VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK | NEVADA

Just outside the city lights of Las Vegas is a beautiful park that often gets overlooked when tourists visit Sin City, Valley of Fire State Park. If you love the outdoors or just want to get out of the city and sweat some of the partying out, Valley of Fire is a must-see. There are hikes and plenty of opportunities for photos. In this post I will cover the must-see spots in the park.

VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK HIKES

There are lots of hikes that you can do inside of Valley of Fire but if this is your first visit or you just want to see the highlights, see my recommendations below. As you may know, just like in Las Vegas, Valley of Fire can live up to its name and get VERY HOT, especially during the summer! Make sure to schedule your hikes in the mornings or evenings to help with the heat and it also makes for better colors for the photos too.

Fire Cave is the first stop, which is just a short hike that doesn’t really have a marked route. However, you can hike around the rocks and check out the many caves that are in the area. If you make your way over the hill above the cave, you will end up in a cool little valley that is interesting to explore.

Atlatl Rock is the next stop if you follow the scenic dirt road around the loop. Again, not much of a hike but it is worth a quick stop to climb the stairs to see the 4,000 year old petroglyphs. It is also a good spot to fill your water bottle at the picnic area. Make sure to stay hydrated!

Seven Wonders Loop is a newer hike that now shows up on the map as well as some of the park signs. It combines a few (seven to be exact) features that you can stop at and is, be far, the best hike in the park. I suggest downloading the All Trails app on your phone and loading this hike. You don’t have to subscribe and download the offline version as my GPS had enough signal to track the hike without it. This website has a good description of the hike and what you will see along the way but it takes you to Fire Cave (a different fire cave from above), Thunderstorm Arch, Crazy Hill, Kaolin Wash, Striped Rock, Pastel/Pink Canyon and Fire Wave. You will travel through a small slot canyon which reminds me of a mini Waterholes Canyon. The pink canyon is amazingly colorful and the Fire Wave is like a miniature Wave that is so much easier to explore. If you only have time to do one hike in the park, I highly recommend this one.

VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK PHOTO SPOTS

The hiking spots above provide some great photo locations. However, there are so many spots within the park that are worthy of a photo stop but I will highlight a few additional of my favorites below.

Seven Sisters is along the main road running through the park, near the visitors center. It is a set of rock outcroppings that provides a picturesque stop as well as a picnic area. One section of the rock outcroppings is a designated space for weddings so you may see one going on when you visit. We saw a couple couples taking wedding photos when we stopped.

Mouse’s Tank Road is probably one of the most famous photo spots in the park and is a truly beautiful spot. The most picturesque spots are just above the visitor center and the Rainbow Vista parking area. Explore this area and make sure to check both directions because there are so many opportunities to capture unique photos. One bonus spot that I like is along Mouses’s Tank Road just past Fire Canyon Road looking back toward the Rainbow Vista parking area.

Whatever you do or see while at Valley of Fire, I am sure that you will enjoy your time there.