Southwest - Riding Red Rock and Lee Canyon Rd in Vegas

I will have a couple of free days (9/10-9/11) in Las Vegas. I am planning on riding the Red Rock Loop on one day and Lee Canyon Rd (Rt 156) on the other.

For Red Rock, any ideas and recommendations on how to extend the ride a little longer ? Where to start, park, etc ? For the climb up Rt 156, is there parking at the turnoff off Rt 95 ? Also I was planning on starting the ride around mid morning. Is that a good idea as far as temperature ?

Also any additional advice/info about these rides are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

For Red Rock, it's probably most convenient to actually park after the entrance on Red Rock Scenic Dr. There's plenty of parking there and it's $5 whether you're in a car or on a bike, so it doesn't save you any money to ride in. If you want to extend the ride I would just go west on 159 when you hit the end of Red Rock Scenic Dr and head towards Blue Diamond. There's plenty of shoulder there and, though not as scenic as Red Rock itself, the views aren't too shabby. I'm not sure how many extra miles you're looking for, but if you get to the end of 159 and still feel like more, just head west on 160. There's a pretty good climb up to Mountain Springs.

Lee Canyon Rd is a good one. There is a little turnoff right at the 95/156 junction. I can't tell you how legal it is, but I saw cars parked there when I rode Mt. Charleston. I rode out there, so I can't help you much on this one.

If you're lucky enough to have someone drive you there, you should start at 95/156, do a Lee Canyon/Kyle Canyon (157) loop, and have someone pick you up at 95/157. That way you only do a 17-mile climb, but you get a 21-mile descent.

Unless things have changed, there is no entry fee for Red Rock when you ride in. My suggestion would be to park at the overlook, which is about 1-1.5 miles past the entrance to the scenic loop, and ride back to the entrance and ride the loop.

As long as you park well off the paved section of the highway, you can park pretty much anywhere along the road out in the rural areas. There is the small town of Blue Diamond a few miles south of the park entrance if you wish to park away from the highway. I park there, ride up to the park entrance and then do the loop and back down to Blue Diamond. I'd suggest you start as early in the morning as possible. It has been HOT out here, above normal for most of the past two weeks. It is supposed to cool down toward the end of this week though. Be sure to carry adequate water as there is none other than at the entrance to the park. The park road is one way so once you make the decision to do the loop you should not turn around or risk a fairly hefty ticket.

Thanks for all the good info.

It looks like that I will have my brother in a car while I ride up 156. Most likely I will be starting the ride mid-afternoon. It may be hot at the start but at least I'll have some kind of support. Hopefully once in the canyon there would be some shade.

As far as Red Rock, I'll probably just park at the entrance and do it first thing in the morning. I did not know the loop was one way. That's good info. I'll probably extend the ride to Blue Diamond and then up 160. Someone mentioned about Mt Potosi. I suppose that is the same route to Mountain Springs. It's looking like a camel back is not a bad idea for this ride as I am assuming there would be minimal services on this route.