyon, the trail climbs quite steeply before traversing out towards the North Ridge at a somewhat energetic pace. Passing two more switchbacks, the trail reaches the ridgeline (Wpt. 36) and turns back to the southeast along the top of the ridge.

Shortly, the trail passes along the west side of the Muffin Rocks (Wpt. 37). This is a good place to stop and rest in the shade, enjoy the view, and eat lunch.

When ready, hikers can return over the same trail or continue southeast and up towards the summit, then take one of several Blue Diamond Hill Bike Trails back down to the trailhead.

Continuing south on the ridge, the trail is more faint than before, but it runs along the top of the ridge with nice views to the east over the Las Vegas Valley. Eventually the trail meets another major trail at a low point on the ridge (Wpt. 38). Hikers can turn down the canyon to the west and head back to the trailhead (this is the same canyon bypassed at the trail junction in the switchbacks; Wpt. 35) or they can continue following the maze of trails in the area that will eventually lead downhill to the trailhead.