Silver Reef
The 300-yard Silver Reef trail starts at BLM’s Red Cliffs Campground near the vault toilets. A single-track dirt and rocky trail, it involves a few steeper climbs on slick rock substrate that is suitable for most hikers and closed to bikers due to wilderness designation. The elevation gain is about 115 feet, but the excellent views from the overlook justify the climb. The easy to moderately difficult trail lies entirely within the Red Cliffs NCA managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Trail signposts denote multiple dinosaur track sites along the trail and an offshoot that breaks off from the main trail near its lower end.
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- Red Cliffs Recreation area map showing the relative location of the Silver Reef trail to the Red Cliffs Campground and other trails.
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- The trail begins at the campground restrooms on the north side of the paved loop.
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- The trail heads up into a beautiful box canyon that is part of the red sandstone formations throughout the recreation area.
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- The trail heads up part of a rocky incline on its way to the overlook.
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- Portions of the trail cross through red slick rock.
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- The trail has two segments on which visitors will find signs indicating paleontological resources that can be viewed by hikers on the trail.
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- Several dinosaur tracks may be found by observant visitors along portions of the trail marked by signs.
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- The trail ends at an elevated overlook about 300 yards from the start. Views of the surrounding red rock country are exceptional.
