Christmas Tree Pass & Grapevine Canyon

If you are looking for a nice day-trip from Las Vegas, try a back road that connects Searchlight and Laughlin, NV. The road, called Christmas Tree Pass, travels through the desert high-country and ends at Grapevine Canyon. A year-round stream that runs through the canyon once quenced the thirst of the Paiutes whose drawings decorate the canyon’s wall (see my Petroglyph gallery). You can reach Christmas Tree Pass on US 95 a few miles south of Searchlight. It is a dirt road but easily navigable. If you prefer paved roads, drive towards Laughlin on US 163. Shortly before you reach Laughlin, you will see on a dirt road labeled Grapevine Canyon. The canyon is just a few miles off the highway.