Cathedral Gorge State Park

From Pioche we drove down a long hill for just a few miles and could see the thermometer adding another degree every mile or so, until we reached +10 at the entrance to Cathedral Gorge State Park.

The small visitor centre looked deserted, not a single car in the parking lot. It was probably not worth keeping it open in the winter, we figured. To our surprise, however, the doors were open – and the heat was on inside! Nobody was around to take our money or give information, but several brochures were there for the taking. Good! We could bring our cooler in here and have the breakfast we couldn’t get in Pioche. Bread, cheese and sliced turkey, plus a couple of oranges would sustain us through the first part of the day. Coffee I had been able to make in the motel room, so I was ready for anything.

Armed with a map of the hiking trails we drove the short distance to the fee station, happy that we could pay our dues after we had enjoyed the hospitality of the visitor centre. Here, too, the parking lot was completely empty. In the summer it must be a totally different story; the park has some magnificent scenery and nice camping facilities.

We had chosen a four-mile loop hike, long enough for a windy, cool day when we wanted to move on later. We bundled up, including hats and gloves, and, trusting the brightening sky, I left my rain jacket in the car and took my down vest instead. 

All around us rose the golden walls of the gorge, the spires truly reminiscent of a cathedral. Erosion had created the most fantastic shapes. We followed the half-mile nature hike, where signs explain about the flora and fauna of the area, to the picnic area. From there we started our loop hike along sculpted walls. The rain that fell the night before must have been heavy enough to make it muddy in many places, even though it is quite sandy. We had to step carefully to avoid the stickiest mud where we could. Soon a sign directed us to keep walking in the washout; sign posts would show us the way. Here, the sand was firm for the most part, like the sand on an ocean beach where the tide has recently receded. This was much better to walk on. The rushing water had created beautiful art work with the different coloured sands. 

After some time, however, we had to leave the winding draw and were back on the trail, which here, on the opposite side of the gorge, was not as muddy, covered with small gravel for the most part. There were small caves in the spired walls, but visitors were encouraged to stay on the trails. Tracks in the sand showed the presence of some small animals: pack rats and kangaroo rats make their homes here, but also coyotes, desert foxes and cougars, many lizards, plus a multitude of birds, including golden eagles. At least we didn’t have to worry about snake encounters today …

After a couple of hours we reached our car again, cleaned the mud off our hiking boots as best we could, and headed for the city of Las Vegas where we had decided to spend the night for convenience’s sake.