I’ve been kicking about Red Rocks for a couple of weeks now, and I think I’m starting to get the hang of the place. In this post I’ll list a few places that I’ve found handy for a camping traveller visiting Red Rocks for the first time. I guess some of this will be more applicable to non-US visitors, but we’ll see. I think this post will likely evolve over the next few weeks if I pick up any other tips along the way.
This is certainly not a comprehensive guide, and is of course not as valuable as advice from a local. Rather, this is just some tips that I have picked up in my first two weeks here. Anything incorrect, or any obvious omissions, please let me know in the comments.
Accommodation
I have been mostly camping since I got here, but I had a night in the Rio when I arrived, and then a few nights in an Airbnb while I got myself organised for the rest of the trip.
A point to be aware of if staying in a hotel. There are typically ‘resort fees’ when you arrive which will add about $30 p/n or so to the cost of your stay. As far as I know changing the advertised price like that is not legal in the UK, so it might be a bit unexpected. The Rio was a cool place to stay for a night though, and the $10 entry to the Voodoo rooftop nightclub was worth it for the view alone.
There are hundreds of low cost Airbnb’s in Vegas. You can’t really go wrong. I just got the one closest to the climbing that was in my price range.
The Red Rocks Campground (located here) is the only nearby option for camping. Some points about the camp site:
- You can only stay for 14 days out of every 28 days. So be careful if you are planning a longer trip.
- The rangers are really nice people and very helpful.
- There are no showers…
- There is drinking water available, although it tastes a bit like a swimming pool. It’s fine for cooking with, washing dishes etc, but I would recommend buying bottled drinking water.
- Discounts are available with certain national park cards, although the $80 annual pass does NOT allow a discount unfortunately.
- It’s bloody freezing at night in February and a Walmart sleeping bag will likely result in hypothermia!
Gearing Up
I guess most folk will travel with their stuff packed, but I decided to just buy camping kit when I arrived. My camping gear in the UK is wearing out anyway, and I would have needed to add another bag to my flight to get it all across here. There are a number of REI stores in Vegas that are really well stocked with camping and climbing kit, although they are a bit on the expensive side… For really cheap camping kit, Walmart is the answer….
HOWEVER… the stuff in Walmart is really really low quality and I would not recommend going this route. Buy cheap, buy twice – a lesson that I need to re-learn on a regular basis!
I have already been to REI to replace my Walmart sleeping bag with a decent one, and the Walmart tent ($50 – pictured above) offers basically no resistance to the wind at all, and is next on the list to get replaced. I did get a perfectly decent airbed, blanket, and pillow in Walmart though so there are some things that you can get cheaply there. But, unless you like to sleep shivering and freezing cold in what feels like a wind tunnel, the tents and sleeping bags are to be avoided!
I travelled with most of my climbing kit, but I’ve picked up a few incidentals at Desert Rock Sports (located here). The staff seem to know what they are talking about, and it’s pretty well stocked with gear. There are a couple of other climbing stores, but this one has done for us so far.
Civilisation
I camped for more or less ten weeks straight in Europe last year and had no problems, but there are certain considerations to be aware of if you’re doing a long term camp here. Firstly, in Europe the camp sites more or less all have hot showers – not so in the desert. The Red Rock Climbing Centre (located here) offers showers for $4 which is a bit expensive, but totally worth it! It’s a cool looking indoor centre as well, worth a look if the weather’s poor.
There is no WiFi in the camp site, and only patchy phone signal. I am getting a sniff of 3G from AT&T in the camp site, although it’s really slow. Good enough for occasional WhatsApp messages, and that’s about it. The best place that I’ve found so far for WiFi is ‘The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’ (located here). This is a decent enough cafe with fast WiFi and good coffee, and it’s a very short drive from the camp site.
Eating
I’m on a fairly strict budget here, so I am mostly trying to cook for myself at the camp site. I stocked up on camp cooking kit at REI, and have been mostly buying grub at Albertsons. There is a store really close to the camp site, and I think the extra cost for produce vs Walmart is worth it for a step up in quality.
It’s incredibly easy to get run down when you’re camping at night and exercising all day, so I think that making sure you’re properly fed is a decent investment. I might actually write up a post on camp site cooking for climbing survival… Watch this space.
Transport – I hate rental car companies
I’m staying in the states till the 8th July, and planning to travel around the national parks and climb as much as possible. So I basically need a car for the whole time I’m here. The best deal that I have managed to find so far is through Turo, although at $50 a day it really starts to add up.
A point to note for European / UK travellers. As far as I can tell, the basic price that you get quoted from a rental car company does not include insurance OF ANY SORT AT ALL. This is because most American personal car insurance covers rental cars as well as your own car. Unlike in Europe, the ‘extra insurance’ that the rental company pushes on you is not really optional, it’s a legal minimum requirement. If you do not have cover through your own insurance, you are 100% liable for any damage caused to the rental car, anyone else’s car, or basically anything. This is total bastard, particularly if you are here for five months… The insurance top up through Enterprise is $30 p/d – nearly $4000 for me to insure a car for 5 months…. Obviously not going to happen.
My backup plan was to just buy a car, but that is also a nightmare to get insurance without a permanent address in the USA. I think the may be a solution going through an insurance broker, but I’m not there yet. In fact, I’m writing this post as a way of procrastinating on getting the car situation sorted out.
If I ever get to the bottom of this, I’ll write up a post on how I solved it. For now, I’m out $50 a day for an old Toyota, and that might well be the best deal I can get.
General Tips
Getting around Vegas is really easy. It took us a few days to get orientated with respect to accommodation, showers, WiFi etc. The only outstanding concern is the car situation, which I’ll get sorted eventually.
I’ve been intentionally avoiding the Strip and the Casinos so far, but I’ll venture in for a look at some point I guess.
Everyone that I have met in Vegas, in the camp site and out climbing have been brilliant so far. Very friendly and helpful. Particular thanks to the folks who jump started our car after we left a phone charging in it…
I think this post will evolve as I keep exploring. And please, let me know anything I’ve missed or messed up in the comments.
Andy
Gone Climbing 