Red Rock: Ice Cube Canyon October water conditions

You will be ok in mind-October, but note that RR is implementing a "timed entry permit system" for the loop road starting on November 3 to control crowds during peak season (10/1 through 5/1). $2 each day, in addition to your entry fee (if any). Best to purchase online ahead of time. We will see how fast the permits go, but I'm betting they will go rapidly. (Should be a very good time indeed for locals that have always been able to head in whenever they get free time with no notice, but alas such are the times we live in.) Since 1/1/20 late exit permits have been handled online through Recreation.gov. I agree it is definitely a good idea to get on of those on any potentially long days, but also note that late exit permits are not being issued right now due to the pandemic. No word on when they will recommence.

Also, incidentally I was on Rocky Gap Road a few days ago to complete Hidden Falls Canyon. I left the road to head uphill before you would need to do so for Ice Cube, but I noted several nice spots on my way up that could be used for camping to cut off mileage at the start of your day, as my GPS said they were above the BLM camping restriction elevation (5,000 ft). As other have mentioned though, the road is rough in spots, so make sure your vehicle is up to it. Without a late exit permit, you will still have to hike up the road at the end of the day though, unless you brought in 2 vehicles, drove both up, camped, then drove both to the Willow Springs lot early in the AM, left one vehicle there, then drove the second vehicle back up the road. Even without the 2-car shenanigans though, I would rather have the boring hike up the road at the end of the day rather than the start. Anywho, food for thought. Oh, and I highly recommend a GPS for any of the canyons that start from Rocky Gap Road. If you haven't been there before and don't know exactly where to leave the road you could be in for some unfun. The cairn for the Hidden Falls Canyon trail sure was small...

Definitely... for every canyon we might do, I've downloaded GPX files that we will have on redundant hardware, in addition to having hard copy maps and compasses.

Even in cases where we don't want to or plan on using them, I don't want to add "orienteering by natural reference points" to our challenges if something goes wrong

Some people have been known to carry boards to put on the tire spikes and drive around the loop in reverse early in the morning.

Which is illegal. I wouldn't suggest that on a public forum. You might consider removing your comment.

It is sad (to me) that the situation at Red Rock has changed a lot, since the 'good ole days'.
We are now over run by the masses, and crowd management is an increasingly pressing issue, made even more intense
by the pandemic. Any shenanigans which may or may not have occurred long ago by un-named individuals are now likely to be viewed with extreme
prejudice by the overworked and underfunded authorities charged with protecting the resource.
PutUpYourDux has maybe the best legal option.
Wish I could think of a better one....