Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Nevada →  ⊗ Ringpin Canyon

⊗ Technical Route ⊗

Warning: Do Not Attempt Without Proper Training – click here for details

Location: Black Canyon Area, Las Vegas, Nevada

Time Required: 4-6 hours

Distance: 3.1 miles total, 0.3 miles technical, 0.5 mile paddle

Elevation Gain: 500 feet

Rappels: 3, lengths up to 50 feet

Red Tape/Notes: No permit required, no shuttle required. Very hot with little shade until you’re in the canyon – not recommended for summer. There used to be water in this canyon, requiring the use of wetsuits, but the canyon is currently completely dry. A gpx track of the route can be found on ropewiki, here, but if you’re going to be doing canyons in this area, I’d highly recommend buying Las Vegas Slots by Rick Ianniello (available on Amazon or through Canyoneering USA). 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, Goldstrike Canyon, Hoover Dam, Historic Railroad Trail, Colorado River Hot Springs Packrafting

This is one of the easiest canyons we’ve ever done, and would be a nice practice canyon for anyone starting out…minus the fact that you need a packraft to get out. We were able to navigate the dirt road without any trouble in our CX5, but the all wheel drive was nice to have. From the end of the road, we backtracked a short distance to where a footpath leads to the top of the mesa and easily traveling south for around half a mile before turning west towards the river for another half a mile or so (alternatively you could avoid backtracking by parking at the base of the trail, but you’ll have to hike the additional distance on the exit). A few short rappels through a pleasantly cool canyon bring you to the river, where you blow up your packraft. The exit is upstream, but there’s typically not much current here, so it’s quite manageable. A pleasant paddle later, and you’ll put out at Crane’s Nest Wash, where it’s around ¾ of a mile back to your car (assuming you parked at the end of the road…otherwise it’s a little over a mile).

Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Nevada →  ⊗ Ringpin Canyon