Red Rocks ? - headed there for the 1st time

[wfinley]

Hi all -- headed to Red Rocks for the first time ever in early November. Looking for some first time visit suggestions.... and obviously have some questions:

 

1. Camping / Sleeping: I've heard the campground sucks. Is this true? Do people suggest a campground or hotel? (We have no qualms about paying for a hotel.) If hotel - any suggestions?

2. Car Rental: I'm assuming a basic economy car rental will work? Any reason to get something with more clearance?

3. Temps: I've heard early Nov. temps are around 60-70 by day - 30-40 by night. True?

4. Must do routes? I'm not much of a rock climber so they have to be moderates (max 5.8).

 

Any other suggestions would be most welcome!

[Jens]

Stay in a casino.

 

If you like bolted routes, check out the limestone areas- they are better than red rocks for face climbing and many are 40 minutes from the strip.

 

Have fun!

[wfinley]

Stay in a casino.

 

If you like bolted routes, check out the limestone areas- they are better than red rocks for face climbing and many are 40 minutes from the strip.

 

Have fun!

Suggestions? The price ranges are $30 - $500 / night... is a $30 hotel room scary and crawling with meth heads - or will be be alright?

[Sherri]

2. Car Rental: I'm assuming a basic economy car rental will work? Any reason to get something with more clearance?

 

If you plan to do all of your climbing in the Loop, the road is paved and any car will do fine.

 

If you plan to do any routes at Windy Peak or in Black Velvet Canyon, you'll need something with a bit of clearance.

 

For hotels, I think there's a La Quinta in or near Summerlin that a lot of climbers prefer because it's closer to RR than to the Strip. Suncoast Hotel is also at that end of town(near Whole Foods and the climbing shop). You'll have to check around for prices; they can be all over the place depending on exactly when you go. Price is not necessarily an indication of how good or bad the hotel will be.

[112]

I have been to RR 5 times. 4 times I camped. Last time I stayed at the Las Vegas Casino/Hotel in Oldtown. I will never camp in Vegas again (it sucks for tents). The hotel wasn't scary, just old. I think I paid around $35-45 a night. Easy access to the highway. It was 15 minutes from hotel to the start of the loop. Light show at night, good food, street performers, and the fetish pit (black jack). Fun times!

[Peakpimp]

I went there in April and stayed in the Excalibur. $30 or so a night. Not bad, just old, but right on the strip. The difficult part was trying to avoid finding myself, after imbibing several cocktails, miles away down the strip, then having to walk back to the room. Early starts were always a challenge. Our Nissan Altima rental got us everywhere we wanted to go. The "Egg and I" (4533 W. Sahara Ave Las Vegas, NV 89102) turned out to be the best place around for breakfast. I really enjoyed Frogland if you can avoid the circus of people, I.E. get there early, which we did not (see above.)

 

[genepires]

regular cars are fine for even the black velvet canyon drive. Just don't tell the rental agency you are going to red rocks to climb. You are driving the strip and never going to think about leaving town. Otherwise they will give you the business and strong arm you into a expensive SUV.

If you bottom out a couple of times, no one will ever know if you go slow.

 

routes

frogland is very good for your grade (shady)

dark shadows (shady)

lotta balls wall

 

NOvember may be cold so you will have to chase the south facing aspects

cat in the hat (5.6) all day sun

solar slab (5.6) all day sun

olive oil (5.8) late morning to early afternoon sun

tunnel vision (5.8) with morning only sun

 

do your homework before getting on routes there. Know the approach and descent. Have double ropes. get a early start and watch out for prickly plants. Some guidebooks have some mistakes. If you know the routes you want to do, ask people for advice on it before going out there. I lived out there for one year and would give you advice for specific routes if needed. JasonMartin has done lots more than me out there too.

 

[Pandora]

Yeah, that campground blows. Total ripoff; you're much better off putting that cash toward a hotel room.

 

The climbing is great; have fun!

[bstach]

I have stayed at Arizona Charlie's just off Charleston Blvd. Close to climbing and good value (imo)...I remember paying $35-50 mid week, more on weekends.

 

Black Orpheus is soft for its grade, and I found it less crowded than the popular routes (probably the longer approach, but worth it). The crux is 1 move, well protected, a few moves up from the belay (though you'll swing a bit if you blow it). Its a big day though so start early and move fast.

 

+1 on Olive Oil...just for the splitter crack pitch alone (can be done in 1 pitch w a 60m rope if you streeeeetch it out....i think we had to simul climb 5 feet or so to do it.

 

Geronimo is also a great climb - steep and juggy, excellent value for the grade. First two pitches are the best.

[Off_White]

First time? Wow, you're in for a treat. RR has some of the best long moderate climbs in the country. Hope its warm enough to climb in the canyons, start early, bring a headlamp.

 

Last time I was there we stayed in the campground. Granted, we were in the group camp, up at the end of it too, but it wasn't half bad. We all pretty much left when it got light, came back after dark, and just grilled meat and swilled beer around the fire. The hill blocked out the freeway behind us, and Starbucks was literally 5 minutes away. Now, I didn't stay down in the individual sites, but I'd much rather camp on a climbing trip than stay in some motel, but I think both the strip and television are really really dull.

 

Oh, another thumbs up on Black Orpheus, really fun and light for the grade. Combine the first three pitches into two to save a little time. The hike and descent are just part of the fun.

[Lucky Larry]

1st time i went u could stay at oak crk cg and in black velvet canyon-r.i.p. most folks do not like the new CG but if ur just sleeping there, what the hay, i guess.

[Drederek]

I've always stayed in hotels in Vegas, usually older large casinos on the strip. We checked out the campground once and it looked grim and a bad place to be if its windy. In the dark on a calm nite its probably fine. If you're flying down camping is another piece of luggage.

If you don't mind 1-2 hour hikes in you can get away from the crowds. Cat in the hat, Olive Oil, Frogland, Crimson Chrysalis, Solar Slab, Dark Shadows are all good but you'll be in a line because of the relatively short approaches. If you want to do a route with a tunnel on it try The Black Dagger on Brownstone Wall.

[Crack]

For lodging surf online and get killer deals.

 

It's been a few years since I've been down there, but the rave back then for (climbing) car rentals was the Dodge Caliber as it was still in the cheapest class and had the highest clearance.

 

[tanstaafl]

Bonnie Springs Ranch Motel is very close to the climbing and a pretty entertaining place. I only stayed there once but it was pretty cheap as I recall. Phone 702-875-4400 for current rates and reservations.

[bobinc]

Bonnie Springs is especially convenent if you are climbing more at Black Velvet/Windy Peak. Prices are on the order of $60 for weekdays and $10 more on weekends (although they may have increased a bit from these rates). Also, the bar/restaurant at BS is entertaining!

 

What I've done in the past for hotels closer in is to book a night or two at Suncoast then check Travelworm, etc. once in LV for subsequent nights. You can sometimes find better rates (even 2 for 1s) this way. Only risk is that occasionally you could get shut out (but this seems less likely in more recent years given better overall availability of LV rooms).

[wfinley]

Thanks for all the advice; we're looking for hotels now. It will be nice to get on some good rock after a summer of rain and choss!

[laurel]

This looks it could be a good deal: about $200 for a flight and hotel room:

 

http://www.travelzoo.com/vacations/las-vegas/895362/?utm_source=top20_us&utm_medium=email_top20

 

Places I've stayed:

 

Luxor, it's cheap and clean. Only downside is that like most of the casinos it takes half an hour to get from the room to the car. A pyramid shape may be great for building large structures with bronze age technology but it kind of sucks for optimizing elevator distribution.

 

Emerald Suites: plenty of space for the price, it was nice to have a kitchen (late night food on the Strip is surprisingly hard to find and maybe-not-surprisingly bad). I booked through expedia so they gave us a smoking room. They claimed that we could have reserved a non-smoking room if we booked directly. Cliffs at Peace Canyon is supposed to be a better place for a kitchen suite but it wasn't available when I was going.

 

Campground: I don't really mind it, but does get excessively windy and dusty sometimes (had to put the stove in the BBQ grill a couple mornings because the windscreen kept blowing away). Can't beat the location. Don't buy the fire-resistant wood from the campground, get some from the grocery store.

 

[eldiente]

I've had good luck renting condos off VRBO.com or CL.com. This is a good option if you can get a bunch of people together, we rented 2bdr condo for $75 a night next to Whole Foods, we did 5 of us in there and enjoyed cable TV every night.

 

Nate

 

[Sherri]

Cliffs at Peace Canyon is supposed to be a better place for a kitchen suite but it wasn't available when I was going.

 

I've stayed at the Cliffs several times and really enjoyed the place. It was a very comfortable atmosphere, lots of amenities, sweet condos, and friendly staff. I usually found the best price by booking through worldhotels.com, as they would run specials that the other sites didn't offer.

World hotels: Cliffs at Peace Canyon

 

Call the front desk of the Cliffs the day before you arrive to see if they'll put you in a first floor room so that you don't have to haul your gear up the stairs to a 2nd floor unit.