Red Rock Canyon reeling in tourists after 25 years

One of the closest getaways for Las Vegas Valley residents is Red Rock Canyon, which recently marked 25 years as a national conservation area.

"Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is an area that people come and visit, away from the Strip for a different type of escape," said Catrina Williams, manager of the Bureau of Land Management's Red Rock/Sloan Field Office. "There is so much beauty here to enjoy, and we should all be a part of ensuring the protection of this unique landscape for the future enjoyment of the countless generations to follow."

Congress first recognized the significance of the area in 1936, designating Red Rock Canyon as part of the Desert Game Refuge, today's Desert National Wildlife Refuge.

In the early 1960s, the area was seen as a potential national park, and in 1964, the BLM added protections, withdrawing 10,000 acres at Red Rock from further mining and development.

The first formal designation at Red Rock came in 1967, when the BLM designated 62,000 acres as Red Rock Canyon Recreation Lands. The visitor center opened in 1982. It generated 20,000 visits in its first year, a respectable number for a citywide population of 177,440.

The area's history is ripe with cattle rustlers, movie stars and even Howard Hughes. Here's a look back at how it evolved:

— History first makes note of the southwest part of the United States in 1540, when Capt. Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, guided by Hopi Native Americans, ventured partway into the Grand Canyon. But it would be the mid-1800s before the Las Vegas Valley came to most white men's attention. In 1829, Antonio Armijo forged a trade route from Santa Fe to Los Angeles known as the Old Spanish Trail (now known as the Mormon Trail). To avoid Death Valley, he jogged to the area of Red Rock Canyon.

— Intrigued by the writings of John C. Fremont, settlers moved through the valley on their way west. Bonnie Springs Ranch was originally built in 1843 as a stopover for the wagon trains using the Old Spanish Trail. (About then, the Blue Diamond area was also seeing its first white inhabitants with the Cottonwood Ranch.) By 1860, it had a one-room cabin and a blacksmith shop.

— Bonnie Springs Ranch would eventually be bought in 1952 by Bonnie McGaugh Levinson, whose Hollywood ties saw her ice skating with Sonja Henie in major shows across the country. She ran a restaurant/bar that today continues the tradition of pinning dollar bills to the collection of neckties that hang from the ceiling. Today, the Old West lives on at the 115-acre ranch with reenacted gunfights and hangings performed for the tourists.

— Just down the road, another early claim in the area was made by Bill Williams in 1864, who settled at what is now Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. Back then, it was called the Sandstone Ranch. Nestled close to the mountain, its 3,800-foot elevation means a 10- to 15-degree difference from the heat of downtown Las Vegas. Its name would change to the Bar Nothing Ranch when Chester Lauck, Lum of "Lum 'n Abner" fame, came on the scene in the mid-1940s. Cattle rustling occurred during his ownership.

— In a letter to park personnel, Lauck wrote, "It would have been a highly successful ranching operation but the cattle rustlers kept pretty busy thinning them out for me. They didn't drive them off in herds like in the Western movies but since it was not fenced, they would drive out in a pickup truck, shoot a steer and take off. Sometimes they would dress them out on the spot. In one year, by actual count, they had stolen over 400 head."

— In 1955, Spring Mountain Ranch was bought from Lauck by Vera Krupp, an intriguing, German-born beauty who was a baroness by marriage at age 20, appeared in European movies and arrived in Nevada after a divorce from a millionaire industrialist. She owned a huge Harry Winston diamond ring, flaunting it whenever she socialized in Las Vegas. The ranch came to national attention in 1959 when burglars broke in about 3 a.m., tied up Krupp and her foreman and stole the ring. It led to a manhunt that ended with the diamond being located in the Midwest. The robbers were so inept, they left behind $200,000 in other gems that they'd stolen. The 33.19-carat, Asscher-cut diamond would later be purchased by Richard Burton, who had it reset for his wife, another movie star — Elizabeth Taylor. The ranch was later sold by Krupp to a tool company owned by Howard Hughes. It is doubtful that Hughes ever set foot on the land.

— These days, Spring Mountain Ranch hosts actors in costume telling tales in first person, and other special programs pay homage to historic times, such as mountain men and Civil War reenactments. The ranch is also known for its outdoor Super Summer Theatre series that runs May through September. Call 702-594-7529.

The Friends Of Red Rock Canyon just released a book, "Seekers, Saints & Scoundrels: The Colorful Characters of Red Rock Canyon," available at friendsofredrockcanyon.org and in the gift shop at the Visitor Center, 1000 Scenic Loop Drive. It's written by members who have a knack for history and are passionate about maintaining the area for future generations.

Editor Sharon Schaaf said she first learned of the numerous mines in the area while doing research for the book.

"I didn't realize there were mines out there. I knew Blue Diamond was out there, but I had no clue there were so many other mines," she said. "There are more than anybody realizes. In my chapter, I mention about eight of them. They (miners) would dig a hole, and either there was never anything that was worth (pursuing), or if there was, it was too remote, and they couldn't get it out. So they left it."

She said hikers still report digging sites that the government has to have gated or roped off "to avoid having anyone fall in."

Today, the national conservation area covers 195,819 acres and sees more than 2 million visitors each year, who come for hiking, rock climbing, cycling, horseback riding and sightseeing.

Visit redrockcanyonlv.org.

— To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.