Visiting the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada

The Valley of Fire State Park is located in Overton, Nevada. It is approximately a three-hour drive from Zion National Park and one and a half hours from Las Vegas.

The park is 40,000 acres and composed of mostly bright red Aztec sandstone and gray and tan limestone outcrops.

The park offers scenic drives, as well as, many hiking options. If it’s too hot to hike, you will be able to see a great deal by taking the scenic drives in the park.

Unfortunately, for us, the temperature was over 100 degrees, so we did miss out on a hike that I really wanted to take.

Even more unfortunate, many people do not heed the warning signs and venture off unprepared and in weather where they should not be hiking. Because of this, the park has closed many of the hiking trails from May 15 – September 30th yearly. There were simply too many calls for medical help out on the trails and too many search and rescue missions during the hottest months.

I took a lot of photos from the car, but there are many places you can pull over and pop out for a few minutes to get better photos before jumping back into your air-conditioned car.

As a reader and observer of safety signs, I did watch and watch and watch for the elusive desert tortoise, but to no avail. They are seen more frequently after a rainfall.

The landscape starts changing about halfway through the park. It incorporates more of a mixing of limestone and sandstone. 

The second half of the park wowed me even more than the first.

Isn’t that pretty? Approximately 1 million people visit the park annually. The current entrance fee is $10 for residents of Nevada $15 for everyone else – per car.

This is the start of the hike that I had wanted to take. It contains the Fire Wave and the Pink Canyon.

The entire loop would have been 1.8 miles. My husband decided to go in to get pictures for me. We agreed he’d hike in, only for 5 minutes, and then hike out. 

I would love to revisit this park in late fall and do some hiking.

He did take a video for me before hiking back out.  This trailhead is the farthest point in the park, after this, we headed out of the park and to the Bellagio, for our one night stay in Las Vegas. 

Things to Know Before You Go:

1. The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset, with the exception of being completely closed for maintenance December 1st through the 14th.
2. The Visitor Center is open from 9-4 (hours may vary, check their website before you go).
3. No reservations are required to enter the park.
4. The current fee is $10/car for Nevada residents, $15/car for everyone else.
5. There are 72 camping units in the park. These require reservations.
6. Camping is limited to 14 days in a 30 day period.
7. RV’s and tents are allowed.
8. Camping areas have shaded tables, grills, water, restrooms, showers and a dumping station.
9. There are picnic tables located are various locations throughout the park.

Even without hiking, I recommend this park for the scenic drives, they are simply spectacular. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.

(All pictures are available as Fine Art Prints or Digital Downloads for purchase through Alamy. If you see something you like, click on the link. If you are unable to find it, use the Contact Me page and I will make sure the image is available.)

More Places to See Red Rocks

Visiting All Four Vortices in Sedona, Arizona

Hiking Cathedral Rock Trail in Sedona, Arizona

Hiking Bell Rock in Sedona, Arizona

Visiting Arches National Park in Utah

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