January 7-8, 2025

By Tim Briese

Teresa and I went on a winter trip to Nevada and Arizona and our itinerary included the Valley of Fire State Park which is located about an hour north of Las Vegas. This scenic area had been on my radar for a while. We flew into Vegas and before we left town we drove down the Las Vegas Strip, a place we infrequently visited years ago but which no longer holds much interest for us.  It nevertheless is a spectacle to behold.

the new york new york hotel and casino

It was a sunny but very windy day when we arrived at the Valley of Fire around mid afternoon. We proceeded to explore the sights in the western part of the park.

rock formations that greeted us shortly after we entered the park

stairs up to the atlatl rock petroglyphs

the petroglyphs

interesting holes in the rock nearby

a desert bighorn sheep

a scenic arch nearby

We drove part way up the main Valley of Fire Road and did a two mile roundtrip hike to the Rainbow Vista, with a great view into Fire Canyon, as sand swirled around us in the fierce wind.

view of fire canyon from the rainbow vista trail

a desert view on the way back

view from an overlook from the fire canyon road

Before we left around sunset we helped a young woman whose car was stuck in the sand beside the road.

the flaming sunset

That night we stayed in nearby Overton and the next morning returned to the park to explore some more. We drove to the north end of the main road and hiked to see the most famous highlights of the park. We did a four mile loop hike that I found on All Trails that took us to the Fire Wave, Pink Canyon, the 7 Wonders, and White Domes. It was a magnificent tour of some of the best the park has to offer.

a view near the start of the loop

a collection of "moki marbles" laying on the sandstone

the fire wave

hiking down pink canyon

two "claws" at the top of the rock!

the white domes

approaching some narrows

an arch along the way

colorful swirls in the rock

After completing the hike we headed out of the park.

an iconic view in the park

We headed south on a remote paved road through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and eventually made our way down to Hoover Dam, before retiring in Boulder City that night.

lake mead

hoover dam.  note the interstate 11 bridge at the upper left.

lake mead is currently about 30 percent full, or about 160 feet below full water level

the i-11 bridge opened in 2010 and is 900 feet above the river.  it is an engineering marvel!