The Valley of the Fire State Park is one of my new favorite parks I’ve visited in the United States. We went to Las Vegas back in March with some of our siblings and had such a blast! Although I love Sin City, wowza mama 2 days is definitely plenty for me! We rented a car to get away from the drinking and casinos and made our way to Valley of the Fire State Park. It’s only 45 minutes from the strip and 100% deserves a visit when you’re out in Last Vegas. The first 30 minutes of the drive to the park is quite boring but then, out of nowhere, you have the most beautiful views of red rocks.
If you’re coming from Las Vegas you’ll enter the West entrance (Interstate 15 to Valley of the Fire Highway). If you’re coming from Overton you’ll enter the East entrance (169 to Valley of the Fire Highway). We used Google maps and it gave us spot-on directions.
We came in the West entrance but then made our way all the way to the East entrance because, of course, I needed to visit Elephant Rock.
Elephant Rock
Many people will tell you that there are much cooler and beautiful things to see in the park than Elephant Rock, but personally, if you have the time I totally recommend it. I mean, come on, how often is it that you can see a rock shaped like an elephant? Plus, from the parking lot, it’s only a five-minute walk to see it. The walk there has such beautiful views of the park as well.
It’s so cool!!!
🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘
Mouse’s Tank Road
This is kind of a given because most people who visit the park will drive on this road no matter what. Yes, driving on it alone is beautiful but I recommend stopping at Rainbow Vista parking lot and getting out to snap a few pictures.
We hiked up the peak right next to the parking lot to get some views of Rainbow Visit and of course, Mouse’s Tank Road.
You’ll see many photos of this on Instagram with no cars, but this is a heavily trafficked road so unless, you get lucky, are super patient and time it perfectly, or you get up early and are the first one in the park, plan to have a few cars in your photos.
In the photo below, you can see where someone parked over to the side to snap a photo from down below. This is also a great place to get a picture.
White Domes Trailhead
White Domes Trailhead was my favorite hike when visiting Valley of the Fire State Park. I’m always amazed at how much beauty some hikes that are just over a mile can provide. The rock formations and colors were soooo beautiful.
I also loooooove slot canyons and White Domes has one on the short hike! So awesome.
Because it was my favorite part of the park, I wrote an entire blog post about this hike. Click the link to learn more about the White Domes Trailhead.
The Fire Wave
The Fire Wave is one of the most beautiful and popular hikes in the park. It’s a 1.5-mile round-trip hike and soooo beautiful! There was a quick unexpected rain when we were halfway through this hike so the colors aren’t as vibrant as you may see in some photos. But, still so worth it.
There are so many beautiful and unique photos opportunities on this hike.
The Wave definitely did not disappoint, but we personally loved the White Domes a little more.
Pink Canyon
This hike is a bit harder to find and because of that, it’s not near as busy as the other hikes. There are only 2 parking spots (1 if you have a van) or you can walk from The Wave parking lot but know it will take you a bit longer. Click here to get the GPS coordinates for this hike.
Just like everything in the Valley of the Fire State Park, if you have a sunny day you’ll experience very bright and saturated colors. If you’re visiting on an overcast day, the colors might look a bit muted. We had sunshine for half of our day and overcast for the other so we experienced both! The pink rocks were so awesome and we had the place to ourselves.
What to Bring to The Valley of the Fire State Park
- A lot of water. 2-3 liters per person if you plan to spend the day in the park.
- Tennis Shoes or Hiking Shoes depending on the weather
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Phone or Camera for pictures
- Lunch if you want to stop and enjoy the views longer. Please hike out with your trash!
Overall, I couldn’t recommend visiting the Valley of the Fire State Park more! These were just our five favorites but really everything in the park is worth a visit if you have the time. We were so happy we decided to get out of the city for a while and enjoy some of the beautiful nature Nevada has to offer.
Thanks so much for reading along! Have you been to The Valley of the Fire State Park? What was your favorite hike? Click here if you want to check out a map of the park. I never knew how beautiful Nevada was and I can’t wait to explore more. Click the link to learn more about my adventures.
