Hiking La Madre Springs Trail at Red Rock Canyon

La Madre Springs is a fairly easy 3.5 to 4-mile hike inside The Red Rock National Conservation Area which leads you to a natural spring that flows through the La Madre Mountains. The trail is very easy to follow as it is mostly a wide gravel path and is also family and pet friendly.

Once you reach the spring you are treated to an oasis in the desert with several waterfalls, 10-foot high reeds, bighorn sheep, and frogs croaking in the background.

How to get to La Madre Springs Trail

To get to the trail just drive to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area on State Highway 159 and pull into the scenic drive. You will drive about 7.5 miles around the loop until you come to Willow Springs Road. Turn right and go another .5 miles to reach the picnic area and parking lot. You can drive further up the road and park if you have a vehicle with high clearance.

Hiking La Madre Springs Trail

Start walking up the gravel road which will be Rocky Gap Road. After several hundred yards there will be a split where the La Madre Springs trail and The White Rock Mountain Loop trail split to the right from the Rocky Gap Road trail.

After another half mile, the trail splits again where White Rock Mountain splits off from the La Madre Springs trail, staying to the left.

After you hike for about 1.75 miles you will come to the spring which has been formed into a pool from a concrete dam that was built in the 1950′s. You can continue past the pool alongside the spring and see several waterfalls, the largest being about 12 feet high at about 2 miles into the hike.

We were forced to turn around shortly after due to the trail becoming much narrower and muddy which made it very difficult to navigate. There is supposed to be a miner’s cabin and a couple of abandoned mines further up the trail but we did not reach them.

Once again this is a fairly easy hike as far as difficulty goes. You will get a nice workout though as the way to the spring is all uphill and you will gain about 600 feet in elevation. There is no scrambling involved and the trail is very easy to follow up to the waterfalls which make it family and pet friendly.

About The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Red Rock National Conservation Area is a great place to hike because of its stunning red rock formations and canyons. The area is home to over 26 hiking trails which vary in terrain and difficulty. The trails are easy to follow and offer a variety of options for hikers of all levels.

The area is easy to explore by driving the 13-mile scenic loop. Be sure to stop by one of the several overlooks along the way that make for great photo opportunities.