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| Large pillar in Lake Las Vegas Wash |
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| White Owl Canyon |
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| Walk through culvert under Lakeshore Road |
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| Shoreline Trail |
White Owl Canyon is a great go-to hike for company in town and for a few weeks, I'll have my sister visiting. We got to the old Las Vegas Marina parking and saw that vehicles with higher clearance than my car were able to go to the left and drive down a bumpy ramp to the old boat ramp that, now, has no pavement. No problem. We parked at the top where the concrete barriers were and walked down to the old Shoreline Trail TH. We were making a loop hike anyway. We started out the trail that is well-marked with boundary rocks and passed a couple of what they call "Pillars." This large area used to be covered with Lake Mead and the "Pillars" were made from lake erosion. You can still see small mollusk shells along the way. Sometimes, on the right side of the second (larger) Pillar, you can view larger birds in the wash marsh. There were none today. From there, we continued to follow the trail until we approached the picnic area above what used to be the waterline.
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| Shoreline Trail along Lake Las Vegas Wash |
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| Debbie taking a photo from the base of large Pillar |
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| Entering White Owl Canyon |
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| Sunlight plays inside White Owl Canyon |
Here, we turned up to the right and headed into the canyon at the end of a long wide wash. This is White Owl Canyon. There has been rumors that the White Owl is in residence in the parallel canyon. I had never been in the parallel canyon but seeing it, I realized it would not be good to explore it anew with my inexperienced dog in attendance. So, we exited back to the main wash where we could enter the official White Owl Canyon. This canyon is easily navigated by my standard poodle. This canyon is beautiful whether or not there is a white owl perched on one of the ledges above. We walked through quietly, just in case. The sun was coming in from above making the walls shine. No owl. So, we continued to the end and turned left into the first culvert that glides underneath Lakeshore Road. Between this culvert and the next, it is still White Owl Canyon with the same beautifications but wider. After the second culvert, we sat on a rock and ate a snack. Next, our route climbed the old road ramp on the right while ignoring the steep trail that hikers have cut up the hill. We turned left onto the bike path where the road ramp ended. (The bikers appreciate it if you stay on the right side of the path and let them have the asphalt.) We walked down the path and came upon a trail leading to the right along a wash I had not explored. My sister and I took the challenge and followed the path down into the wash there and, before long, we came to a high non-negotiable pour over. I suppose there might have been a scary up and around but not with my dog. We retraced our steps back to the bike path, turned right and continued past the blooming brittlebushes and view of Lava Butte in the distance. The bike path left us up to the left and we continued straight to where we could bushwhack down to the picnic area on the right above the marina ramp. The first canyon wash on the left took us down to our car. Excellent hike but it will be too warm for it soon!
Stats: 4.75 miles; 500' gain; 3 hours
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| Debbie exits second Culvert |
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| Lava Butte from River Mountain Loop (Bike) Trail |
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| Spur wash with cliff pour over at End |
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