| rev:text
| - GREAT hike! About 20 mins outside of Vegas, this well marked trail is right off the Hoover Dam exit 2. There's a very clear sign that says "Goldstrike Canyon" at the head of a dirt road. You barely go 1,000 feet & then you'll see where to park. The lot is not big.
We were here in November, so the weather was perfect. If you do the whole hike, it's about 6.5 miles to the end (the Colorado River) and back. But if you just want to get to the first soaking pool-sized hot spring, it's about 2-2.5 miles round trip.
Keep in mind:
* Going is a consistent slight downgrade, with the first 1.5 miles in full sun, walking through gravel, mostly flat, with a couple very easy bouldering areas
* The bouldering areas beyond the first rope assisted area do require both hands free for scrambling and climbing
* Covering your palms helps a lot - otherwise your hands will get sore
* Long sleeves help too - both for arm protection while bouldering & as an easy way to cover your palms instead of wearing gloves
* Coming back is a slight upgrade the whole way, & the bouldering is def more challenging because you are climbing up
* If you are a shorter person, you may need a leg up on the way back, as some of the bouldering areas (even in the rope assisted areas) are 6'ish high
* Some rope assisted areas are on very smooth rock, so bare feet can get a better grip to climb up than shoes (especially wet shoes, which is likely you will have)
* You likely will need more water coming back than going
With that said, this is really a challenging AND fun hike, with two big (think 4+ person hot tub sized) soaking pools. You will see a teeny (footbath sized) pool of very warm water after the 3rd rope. The first full-body soakable pool that we saw was beyond that, and was like a 4+ person sized hot tub. The last one was the biggest (8+ish people?), and hottest (hotter than body temp!). You can definitely get in & sit with the water up to your neck - wading in is about waist deep-ish. The water beyond this point gets cooler, as you head towards the river.
The bouldering, while fun going, was challenging for me coming back (up), as I'm 5'5" with short arms & legs! Thanks to my friends & a very nice guy we met on the trail, I got a leg up on a couple really high boulders. I'd like to think I would've figured it out on my own were I to have been there alone, but I'm really not sure I would have! Going - because you're going down the rocks - was a LOT easier.
Some of the rocks are really smooth & others are pretty jagged. I wore a long sleeved hoodie & was able to pull my sleeves down over my palms, which helped A LOT when bouldering. We saw little drops of blood on the rocks from previous hikers, so don't discount how much a long sleeved shirt & pants can guard against scratches & skin wear & tear on this hike!
You likely will want to bring a lunch or snack to enjoy at one of the pools. It's your well-deserved reward!
This was my first hike to a natural hot springs, & it was really memorable. It's a great escape from the craziness of the Strip, & yet you're not far away at all. Fun!!!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)