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Valley of Fire

Overton, Nevada, United States

Valley of Fire at sunset

That rock sure is red!

The Valley of Fire is a state park in Nevada, located about an hour drive away from Las Vegas. If you have access to a car, it's a great place to visit. The scenery is spectacular - the rock is very red!

The park is very peaceful. When you're walking on some of the trails, you can stop and notice the dead silence - it's quite nice. Many of the trails are made from the sandy powder of ground sandstone. It will find a way through your shoes and socks - it's probably easier just to wear sandals, and wash your feet off afterwards, besides the sand is really soft.

If you are at the park at sunset or sunrise, the light of the sun illuminates the red rock and makes it look even more fiery than during the day. During hotter times of the year, the temperature at the Valley of Fire can be debilitating. Even when we were visiting in October, late in the afternoon, it was quite hot. Plan your visit accordingly. Whenever you go, be sure to wear a hat and bring water.

Many of the neat rock formations are very close to the road, but some do require a little bit of walking (usually not more than 1km).

Visitors Center

Visitors Center

After paying for admission to the park, you can go to the visitors center. It's located near the middle of the park (which spans approximately 10km). The visitors center has exhibits that talk about the history of the park, how it was formed, and contains a display that highlights some of the neat things to see. There are also bathrooms available, and a gift shop if you want to purchase something.

Arch Rock

Arch Rock in the Valley of Fire

After leaving the visitors center, you can drive to some of the other sites in the park. One of the most famous is probably Arch Rock. As the name implies, it is an arch. There are many other arches elsewhere in the park, but for some reason this one gets all the credit. It's not very large - probably about 3-4 meters across. It's quite nice to see, and it's on a bit of a hill, so you have a nice view from the arch.

Beehives

Beehives at the Valley of Fire

The beehives are another one of the neat formations - they are red rocks that look like beehives.

The Mouse Tank

The Mouse Tank

The mouse tank is another rock formation in the Valley of Fire. The rocks are situated in such a way that they trap water, and preserve it. Once water is trapped here, it can last for months before evaporating.

Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs

Some of the rocks in the Valley of Fire (such as on the path to the Mouse Tank) have petroglyphs on them. The visitors center also contains more information about how these got here.

Cost

Some of the creatures that live in the Valley of Fire...

Cars are charged an entry fee of $6 per car. Bicycles or pedestrians are charged $1 each.

Night Star Gazing Events

Note the contrast between the red rock in the Valley of Fire and the colorless rock outside

Depending on the day, there may be night-time star gazing events in the park. We didn't know about it when we visited, and we didn't bring any food with us, so we weren't able to stay (it didn't start until 8:00pm). If you are prepared and get the chance, it would probably be very neat to see all the stars from the Valley of Fire.

Estimated Visiting Time

The late afternoon sun on the red rock

To see everything in this park could take an entire day. If you just want to see some of the highlights 2-3 hours is sufficient.

Many of the trails in the park are open from sunrise to sunset. There are a lot of overnight campsites available. The visitors center closes at 4:30pm.