Colorado

Veterans Day weekend is a wonderful time to be in the desert on the Nevada–Arizona border, and our group had an unforgettable three days exploring the deep walls, hot springs, and quiet corners of Black Canyon. With young kids and family along, we appreciated how simple the logistics were. We flew into Las Vegas, rented a van, stocked up at Trader Joe’s, and spent the night at the Hacienda Hotel and Casino in Boulder City. We had arranged for rental boats, and our driver arrived with our canoes the next morning. We loaded gear onto his trailer in the hotel parking lot, and he provided the mandatory shuttle that carries boaters to the base of Hoover Dam. Our rental van was shuttled to Willow Beach, 12 miles downstream, to await our downstream take-out.

We reached the launch at 9:30 a.m. and slid onto the river within the required fifteen-minute window at 9:45. Our group consisted of four canoes carrying seven adults and three kids. With warm sun on the water and no need to hurry, we made only modest downstream progress on our first day—about three and a half miles—and spent most of our time exploring the side canyons. Sauna Cave offered a surreal walk through mist and warm air in a dark chamber, and both Goldstrike Canyon and Boy Scout Canyon held beautiful soaking pools tucked between narrow walls and polished rock, with plenty of fun slot-canyon climbing for the kids.

That evening we made camp on the broad alluvial fan at the mouth of White Rock Canyon, adjacent to Ringbolt Rapids. A few other groups were camped in the general area of White Rock and in Arizona Canyon just downstream, but the space is generous and everyone was able to settle into their own corner of the canyon. At dusk the river fell quiet and the desert cooled. After dark, the stillness was broken by the unmistakable scream of a mountain lion somewhere up the canyon—a sound that stayed with us as we remembered the desert bighorn sheep we had been spotting throughout the trip.

Our second day was a layover day, set aside for exploring on foot. From camp we hiked up White Rock Canyon and followed the old jeep track across the desert toward Arizona Canyon, which drops steeply back toward the river. The descent required a bit of agility, with a few short downclimbs into the drainage. Midway down we reached Petroglyph Wash, where large boulders are covered in intricate designs chipped into the desert varnish. The climax of the loop, however, was the hot spring hidden within the narrow walls of Arizona Canyon. We soaked in the warm pools while watching a tarantula move along the canyon wall—a quiet, mesmerizing moment in a place that already feels far removed from the modern world and the lights of Las Vegas.

The loop from White Rock Canyon up to the desert bench and down Arizona Canyon took us about six hours at a relaxed pace, leaving plenty of time in the afternoon to enjoy camp and the river.

Our final day was our longest on the water. We packed up slowly and pushed off around 9:30 a.m. for the downstream paddle to Willow Beach. The miles went by easily, and by 1:30 p.m. we were gliding into the marina where our van was waiting. We left the canoes for the outfitter to retrieve and were soon driving back toward Las Vegas in the mid-afternoon, relaxed and grateful for three days in a canyon that rewards unhurried travel.