Hiking to Little Zion from Lovell Canyon Road

Hiking to Little Zion is a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas. It is also a nice introduction to a less busy side of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The trail passes a beautiful diversity of cacti, climbs up through pinyons and junipers to a rewarding overlook. Then as you put in the work to reach the unique destination, you’re distracted by the everchanging scenery. Until finally you reach the large sandstone formation that inspired the name Little Zion. This is one of those hikes that about the journey AND the destination. Find out more information about hiking to Little Zion then get out and explore!

Quick Info: Hiking to Little Zion

Distance: about 7 miles roundtrip

Difficulty: Moderate

Directions: From Las Vegas, follow Highway 160 W towards Pahrump. Once you pass Mountain Springs, continue another three miles and turn right onto the paved Lovell Canyon Road. Take Lovell Canyon Road for one mile to an unmarked road on the right known as Rainbow Spring Road. This dirt road looks similar to a wash and is a pretty mellow sand road that leads to and ends at the parking area for Rainbow Spring Trailhead. This is where the Little Zion hike begins!

Our Experience Hiking to Little Zion

While we were camping in Lovell Canyon, we knew we were surrounded by opportunities for exploring. We didn’t know what we would see while we were here but we were loving the snowy mountains towering above the juniper and joshua tree covered hillsides. Definitely an amazing respite from Las Vegas, only an hour away. After looking into some of our options for day hiking near Lovell Canyon, we settled on hiking to Little Zion. The name was already enticing, but I cheated a bit and saw a couple photos. That’s when I knew it was somewhere we should see for ourselves.

When we reached the trailhead, there was one other vehicle and enough parking for about five. The hike begins in Rainbow Springs Wilderness and heads east as it enters into the mountains of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

The Hike Begins!

The trail begins once you step past the metal obstruction and follows Rainbow Springs Wash. And before you know it, the trail leads to an ancient agave roasting pit. You’ll be certain that’s what you’ve found when you see the small signs that read “Please don’t erase the signs of America’s past”.

From the agave roasting pit, do not follow the trail towards the right (south). Instead, continue pick up the trail on the east side of the pit and continue along this trail heading north. This is an important step to ensure that you continue hiking to Little Zion. Shortly, there will be a vertical sign marking the trail indicating it is in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

From here, we continued following the well used dirt path through the pinyons and junipers. Along the way we noticed numerous interesting plants and cacti. The trail remains relatively obvious, crosses some rock section and climbs up to a ridge.

As we made it to the ridge we were pleasantly surprised with an incredible dramatic overlook! Having only looked at a couple pictures, we had no idea that while hiking to Little Zion we would encounter such amazing scenery. The overlook revealed an opening in the steep rocky cliffs that are part of Red Rock Canyon that dropped all the way down to the canyon floor. And just above this majestic scene we could see the ever recognizable Las Vegas Strip way in the distance. We thought it was a funny reminder of just how close we were to Las Vegas while also being surrounded in such natural beauty.

From this incredible vantage point, the abrupt change in color of the nearby cliffs. This is a result of the Keystone thrust fault that is quite an impressive geological feature. And it definitely adds to the surreal beauty at this point of the hike.

Hiking From the Overlook to Little Zion

From here, the trail turns south (right) to continue hiking to Little Zion. And this is when we began having a hard time following the trail. It seemed to appear and disappear then appear and disappear again! And since we weren’t sure exactly where Little Zion was from the viewpoint, we didn’t know exactly where to shoot. So there were a few times while we were hiking that we weren’t sure that we were even going to make it to the destination. All you need to know is that the trail continues southeast going up and then down numerous crests.

As we followed the evasive trail in the general southeast direction we were enjoying the ever changing scenery. The bristlecones and snowy mountains in the distance were awesome. And the view through the steep rocky canyon revealed cool new angles.

Luckily the hike along the rim is very scenic because it felt like Little Zion was nowhere in sight as we continued up and down the crests.

Finally, we reached a rock pile on a large rock that doubled as a cairn indicating it was time to descend towards Little Zion! The trail is steep and faint but the hike down becomes easier because now, finally, the large swath of sandstone and tall Ponderosa pines are within view.

Hike it Later – Pin it Now!

Finally, we reached the sandstone and it felt like quite an accomplishment. As I mentioned, we weren’t sure we were going to find it! But we were so glad that we did. This large moonscape of sandstone really neat to explore. The colors of the large rock formation were really impressive. And there’s no way we would have expected to see towering Ponderosa pines here! We would have enjoyed turning this hike to Little Zion into an overnight backpacking adventure. It would have been cool to be able to spend the night and have more time to climb around and explore this unique little slice of Nevada.

From here, we continued back up to the main trail and made our way back to the parking area. We had an amazing time hiking to Little Zion. The diversity of plant life was neat, the vistas were incredible and exploring the sandstone felt otherworldly. And surprisingly, we only encountered one other couple on the trail. Hiking to Little Zion is a great day hike in the Las Vegas area and it was a nice low key introduction to Red Rock Canyon.

Thanks for Reading!

We love going on new hikes and seeing new landscapes. If you’d like to read more of our adventures, here are some ones we’d recommend:

• What to See in Gold Butte National Monument
• Hiking Crags Trail
• Backpacking Missouri and Fancy Pass
• Exploring Point Trail in West Clear Creek Wilderness

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