The parking is located on the east side of Highway 14 just south of Abbott Drive (the main drive leading to the Red Rock Canyon State Park Visitor Center and Campground).

There is a picnic area here.

CA State Park Day Use Fee is not currently required for this trailhead, but is encouraged to support this park and is requ... Moreired for the visitor center. Check and make sure this is still the case when you visit.Less

The prominent red cliffs nearby will draw your eye, and a close inspection shows that these erosional forces that formed these cliffs are still at work. The cliffs are formed from interbedded sand and mudstone, with the red staining due to iron. Water seeps out between the rock layers after heavy rain and runs down the cliff, eroding sand away as... More it goes. Large fractures, or slumps, can be seen in the cliff face. The upper portion of the cliff is starting to slide out on a 45-degree fracture. This is the source of the many boulders at the base of the cliffs!Less

On top of a hill just off the main trail is a pleasant bench.

The rocks in this area comprise light-colored weak sand and mudstones overlain by darker and harder volcanic ash and lava (basalt). The red staining seen on the sandstone is a result of iron staining.
The red cliffs erode from faulting or slumping, and water seeps. After heavy rainstorms, water seeps out from between the layers and runs down... More the side, taking sand with it.

The cliffs are all tilted at an angle of 17 degrees, due to intense faulting in the past 10 million years as the North American and Pacific plates slide past one another. Nearby is the Garlock fault, a left-lateral strike slip fault, that is thought capable of an earthquake and has registered 35 km of offset.Less

The trail is pleasant, sandy, and easy to follow.

The desert is home to many species of plants which will bloom and dry out at different times of the year.

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