Sloan Canyon Travel Guide

Sloan Canyon is the newest addition to the National Landscape Conservation System -- 26 million acres of Bureau of Land Management lands protected for their spectacular environment and historical and cultural sites.

Sloan Canyon NCA was designated just two years ago by Congress to protect unique petroglyph sites, rugged canyons, and one of the few remaining wild places left near a rapidly growing metropolitan center. This wonderful, mountainous desert lies just south of Henderson, and is visible when looking south from almost anywhere in the Las Vegas valley. The Canyon is a sacred place for Native Americans, and rock art from up to 2,000 yers ago is well-preserved in this ancient place. Joshua trees are abundant at the higher elevations while creoste and cacti dominate the lower areas. Walking is easy in some washes, but steep, rugged canyons also challenge hikers. Hikers often see desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, chuckwalla, and birds of prey. The 48,000-acre NCA also contains 17,000 acres of designated wilderness -- the North McCullough Wilderness Area.

You definitely need a high clearance vehicle just to get from the blacktop to the dirt power line road.

Follow the huge brown power poles until you see Anthem. If you get to the green power poles coming in from left, you have gone about five poles to far. pole #xxxxx82

There is only one road heading off to the right, follow it until the boulders block the road. You will recognize this from our death hike.

Hike up the road in the main canyon until you reach a wall that blocks further hiking. You have to find a way to scramble around or over this wall. Once past the wall you are back on a road and you will start seeing the petroglifs almost immediately
they are clearly visible from the main road, and they are all over the place.