Red Spring Picnic Area

Red Spring Picnic Area is in Calico Basin, part of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, with picnic tables, grills and a boardwalk trail past a desert spring. The picnic area looks out on red and tan sandstone cliffs, and the Red Spring Boardwalk trail runs past the spring itself. From the boardwalk, kids can watch the water seep out of a shallow tunnel in the rock and feed a marshy meadow that draws wildlife.

The site has picnic tables, metal grills you can use when fire rules allow, trash cans and vault toilets by the parking area. There is no drinking water, so pack plenty, especially in summer. Charcoal is the only fire allowed, and only in the grills.

Hours change with the season: 6am to 5pm from November through February, 6am to 7pm in March and October, and 6am to 8pm from April through September. Weekends, holidays and fee free days get crowded, and October through December and March through May are the busiest stretches.

A picnic area reservation does not need the Scenic Drive timed entry ticket. If you also plan to drive the loop between October and May, book that timed entry separately. The group shelter can be reserved on recreation.gov.