Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Nevada → Goldstrike Canyon

Location: Black Canyon Area, Las Vegas, Nevada

Time Required: 3-5 hours roundtrip (top down); much less if you visit the hot springs from the bottom via packraft/canoe/kayak

Distance: 5.0 miles (roundtrip, top down)

Elevation Gain: 1500 feet

Red Tape/Notes: Closed during the summer (typically May 15 – September 30), but you can still access them from the river. You can find additional information on this trail various places on the internet, like AllTrails or Hiking Project. The trailhead is located just west of Hoover Dam, on the east side of Boulder City (you can just type into “Goldstrike Canyon Trailhead” into your gps and it should come up). Presumably you should have a day pass for Lake Mead NRA to park here – a day pass (valid for 7 consecutive days) is $25 per vehicle.

What’s Nearby?: Bighorn Canyon, Weeping Springs Canyon, Secret Canyon, Hoover Dam, Historic Railroad Trail, Colorado River Hot Springs Packrafting, Ringpin Canyon

This place will probably be crowded, especially if you’re here on a weekend. It’s crowded because it’s a non-technical canyon with just enough “excitement” for people to see it as an adventure with the added lure of hot springs. I find that waiting in a queue for people to ascend or descend the ropes placed to assist you significantly diminishes my enjoyment, but I’m sure that’s not the case for everyone. To minimize my annoyance, we approached this canyon from the bottom, packrafting over from Secret Canyon and hiking up Goldstrike until the queues started. It is really quite pretty, the hot springs are pleasant (particularly given the contrast with the cold Colorado River) and it’s nice to see families and groups of friends getting outside and enjoying the area together. As mentioned in the notes above, this canyon closes for the summer season due to the heat, but access is still allowed from the river.

Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Nevada → Goldstrike Canyon