Canyoneering Route Description

Antenna Canyon - 3A III
Stateline Hills, Nevada

Quick Facts

01-13-13, 11 people (and one chihuahua), 1 Day (Travel time in route 4.9 hours)

Time Required - 4 to 6 hours
Distance - 4.5 miles Total, 0.8 miles Technical
Rappels - 12 Rappels, Longest Rappel 185 feet.
Elevation Range - 3550 - 4750 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - High Clearance Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 185 feet and 80 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

Antenna Canyon is a good short day canyon with lots of downclimb opportunities and lots of anchor options for the rappels. A fun route if you find yourself out in the area.

Some of the downclimbs are relatively easy while a couple are more difficult. The rap count listed here is listed with the idea that some of the more difficult downclimbs were indeed downclimbed. In the future some may decide a rappel is their preferred option and you may find anchors for these drops. This will effect total rap count depending on how people have interacted with the canyon.

In the past someone had been going through the routes Rick I had publicly put out and placing un-needed bolts. Some of the drops in this canyon may have been bolted since my visit there in 2013.

Warning:
Some old mining equipment and structures to look at on the first part of the approach. You will also pass by the opening of a mine. It is a good idea to stay out of these.

Note / Navigation:
The route starts by hiking west up a wash past some mining remnants then leaves the wash by going up an old mining road to the southeast. The road to leave the wash can be easily overlooked since it cuts back almost like a U-turn and you may hike to another road also leaving the wash on the left. The two roads are 260 feet apart and it is difficult to verbally explain which you need. A GPS may be helpful to be sure you have the correct road.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From Las Vegas Nevada, drive south on I15. Exit the freeway at Jean, Nevada where the Gold Strike gambling hall is. Turn left (southeast) on Goodsprings Road and drive about 700 feet to Las Vegas Blvd (DPAntenna01). Turn right (south) on Las Vegas Blvd and follow it south. About 1.27 miles farther (just past the Jean Airport) the road will become less maintained and rougher but still be pavement (DPAntenna02). Continue on Las Vegas Blvd for 4 miles to a fork in the road (DPAntenna03). Stay straight at the fork to parallel the freeway for about 400 feet then turn right (west) at a corner (DPAntenna04) onto a dirt road.

Drive west under the freeway to a fork in the road on the other side of the freeway (DPAntenna05). Just before getting to this fork is a gate and cattle guard. Veer left (southwest) at the fork and travel southwest passing by a few small roads that cross. About 2 miles farther the road will cross a natural gas pipeline with a wide graded area (DPAntenna06). Continue southwest on the road for 2.8 miles to another fork (pkAntennaCyn) in the road near the base of the hills. Park here to begin the Antenna Canyon route.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle is needed.  This is done as a loop route.

Maps

GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom.  For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the Glossary page.

Click the links for maps of the route. Map of the drive into the route.
Map of the later portion of drive into route.
Map of the entire route.
Map of the technical section.

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkAntennaCyn) walk up the wash to the west. The mouth of Antenna Canyon can be seen to the south.

About 0.44 miles farther is a side drainage (Antenna01 ) that comes in on the right (north). Continue west up the wash.

About 0.28 miles farther is a mine opening (Antenna02) on the left (south) side.  Continue west up the wash. There are various mine related things to look at in this area.

About 0.4 miles farther is a road going up out of the wash (Antenna03) on the left leading southeast up the mountain side. This road is an old mining road but still in great condition for walking up.

Note:
This road can easily be overlooked since it cuts back almost like a U-turn. There is another road about 260 feet farther up the wash that can be mistaken for this road.  If you get to this second road (Antenna03a), turn around and walk down the wash about 260 feet to the proper road.

A little over 800 feet up from the wash the old mining road ends (Antenna04). Continue southeast contouring around the hill on what feels like a natural line to go around a ridge about 325 feet to the east.

As you go around the crest of the ridge (Antenna05), continue contouring up to the southeast. Route find and scramble your way about 500 feet to the southeast to get up onto a wide ridge line. The terrain gets rough here and you will need to route find your way and scramble via what ever route works for you.

Once up on the wide ridge line (Antenna06) you will be greeted with easy travel. Turn right and walk southwest up the ridge for about 1000 feet to where it tops out on another larger ridge.

Once on the larger ridge (Antenna07), continue southwest over the larger ridge and down the slope on the other side for about 600 feet down into a minor drainage.

once in the minor drainage (Antenna08), veer left (southeast) down the drainage scrambling over a few small drops along the way.

About 950 feet farther will be a drop of about 30 feet (yAntennaTp) where two drainages join. You can downclimb over a series of ledges to go over the drop or bypass the drop to the RDC side over to the joining drainage where you can then walk down a slope to the bottom. 

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From the 30 foot drop and confluence of drainages (yAntennaTp) continue east down the wash for about 600 feet to rap 1.

Rap 1 (dAntennaR01) is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 30 feet.

About 60 feet after rap 1 is a moderately difficult downclimb (Antenna09) of 10 to 12 feet. Shortly down canyon are a few more smaller drops to easily scramble down just before reaching rap 2.

Rap 2 (dAntennaR02) is anchored from a cairn anchor along the LDC wall and drops about 45 feet. There are 3 moderately easy downclimbs after rap 2 of about 10 to12 feet each before reaching a more difficult downclimb of about 15 feet.

The difficult downclimb of about 15 feet (Antenna10) has the first 5 feet is awkward and moderately difficult. A meat anchor and rope can be given for all but the last person who can then downclimb. With this being a more difficult downclimb there may be anchors in place here in the future when others decide they prefer to rappel.

A couple more downclimbs of about 8 feet then 12 feet before reaching rap 3.

Rap 3 (dAntennaR03) is anchored from a choke stone where the anchor webbing is threaded through a crack about 12 feet back from the drop and drops about 30 feet.

A few more easy downclimbs between raps 3 and 4.

Rap 4 (dAntennaR04) is anchored on the RDC from pinch point between a boulder and the wall about 15 feet back and drops about 45 feet using about 60 feet of rope.  Rap 4 has a lot of white deposits on the rock and goes past an overhang near the top.  Rap 5 is about 140 feet farther.

Rap 5 (dAntennaR05-6) is anchored from a small pocket / arch in the canyon floor and drops about 60 feet over 2 stages. Optionally a cairn anchor can be built.

Rap 6, just at the bottom of rap 5 is anchored from a small tree and drops about 20 feet. Optionally a cairn anchor can be built or you can anchor from some small pockets in the RDC wall.  Rap 7 is about 250 feet down canyon.

Rap 7 (dAntennaR07-8) is anchored from a small arch in the rock about shin high and drops about 20 feet. There are a couple of short scramble / downclimbs to get down to rap 7.

Rap 8, shortly after rap 7, is anchored from a small bush and drops about 20 feet. Optionally Rap 8 can be bypassed via an exposed and moderately difficult downclimb on the RDC side. Rap 9 is about 170 feet farther down canyon.

Rap 9 (dAntennaR09) is anchored from a bush and drops about 12 feet over a large boulder.  There are a couple of moderately difficult downclimbs of about 8 feet shortly down canyon.  Rap 10 is about 100 feet down canyon.

Rap 10 (dAntennaR10) is anchored from a cairn anchor on the RDC side and drops about 25 feet. Multiple short scrambles / downclimbs between rap 10 and rap 11.

Rap 11 (dAntennaR11) is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 15 feet. Optionally rap 11 can be downclimbed on the LDC side on a ledge system but is difficult or downclimbed directly in the watercourse where you will need to spread out rather wide to stem down.

After rap 11 are a few easy scrambles / downclimbs one of which is a sloped slide of about 10 feet.

Rap 12 (dAntennaR12) is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 185 feet with multiple ledges on the way down. The last 15 to 20 feet can be downclimbed if you find yourself short on rope. It is an easy wash walk down canyon from here.

About 0.23 miles farther is a side drainage (Antenna12) that drops in from the left (northwest) and the canyon walls are dropping but still high enough to be called a canyon. As you walk down canyon from here keep an eye on the hills in the distance to note a dirt road which you will be route finding your way to.

About 850 feet farther the walls drop down (yAntennaBt) and you are in rolling desert where another wash comes in from the left (northwest). At this point you can see the highway way off in the distance to the east and you can see a dirt road up on a hill about 900 feet way to the northeast.

Exit the wash at this confluence by walking north up the slope and route finding your way toward the dirt road that can be seen about 900 feet to the northeast.

The Exit:
As you exit the wash (yAntennaBt) and walk toward the dirt road, the route crosses another wash (Antenna13). Walk north up the steeper slope to get onto a dirt road about 300 feet away.

Once up on the dirt road (Antenna14) follow the road north then northeast back to the parking area.

About 800 feet farther is a fork in the road (Antenna15). Stay right / straight and walk about 900 feet back to the car park (pkAntennaCyn).

GPS Waypoint Information

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........

Antenna Canyon (1) - Drive to Trailhead

DPAntenna01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.77886   W -115.32436        Elev: NaN Feet After exiting I15 turn right (south) here on Las Vegas Blvd. DPAntenna02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.76481   W -115.33471        Elev: NaN Feet Road becomes less mantained and rougher but still pavement. DPAntenna03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.71487   W -115.36444        Elev: NaN Feet Continue straight at the fork to parrallel the freeway. DPAntenna04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.71387   W -115.36480        Elev: NaN Feet Turn right (west) and follow the dirt road under the freeway. DPAntenna05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.71415   W -115.36655        Elev: NaN Feet Go to the left (southwest) at the fork. Just before getting to this fork is a gate and cattle gaurd. DPAntenna06          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.70341   W -115.39997        Elev: NaN Feet Road crosses a natural gas pipeline with a wide graded area. Continue southwest n the road you are on. pkAntennaCyn          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.69349   W -115.42874        Elev: 3,550 Feet Park at this fork in the road to begin the Antenna Canyon route. To start the route for Antenna Canyon, walk up the wash to the west. The mouth of Antenna Canyon can be seen to the south.

Antenna Canyon (2) - Approach

pkAntennaCyn          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.69349   W -115.42874        Elev: 3,550 Feet Park at this fork in the road to begin the Antenna Canyon route. To start the route for Antenna Canyon, walk up the wash to the west. The mouth of Antenna Canyon can be seen to the south. Antenna01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.69413   W -115.43638        Elev: NaN Feet Side drainage comes in on the right (north). Continue west up the wash. Antenna02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.69173   W -115.44024        Elev: NaN Feet A mine opening on the left (south) side. Continue west up the wash. There are various mine related things to look at in this area. Antenna03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.69021   W -115.44655        Elev: 4,190 Feet Road going up out of the wash on the left leading southeast up the mountain side. This road is an old mining road but still in great condition for walking up. Note: This road can easily be overlooked since it cuts back almost like a U-turn. There is another road about 260 feet farther up the wash that can be mistaken for this road. Antenna03a          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68990   W -115.44736        Elev: NaN Feet A road going up the hillside to the left (south) but is NOT the road you want. If you get to this second road, turn around and walk down the wash about 260 feet to the proper road. Antenna04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68910   W -115.44444        Elev: NaN Feet Old mining road ends. Continue southeast contouring around the hill on what feels like a natural line to go around a ridge about 325 feet to the east. Antenna05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68888   W -115.44336        Elev: NaN Feet Go around the crest of the ridge here and continue contouring up to the southeast. Route find and scramble your way about 500 feet to the southeast to get up onto a wide ridge line. The terrain gets rough here and you will need to route find your way and scramble via what ever route works for you. Antenna06          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68813   W -115.44189        Elev: 4,550 Feet On a large ridge easy to travel ridge. Turn right and walk southwest up the ridge for about 1000 feet to where it tops out on another larger ridge. Antenna07          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68627   W -115.44432        Elev: 4,750 Feet Ridge tops out here where it meets a larger ridge. Continue southwest over the larger ridge and down the slope on the other side for about 600 feet down into a minor drainage. Antenna08          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68476   W -115.44528        Elev: NaN Feet In a minor drainage. Veer left (southeast) down the drainage scrambling over a few small drops along the way. yAntennaTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68347   W -115.44287        Elev: NaN Feet Drop of about 30 feet where two drainages join. You can downclimb over a series of ledges to go over the drop or bypass the drop to the RDC side over to the joining drainage where you can then walk down a slope to the bottom.

Antenna Canyon (3) - The Canyon

yAntennaTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68347   W -115.44287        Elev: NaN Feet Drop of about 30 feet where two drainages join. You can downclimb over a series of ledges to go over the drop or bypass the drop to the RDC side over to the joining drainage where you can then walk down a slope to the bottom. dAntennaR01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68349   W -115.44102        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 1 - Antenna Canyon, Anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 30 feet. Antenna09          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68341   W -115.44080        Elev: NaN Feet Moderately difficult downclimb of 10 to 12 feet. Shortly down canyon are a few more smaller drops to easily scramble down just before reaching rap 2. dAntennaR02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68343   W -115.44028        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 2 - Antenna Canyon, anchored from a cairn anchor along the LDC wall and drops about 45 feet. There are 3 moderately easy downclimbs after rap 2 of about 10 to12 feet each before reaching a more difficult downclimb of about 15 feet. Antenna10          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68337   W -115.43938        Elev: NaN Feet Downclimb of about 15 feet where the first 5 feet is awkward and moderately difficult. A meat anchor and rope can be given for all but the last person who can then downclimb. With this being a more difficult downclimb there may be anchors in place here in the future when others decide they prefer to rappel. A couple more downclimbs of about 8 feet then 12 feet before reaching rap 3. dAntennaR03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68346   W -115.43912        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 3 - Antenna Canyon, anchored from a choke stone where the anchor webbing is threaded through a crack about 12 feet back from the drop and drops about 30 feet. A few more easy downclimbs between raps 3 and 4. dAntennaR04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68359   W -115.43893        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 4 - Antenna Canyon, anchored on the RDC from pinch point between a boulder and the wall about 15 feet back and drops about 45 feet using about 60 feet of rope. Rap 4 has a lot of white deposits on the rock and goes past an overhang near the top. dAntennaR05-6          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68389   W -115.43865        Elev: NaN Feet Raps 5 and 6 - Antenna Canyon. Rap 5 anchored from a small pocket / arch in the canyon floor and drops about 60 feet over 2 stages. Optionally a cairn anchor can be built. Rap 6, just at the bottom of rap 5 is anchored from a small tree and drops about 20 feet. Optionally a cairn anchor can be built or you can anchor from some small pockets in the RDC wall. dAntennaR07-8          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68405   W -115.43795        Elev: NaN Feet Raps 7 and 8 - Antenna Canyon Rap 7 anchored from a small arch in the rock about shin high and drops about 20 feet. There are a couple of short scramble / downclimbs to get down to rap 7. Rap 8, shortly after is anchored from a small bush and drops about 20 feet. Optionally Rap 8 can be bypassed via an exposed and moderately difficult downclimb on the RDC side. dAntennaR09          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68392   W -115.43742        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 9 - Antenna Canyon, anchored from a bush and drops about 12 feet over a large boulder. There are a couple of moderately difficult downclimbs of about 8 feet shortly down canyon. dAntennaR10          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68393   W -115.43707        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 10 - Antenna Canyon, anchored from a cairn anchor on the RDC side and drops about 25 feet. Multiple short scrambles / downclimbs between rap 10 and rap 11. dAntennaR11          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68401   W -115.43667        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 11 - Antenna Canyon, anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 15 feet. Optionally rap 11 can be downclimbed on the LDC side on a ledge system but is difficult or downclimbed directly in the watercourse where you will need to spread out rather wide to stem down. After rap 11 are a few easy scrambles / downclimbs one of which is a sloped slide of about 10 feet. dAntennaR12          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68416   W -115.43644        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 12 - Antenna Canyon, anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 185 feet with multiple ledges on the way down. The last 15 to 20 feet can be downclimbed if you find yourself short on rope. It is an easy wash walk down canyon from here. Antenna12          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68640   W -115.43466        Elev: NaN Feet Side drainage drops in from the left (northwest) and the canyon walls are dropping but still high enough to be called a canyon. As you walk down canyon from here keep an eye on the hills in the distance to note a dirt road which you will be route finding your way to. yAntennaBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68787   W -115.43276        Elev: 3,500 Feet Bottom exit of Antenna Canyon where the walls drop down and you are in rolling desert where another wash comes in from the left (northwest). At this point you can see the highway way off in the distance to the east and you can see a dirt road up on a hill about 900 feet way to the northeast. Exit the wash at this confluence by walking north up the slope and route finding your way toward the dirt road that can be seen about 900 feet to the northeast.

Antenna Canyon (4) - Exit

yAntennaBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68787   W -115.43276        Elev: 3,500 Feet Bottom exit of Antenna Canyon where the walls drop down and you are in rolling desert where another wash comes in from the left (northwest). At this point you can see the highway way off in the distance to the east and you can see a dirt road up on a hill about 900 feet way to the northeast. Exit the wash at this confluence by walking north up the slope and route finding your way toward the dirt road that can be seen about 900 feet to the northeast. Antenna13          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.68936   W -115.43154        Elev: NaN Feet Route crosses a wash. Walk north up the steeper slope to get onto a dirt road about 300 feet away. Antenna14          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.69011   W -115.43118        Elev: NaN Feet Route gets up onto a dirt road. Follow the road north then northeast back to the parking area. Antenna15          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.69230   W -115.43083        Elev: NaN Feet Fork in the road. Stay right / straight and walk about 900 feet back to the car park. pkAntennaCyn          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.69349   W -115.42874        Elev: 3,550 Feet Park at this fork in the road to begin the Antenna Canyon route. To start the route for Antenna Canyon, walk up the wash to the west. The mouth of Antenna Canyon can be seen to the south.