The BLM Visitor Center, at the start of the byway, is the best place to start your drive. Inside are exhibits that detail Red Rock Canyon's geology, natural history, and history. Maps, brochures, books, and handouts are also available. The byway climbs northwest from the Visitor Center toward the Calico Hills, a scenic outcrop of Aztec sandstone domes seamed by narrow, redrock canyons. Two overlooks provide great views of the hills.
Short trails begin at each overlook, leading down across a wash and into the hills.
In spring you can find small pools of water among the rocks, vital drinking holes for the area's forty-five mammal species. The Red Rock Canyon region teems with wildlife, including wild burros, bighorn sheep, kit fox, coyote, mule deer, and bats. Cooler temperatures than the surrounding desert, forty natural springs, and a diversity of plants in the deep canyons provides ideal habitat for animals. A good 2.5-mile hike to Calico Tanks begins at Sandstone Quarry, at the western end of the Calico Hills. The trail follows a wash north and east to a large tinaja or natural water tank.