These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
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As much time as we spent in and around Las Vegas, we barely visited Lake Mead. On our last trip to hike the challenging Moapa Peak, we stumbled upon a little gem of a hike inside Lake Mead National Recreation Area: White Owl Canyon. Only about a 30-minute drive from Las Vegas, White Owl Canyon, or Owl Canyon, is a short yet fun hike that takes hikers to 3 slot canyons near the edge of Lake Mead. The walls are serpentine and sculpted for over 0.5 miles, with the narrowest section being fairly short. This trail is named after the white barn owls that live in the canyon. For a short hike of around 3 miles round trip, it’s definitely worth the adventure.
There are white owls that live in the canyon. You can spot them by keeping an eye out for “whitewash” (owl poop) on the rock walls, and nests or watching the ground for pellets. During nesting season in early spring, we recommend staying out of this canyon so the owls can nest in peace.
White Owl Canyon Trailhead
33 Hole Overlook, Boulder City, NV 89005
36.111476, -114.844265
Big paved parking lot
There is a fee to enter Lake Mead National Recreation Area. For more information, check out the park’s website. You can also use your America the Beautiful pass!
Vault toilet at the trailhead.
Dogs are allowed on the trail as long as they are kept on a leash (no more than 6 feet long). However, if you take your pup, they may struggle on a few areas of the trail that required a moderate scramble down a 8-10 foot rock wall.
3.2 mi loop
252 ft
Moderate.
Takes average 2-3 hours
The best time to visit is during late fall, winter or spring when the weather is cooler. If you’re visiting in the warmer season, make sure to go early in the morning.
White Owl Canyon trail Trailhead is located at 33 Hole Overlook, Boulder City, NV 89005, inside the Lake Mead National Park. We also put the coordinates above. The trailhead is located at the first parking lot on the left from the 33 Hole turnoff. There is a metal sign that says “Owl Canyon” at the trailhead, near a picnic table.
The White Owl Canyon Trail is unmaintained, so, it is easy to get turned around. There is also no signal here. Therefore, we recommend downloading an offline map before getting there. Besides that, we also bring our Garmin InReach for tracking purposes. Make sure to bring enough water and snacks. There are no services around. For recommended gear, check out our list below.
We got to the trailhead in the late afternoon since we were on our way to Moapa Valley for our hike to Moapa Peak the next day. The parking lot of mostly empty. After parking, we headed toward the metal sign for “Owl Canyon.” From here, we could see a worn trail, leading down a steep hill. This hill is quite steep and can be slippery due to the loose gravel. So, make sure to watch your footing.
Once we got down to the bottom of the steep incline, we followed the wide path to cross over to the other side of the wash and continued along a worn trail. At about 0.2 miles, we came across an unnoticeable fork. At this fork, the trail turns into a loop. We went left (clockwise) because we wanted to check out the canyons first.
At this point, the trail follows along the wash into the White Owl Canyon. The canyon walls soon narrowed down significantly. This was our favorite canyon on this trail. The walls are convoluted, towering on both sides. Along the canyons, we spotted owl poops, nests and feathers. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any owls on our hike. However, we saw hundreds of white shells dotting the sandy wash.
These shells are a type of Asian freshwater clam that was accidentally introduced to Lake Mead back in the 1960s. These clams were believed to have been transported to the U.S. over 100 years ago and slowly spread across the country. They are considered an invasive species. Back then, most of the White Owl Canyon trail was underwater, unfornately, Lake Mead now receded back, leaving the clam shells behind.
After leaving the first narrow section of the canyon, we came upon a corrugated drainage pipe in the middle of the canyon. After taking some fun photos here, we went through the pipe to the other side.
The canyon continued for a bit longer before we came across another drainage. This one has 2 tunnels instead of 1 like the one before. At this point, there are 2 options you can take. We went with the more exciting one and climbed up to the top of the 2-tunnels drainage to get to the paved bike path, the River Mountain Loop, above. If this is not your thing, you can go under this 2-tunnel drainage to the other side. When you see the red rocks on your left, make sure to keep an eye out for a nondescript rock arrow on the ground. This arrow leads uphill to the paved bike path. Make sure to go up the hill to the paved road. If you keep going straight, you’ll come to a dead-end and have to backtrack.
Once we climbed up the drainage to the River Mountain Loop bike path, we turned right (northeast) to continue on our way. If you cross under the drainage and climb up via the red rock area, you’ll want to go left once you reach the paved path. When we first got up here, we saw 3 coyotes crossing over the road. Lucky they weren’t hungry! After about 0.25 miles on the paved bike path, we hang a right to get back down to the canyon below. This turn here is just before the next barely visible metal drainage.
After we got down to the sandy wash, we followed the trail to go through another drainage before coming across a short canyon with a couple of down-climbs sections that can be challenging for some people. It is not that bad, especially with some help.
Eventually, the canyon opened up. Make sure to keep an eye on your offline map so you won’t miss that right turn. Once we got on this path, the trail was well-marked. This section of White Owl Canyon trail ran along the edge of Lake Mead. We could tell that the water used to be much higher before. Nowadays, it’s all the way out. When we were here, we were treated with a helicopter doing its practice run of hovering above the water and retrieving it. It was quite fun to watch.
On this side of the White Owl Canyon trail, we also got to see large rock formations as well as the expansive view of the valley with Lake Mead serving as its backdrop. The trail traces along the edge of the lake before joining back up with the original path. From here, we could see the picnic pavilions and the parking lot sitting above the hill. We made it just in time for the sunset.
If you’re looking for more fun hikes in the area, we love the Historic Railroad Trail, Goldstrike Hot Springs, and Arizona Hot Springs. They’re super fun!
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
Nice to meet you!
Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of That Adventure Life. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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