This beautiful and scenic wonder of California was established as a state park in 1968.
The spectacular gash situated at the western edge of the El Paso Mountain range was on the trade route for thousands of years by Native Americans. About 1850, it was used again, this time by the footsore survivors of the famous Death Valley trek including members of the Arcane and Bennett families along with some of the Illinois Jayhawkers.
Later some prospecting was done in the 1860's, then in 1893, placer gold activity began with hundreds of miners sifting the sands in the canyon. The canyon was also used as a passage in driving large flocks of sheep northward, as a stagecoach stop, as a railroad route, and later as a truck stop.
In more recent times, Red Rock Canyon has been the location of many movies (including "Jurassic Park").
In addition, the canyon is considered a wonderful classroom for the study of geology, paleontology, and photography as well as an ideal place for family camping and exploration.
The unique and colorful layers of white, pink, red, and brown cliffs grace both east and west sides of Highway 14. These fluted folds are the result of wind and rain eroding the softer materials beneath the dark caprocks, which were formed by a harder lave flow layer.
First time visitors may think of the desert as an empty and uninteresting badland. However, appreciation and interest grows as one becomes more acquainted with the area and the extreme conditions in which the different biotic communities exist.