Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

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Valley of Fire State Park Nevada

The Valley of Fire State Park is located about an hour North of Las Vegas, just off I-15. The park features 3,000 year old Indian petroglyphs, petrified wood, windblown caves, arches, domes and slot canyons. Valley of Fire also has a large campground with spaces for RV's and a few remote walk-in sites that offer some seclusion. The entrance fee is 10$ per vehicle. Camping will cost you an additional 20$. The temperatures in the park can get insanely hot in the summer, so if you want to camp, the best times are spring and fall. 

After spending the day at Valley of Fire, consider heading east out of the park and driving the Northshore Road back to Las Vegas. There are amazing views of Lake Mead, several beaches, and even a few natural springs to explore along Northshore Road as you head back to Vegas. 

Hike:  Mouse’s Tank

Hike Time:  20-30 minutes
Distance:  7/10 of a mile round trip

Elevation Difference:  80 feet

Difficulty:  Easy

Directions to Trailhead: 
From Valley of Fire West Entrance, drive 3.7 miles along the main park road.  Turn left when you see signs for the Visitor’s Center, Mouse’s Tank, Rainbow Vista, and White Domes.  Pass the Visitor’s Center (on your right).  Drive 1 mile and turn right into the parking lot for Mouse’s Tank.

The Hike:  The paved trail starts at the east side of the parking lot near the restrooms.  After 30 yards the pavement ends and you will be waking in sand.  Go north (left) at the trail sign and walk 50 yards to Mouse’s Tank.

Comments:  The trail is also known as Petroglyph Canyon Trail.  It is named ‘The Mouse’s Tank’ because an alleged Southern Paiute Indian renegade named ‘Little Mouse’ hid out there in the 1890′s. He was accused of gunning down two prospectors and many other crimes in the area. He apparently went wild on a few occasions when he got drunk.

Hike:  Atlatl Rock

Hike Time:  30-60 minutes

Distance:  1 mile round trip

Elevation Difference:  200 feet

Difficulty:  Easy

Directions to the Trailhead:  From the west entrance of Valley of Fire, drive 1.8 miles on the main park road.  Turn left at the sign for Atlatl and follow the road to the parking lot.

The Hike:  The wide trails starts at the far end of the parking lot and goes up the stairs at Atlatl Rock.  After seeing the petroglyphs at the top of the stairs, continue the trail 40 yards past the stairs.  As the trail curves to the left, veer right and follow the path that heads up toward the sandstone.  Continue to the large boulders that have fallen.  Turn left and scramble up the steep sandstone crag to the top.  From the top, you will be able to see Lake Mead.  As you come back down the staircase, if you walk around the rock a little ways, you can see more petroglyphs along the rock wall.

Hike:  White Domes

Hike Time:  30 minutes

Distance:  1 mile round trip

Elevation Difference:  200 feet

Difficulty:  Easy

Directions to the Trailhead:  From the west entrance of Valley of Fire, drive 3.7 miles along the main park road.  Turn left when you see signs for the Visitor’s Center, Mouse’s Tank, Rainbow Vista, and White Domes.  Pass the Visitor’s Center (on your right) and go 6 miles to the White Domes parking lot.

The Hike:  The trail starts at the south end of the parking lot, goes between two huge sandstone crags, and descends into a flat area.   From the parking lot, hike south. The hike goes up a hill into a narrow canyon area. At the top of the hill, you get an extraordinary view of this section of the Valley of Fire. Descend down the rocks.  At the bottom of this area, you come to an open area where some of the movie set remains. The movie set is not awfully impressive. From the movie set, you have a short walk until you come to a wash. The trail goes right and you soon come to a short slot canyon that is very beautiful.  Once through the canyon, the trail goes to the right again, and you start to make the loop back to the car. The trail passes on the west side of the ridge near the parking lot and you pass the cars. Near the end, the trail makes a U shaped turn, and you come back along the roadside to get back to the parking lot.
Source: http://www.valley-of-fire.com

Valley of Fire arch

Valley of Fire State Park