On April 28, county officials, cyclists, and a nonprofit that has been chasing this project for two decades gathered at the corner of Charleston Boulevard and Sky Vista Drive to cut a ribbon on something that had been promised, redesigned, and delayed since at least 2005. What opened that day was a paved, 12-foot-wide path running just under a mile along the north side of State Route 159, from the edge of Stonebridge to the spot where the Red Rock Canyon sign now stands in its own pull-off lot.
If you live in Summerlin and have heard the phrase "Red Rock Legacy Trail" floating around this year, it's worth being precise about what that mile actually connects. It is not a new entrance into Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It does not reach the Visitor Center or the Scenic Loop. What it does is take a stretch of highway shoulder that cyclists, walkers, and joggers have used for years, alongside fast-moving traffic on SR-159, and turn it into a separated, signaled, parked-out corridor. That's a real improvement for people using the corridor.
What Actually Opened on Sky Vista Drive
The finished segment, formally called Phase 1, starts at the northwest corner of Charleston and Sky Vista and runs to what Clark County calls the Red Rock Canyon Marker North, the roadside sign most people already associate with the canyon's edge. As part of the work, that sign was physically relocated west into its own small parking area, so visitors stopping for a photo no longer have to pull onto the shoulder of a state highway to do it. A new traffic signal now controls the Charleston and Sky Vista intersection.
Construction broke ground on July 1, 2025, more than 20 years after Save Red Rock, the nonprofit that has pushed this project from the start, began advocating for a way to get cyclists and pedestrians off that stretch of highway. The group's president, Heather Fisher, has spoken publicly about the trail's origin tracing back to the death of a cyclist who was training near the canyon and was struck by a truck. Riders from the Colavita Cycling Team took part in the opening, and Sun City Summerlin residents Barry and Susan Feinberg, who ride together three times a week, were among the locals who described the new path as a straightforward safety upgrade over sharing a highway shoulder with cars.
How the Original Phase 1 Plan Changed
Here's the detail that matters if you're the kind of resident who already rides or walks that corridor: Phase 1 wasn't supposed to end at the sign. According to Clark County's own project page, the original design for Phase 1 extended all the way to the entrance of the Red Rock Visitor Center and the Scenic Loop. Funding fell short of that scope, so the county built the first 0.99 miles instead, just far enough to link up with where Phase 2 is supposed to begin. Funding for the rest of that original Phase 1 stretch was approved by the Regional Transportation Commission back in December 2024, but as of the county's most recent public update, there is still no construction start date for it.
In other words, the mile you can walk today is the first completed part of a longer planned route; the remaining segment was already funded once and hasn't broken ground.
Why One Project Splits Into Five Separate Clocks
The reason a single trail moves at such different speeds along its length comes down to how it's funded. Phases 1 and 5, the two ends of the eventual route, draw from the Federal Lands Access Program, administered through the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. Phases 2, 3, and 4, the long middle stretch that actually reaches the canyon's developed areas, are funded through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, a different federal mechanism tied to land-sale revenue in the Las Vegas Valley. Each phase has its own design timeline, its own funding cycle, and its own construction schedule, which is why one end of the trail can open while the middle is still on paper.
Here's roughly where each piece stands as of this fall:
| Phase | Length | Connects | Funding Source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 0.99 miles | Sky Vista Dr to Red Rock Canyon Marker | FLAP | Open since April 28, 2026 |
| Phase 2 | 6.61 miles | Marker to Scenic Loop exit / Visitor Center access | SNPLMA | Design 70% complete as of August 2025 |
| Phase 3 | 3.5 miles | Scenic Loop exit to Bonnie Springs Road | SNPLMA | Early design, 30% milestone targeted fall 2025 |
| Phase 4 | 2.1 miles | Bonnie Springs Rd to Castalia Rd, Blue Diamond | SNPLMA | Early planning |
| Phase 5 | Remaining stretch | Blue Diamond to Hualapai Trailhead near SR-160 | FLAP | Early planning, public open house held Feb. 2024 |
Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones told reporters at the April ribbon-cutting that the full project, all five phases, should be finished within roughly three years and carries a total price tag near $100 million, already earmarked through a combination of federal grants and county funds. Save Red Rock's own published estimate is a bit more conservative on the middle stretch specifically, projecting Phases 2 and 3 opening around 2028, with Phases 4 and 5 following after that. The two estimates aren't wildly apart, but they're a useful reminder that "three years" from a podium and "2028 for the middle section" from the advocacy group closest to the paperwork are both describing a project still measured in years, not months.
What This Means for the Corridor Today
For anyone using that Charleston and Sky Vista stretch on a normal week, the practical change is real even if the mileage is short. You now have close to a mile of separated path instead of a highway shoulder, a signal at an intersection that didn't have one before, and a dedicated lot if you want to stop for a photo with the sign without parking on the fog line. If you're headed further into the canyon itself, the Scenic Loop's timed-entry system, which requires a reservation from October 1 through May 31 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., still governs access exactly as it did before the trail opened. The new mile doesn't change how you get into the canyon proper. It changes how safely you get to its edge.
That's a meaningful upgrade for the walkers, runners, and cyclists who treat that stretch as part of a regular loop out of Stonebridge or the surrounding villages. It's also a good reason not to expect the rest of the trail to arrive quickly just because the first piece did. The middle phases, the ones that would actually put Summerlin within a continuous paved path of the Visitor Center, are still in design, still years from a shovel, and still dependent on a funding mechanism separate from the one that got Phase 1 built.
If you've been waiting for "the trail to Red Rock" to open, this first phase is a meaningful start, but the continuous route through to the Visitor Center remains years away. For now, the new path offers a safer way to reach the canyon's edge.
If you're weighing what's next for your own place in Summerlin, or thinking about where a west-side lifestyle like this fits your plans, Steven Cannon is happy to talk through it. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
