The paved path starts at the northwest corner of West Charleston Boulevard and Sky Vista Drive. It runs 12 feet wide along the north side of State Route 159 for just under a mile, then stops at the "Welcome to Red Rock" sign, which has been moved a little farther west and now has its own pull-off lot for photos. The paved trail ends there. Past the sign, the road keeps going toward the fee station. Since October 1, a car going through that station between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. needs a timed-entry reservation.
This is the first reservation season since Phase 1 of the Red Rock Legacy Trail opened. The new trail doesn't change how you get onto the 13-Mile Scenic Drive yet. Arriving early and arriving without a car are still the two ways in without booking a slot. Those rules, plus what's still missing from the trail, decide how a Summerlin morning at Red Rock goes between now and May 31.
Where the pavement stops, and why
The Review-Journal covered the completion ceremony on April 28, when cyclists and officials gathered to mark the finished segment. On May 11, 8 News Now rode the trail live with Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones. They pointed out the new parking lot near the Charleston and Sky Vista intersection and the sign's safer new spot with a designated lot in front of it.
The trail was supposed to go farther. According to Clark County's project page, the original Phase 1 design ran from Charleston and Sky Vista all the way to the entrance of the Red Rock Visitor Center and the Scenic Loop. Funding fell short, so crews built the first 0.99 miles, which connects to where Phase 2 will begin. The county's Phase 1 plans also called for road changes aimed at drivers:
- Deceleration lanes at Calico Basin Road
- A deceleration lane at the access drive to the new sign parking lot
- A deceleration lane at the road to the Scenic Loop and Visitor Center
Las Vegas Paving built that first segment from a Jacobs design, paid for mainly through a Federal Lands Access Program grant.
What's funded and what has a date
The rest of the trail is a set of pieces at different stages. Some have money, some have finished designs, and the one closest to the Scenic Drive has neither a start date nor a finished build.
| Segment | Where it goes | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Charleston and Sky Vista to the relocated Red Rock sign, 0.99 miles | Built and open |
| Phase 1 extension | From the current trail end to the Visitor Center and Scenic Loop entrance | Funding approved by the Regional Transportation Commission in December 2024; no start date set |
| Phase 2 | From the end of Phase 1 to the Scenic Loop exit, 6.61 miles | Design 70% complete as of August 2025; Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act grant |
The Phase 2 route takes the trail under SR 159 through an underpass, curves it south and west away from the highway, and brings it back north at Moenkopi Road. It then follows the south side of the highway until a second underpass near the Scenic Loop entrance puts trail users back on the north side, where they can reach the Visitor Center and the loop. That second underpass is where the trail would finally reach the gate.
The full plan is bigger than any one phase. In the same 8 News Now segment, Commissioner Jones described a 19-mile trail running from the edge of Summerlin to Blue Diamond Road and said he expected the whole project to be done within two and a half years of that May broadcast. For this October through May, the gap between the sign and the fee station is still there.
Three ways through the fee station this season
Recreation.gov's timed-entry page lays out the rules, and they split by how you arrive and what time you get there.
| How you arrive | Timed-entry reservation? | What you pay at the kiosk |
|---|---|---|
| Car through the fee station before 8 a.m. | Not required | $20 vehicle entry, or a valid pass |
| Car between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. | Required, one slot per vehicle per day | $20 vehicle entry plus $2 reservation fee |
| Walking or biking, e-bikes and onewheels included | Not required | $5 per pedestrian, $8 per bicycle, or a valid pass |
Motorcycles and scooters pay $10 to enter and still need a reservation during reservation hours. The 8 a.m. cutoff is strict. The climbers' section of the Recreation.gov reservation page says the system starts requiring a reservation automatically at 8 a.m. and the requirement "can not be overridden." A car that's still in line at 8:01 needs a slot.
The pre-dawn option has more room than it seems. The Scenic Drive opens at 6 a.m. all year, so in late October that leaves a two-hour window to get through without a reservation. Once you're in, you can stay as long as the drive is open that day. In October the drive closes at 7 p.m. From November through February it closes at 5 p.m. A 7:45 a.m. entry on a November Saturday still gets you more than nine hours.
The walk-in and bike category is where the Legacy Trail matters most this season, even though the trail stops short. A cyclist who parks at the new lot near Charleston and Sky Vista doesn't need a reservation at the kiosk, whatever time they arrive. They pay the $8 bicycle fee or show a pass.
If you're driving in after 8 a.m.
Driving in mid-morning takes planning, and the booking system runs on its own schedule:
- Book 30 days ahead or 2 days ahead. Both releases open at 7 a.m. Pacific on a rolling daily schedule. On November 1, for example, the two-day release opens slots for November 3.
- Book up to the start of your slot if any are left. Advance reservations can be made right up until your entry time.
- Arrive on time. Each slot is an hour long, and you can show up as much as 30 minutes early.
- Bring the person who booked. The reservation holder has to be in the vehicle when it enters.
- Download the ticket before you leave home. Cell coverage is limited, so the ticket should be printed or saved on your phone and ready to scan before you get to the entrance station.
The Visitor Center causes the most re-entry trouble. It's open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the reservation page says to go there first if you plan to visit, because coming back onto the Scenic Drive after your one-hour window takes a new reservation. The Visitor Center is also the only place with flush toilets and water bottle refill stations. The vault toilets along the drive have no water.
A reservation gets your car through the gate, but it doesn't save you a parking space. Lots fill early on weekends, holidays and fee-free days, and Recreation.gov warns that visitors who arrive between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. "can not assume that all parking lots will be open."
Pass holders still book
Annual and lifetime pass holders often expect to skip the reservation, and they can't. America the Beautiful and other eligible annual or lifetime passes cover the entrance fee, but a car with a pass still needs a timed-entry reservation during reservation hours and still pays the $2 nonrefundable reservation fee. You add the pass information at checkout. At the entrance, the reservation page asks pass holders to show the physical pass for validation.
Pass holders get no exemption from the reservation itself, only from the entrance fee. The same pass covers the fee for walk-in and bike visitors, and they skip the reservation step entirely. Anyone who bought an annual pass so they can go often has a good reason to try the early entry or the bike at least once this fall.
Fees paid or passes bought on the day you arrive are not refundable.
Until the second underpass is built
The reservation season runs October 1 through May 31, and from June 1 through September 30 no reservation is needed. That puts this season's end on May 31, 2027. Clark County hasn't scheduled the Phase 1 extension, and Phase 2 was still in design at its last published update, so the trail probably won't reach the Scenic Loop before then. Until it does, the Legacy Trail is a place to go in its own right. It's a mile of paved path with a new parking lot at one end and a photo stop at the relocated sign at the other.
When the Legacy Trail does reach the Scenic Loop, the walk or ride from Summerlin to the fee station will change, and so will the way some households weigh being close to Red Rock. If you'd like to talk about which parts of Summerlin sit closest to the Charleston and Sky Vista trailhead, or how outdoor access like this affects a home's value, Atherley & Pearson Real Estate is glad to help. Contact Us whenever you're ready.
