Visiting the White Hoodoos of Remote McCann Canyon

 

  McCann Canyon in the Monitor Range of Central Nevada isn’t particularly well known and doesn’t get many visitors in spite of its spectacular beauty.

  No doubt the reason is because the canyon, which boasts beautiful snowy-white rock hoodoos (which are defined as a tall, thin spire of rock) are pretty much in the middle of nowhere, miles from any community.

  To reach it, you have to head about 20 miles southeast of the ghost town of Belmont, on the eastern side of the Monitor Valley, via a graded dirt road.

  And since there aren’t any road signs indicating how to reach the canyon, it’s a good idea to consult a good road atlas such as the Nevada Road & Recreation Atlas by Benchmark Maps. Visitors looking for the canyon should have a four-wheel drive vehicle.

  After driving across the Monitor Valley from Belmont, you turn onto a fairly well-maintained dirt road that led southeast into the Monitor Range. The route takes you by a handful of remote but picturesque ranches before the road narrows and begins to climb into the mountains.

  The chalky white hills of McCann Canyon can’t be seen until after driving about a dozen miles through forests of scruffy piñon and juniper trees on a windy dirt road.

  Just below the canyon, a more rugged dirt track branches off from the main road and toward the small side canyon containing the formations. Here, the trees reluctantly part to allow vehicles to pass.

  The road becomes nearly impassable about a mile or so into the canyon, so it’s best to continue on foot to the back end of the canyon, which contains a large but impressive white cluster of jagged outcroppings and cone-shaped rock pillars.

  On the canyon sides are coffee-colored cliffs, some with small caves that look as if they had been created by a giant ice cream scooper. Ahead, the pointed mounds of rough, chalky stone resemble large anthills.

  Near the back of the canyon is a steep hill of loose, sediment—like walking up a huge sand dune—and at the top a visitor is afforded a good overview of the canyon’s alabaster formations.

  From here, the view of the McCann hoodoos is incredible. Some look like massive shark teeth while others have rounded tops. The stone sculptures were created by erosion, as wind and water wore away softer rock and left behind these magnificent monoliths.

  Up close, the rock towers seem to be made of different kinds of rocks, with some rough to the touch, feeling like badly mixed concrete.

  Some of the spires are topped with knobs or flat blocks, while others are pointed and sharp. Look long enough and it’s easy to imagine faces in the stone or animal shapes. Some are etched with horizontal lines—perhaps indicating a water line or a different layer of stone—while others have diagonal lines, as if twisted like a wet dishrag by some kind of powerful geological force.

  One of the most interesting aspects of the canyon is the lack of rusted cans, broken glass bottles, plastic wrappers or discarded gun shells—items too often found in remote, beautiful places in Nevada.

  In fact, there is only the ghostly white spires and near-total silence, interrupted occasionally by a squawking bird.

  This is the real Nevada.