Hiking Valley of Fire State Park

Fire Wave at Valley of Fire State Park

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Fire Cave at Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada)

The True “Jackpot” of Las Vegas

For just $10 per car (or $15 per car filled with non-NV residents) and an hour drive from the Las Vegas Strip, you can enjoy an adventure-filled day, climbing in, over, and through rocks of vivid colors; truly one of the best “deals” of Las Vegas! I travelled here with my boys (then 8 and 12 years old) in March 2021 in search of something fun to do in a warm part of the country, that met the then current social distancing guidelines. We live in MN, where hikes may include a waterfall to explore, but it’s hard to find large rocks or boulders to climb. My boys love seeing how far up a rock they can climb (me too, if I’m being honest). This park far exceeded my expectations and we had an amazing day. I’d claim it as my most loved Las Vegas destination that I’ve found so far, but I am fascinated by those Bellagio fountains which I have a tough time passing through Vegas without stopping at. Valley of Fire easily takes the second spot though. This state park is definitely worth the day and the drive, especially if you are travelling with kids.

Views of the White Domes from the Seven Wonders Loop (just after Fire Cave)

Planning Your Trip

Let’s start with when to visit Valley of Fire State Park. As you’ll see in my pictures there are no trees, no large mountains, and no big canyons, all meaning - there is no shade. This park is only an hour from Las Vegas, so it is not a park to visit on your summer vacation. If you are travelling through Las Vegas in the summer, aim yourself towards a park higher in elevation, like Bryce Canyon or the North Rim of Grand Canyon. Valley of Fire is fantastic October through April (or into May if it’s still cooler), and makes a great stop on a non-Disney Spring Break adventure.

If you are traveling from Las Vegas, set your destination as the West Entrance of the park. You will head north on I-15 and take exit 75. There is a large gas station at the exit if you need to stop and get anything. I can’t remember why, but I did get confused after stopping at the gas station for how to find the right road to get to Valley of Fire. GoogleMaps is correct, so I’m guessing it was a road sign to the park that had me second guessing myself. Just head east on the main road (Valley of Fire Hwy). It will take you straight to the entrance.

There is also an East Entrance. You might want to use this if you are heading to or travelling from Lake Mead or one of the National Parks (ex. Zion). The East Entrance is referred to as Elephant Rock Loop on GoogleMaps.

We hiked about 5.5 miles and spent 6 hours enjoying this park. If you have at least 4 hours to spend here, I think you’d get to see most things (follow my recommendations below).

There are some longer hike options if you have more time, but they aren’t marked on the state park map (at least when we were there) and they aren’t on the GPS app I use (GAIA). If you are interested in a longer hike, check out the AllTrails app, which shows routes for several.

Other than the gas station near the west entrance, there isn’t much nearby for food or supplies, so pack more water than you think you’ll drink, plenty of salty snacks, and sunscreen.

White Domes Slot Canyon (also know as Pink Pastel Canyon) found between the White Domes Loop and the Seven Wonders Trail (at the south end of the trails)

Hiking at Valley of Fire State Park

Map of Valley of Fire State Park

To see the majority of the park in one day, my recommendation would be to start at the visitor center and then plan for 4 hikes starting with Seven Wonders (and combining it with White Domes Loop). The Fire Wave portion of this trail was pretty busy, so I would do this hike first in the morning. On your way back down the road, stop at both parking lots for Rainbow Vista and Mouse’s Tank. Lastly, head towards the East Entrance to Elephant Rock.

If that’s too much for your day, drop the White Domes Loop (after you’ve found the slot canyon) and Mouse’s Tank (unless you love petroglyphs - there are several along this trail).

If you have extra time, near the West Entrance on your way back out of the park, add on stops for Atlatl Rock, Arch Rock, and the Beehives (all of which are short hikes).

Visitor Center

Climbing on the giant rocks right next to the Visitor Center

We stopped at the Visitors Center to use the bathrooms, and right in the parking lot is this huge rock just begging to be climbed. My boys fell in love with this park due to this rock before we even started hiking. If you are travelling with kids, give them a few extra minutes to figure out how to climb up to the top.

Seven Wonders / White Domes Loop

THIS TRAIL IS CLOSED BETWEEN JUNE 1 AND SEPTEMBER 30 DUE TO EXTREME TEMPERATURES

3.3 Miles / 287 ft Elevation for both loops as shown in the map below.

White Domes (loop on the left) is 1.1 miles. If you aren’t hiking the whole thing, then subtract this for the Seven Wonders Loop.

There are two parking lots. We started at the first parking lot you will drive past (near Fire Cave). The lot is labeled as P3 on the official state park map, and I think the sign states Fire Wave. There is a second parking lot at the end of the road for White Domes Loop. If you plan on hiking both loops, there isn’t a reason to move your car. There is a slot canyon between the loops that you will want to explore, and that’s worth the few extra steps rather than completing one loop and driving your car to the next loop. If you only have time for one trail, pick Seven Wonders (loop on the right).

Map of Seven Wonders and White Domes Loop (GAIA app)

The first thing to find on the Seven Wonders trail is Fire Cave. When we hiked in 2021, there wasn’t an official trail (or at least I didn’t see one) to find Fire Cave. There is a trail now included on the official state park map, so I’m assuming that it’s more obvious to find this rock feature with an actual trail. But if not, this is where to look for it.

When you park at the Fire Wave trailhead, look southeast and head in this direction. Below are pictures of the rocks you should be walking towards.

View from the parking lot. Head off in this direction (if an official trail has not yet been created)

Walk around the dome on your left, and head down a little bit towards the wash. The below pictures mark the view as you hike.

Looking for Fire Cave

Although we were specifically looking for Fire Cave, the surrounding rocks are just as amazing.

White Domes along Seven Wonders

Walking down the wash towards Fire Cave

Fire Cave is going to be on your left if you have descended into the wash.

Fire Cave

Seeing pictures of Fire Cave is what originally lured me to Valley of Fire State Park. I think I was imaging Arches National Park though when I saw the pictures. I was surprised by how small Fire Cave was. Although you can get an amazing picture of Fire Cave, perspective helps when you are looking for it, and so you have reasonable expectations. Below is what it looks like from right beside it.

Fire Cave

And for true perspective, here’s my twelve year old who was not even a little impressed by Fire Cave. Makes really cool pictures though, and you don’t have to tell your family or friends how small of an arch it is.

Fire Cave

After finding Fire Cave, we wandered around in the wash, trying to follow directions to find both Thunderstorm Arch and Crazy Hill, but we were unsuccessful. If you’re wondering what “Seven Wonders” refers to it, it’s referring to these features that you can search for along the hike.

More amazing views along the Seven Wonders trail

After leaving the wash, we found a fairly official feeling trail, and followed that the rest of the way.

Seven Wonders Trail

As you get closer to the southern part of the Seven Wonders Trail, you will find several rocks with this diagonal stripe across them, which were fascinating. Plus lots of nooks and crannies for the kids to explore.

Seven Wonders Loop

Seven Wonders Loop

It looked like someone glued the rock together or maybe more like a kids art project made out of rocks

Instead of looping back along Seven Wonders, follow the trail to the right to find a fun slot canyon. We joked that we were playing the best “slots” in Vegas when we explored this part of the trail.

Pink Pastel Canyon

The slot canyon looks like a tighter squeeze than it actually was, but yes, the trail goes between these rocks.

White Domes Slot Canyon

If you’re claustrophobic, this might not be the trail for you. The slot canyon was pretty short though.

White Domes Slot Canyon

White Domes Loop

From here, we ventured next around the whole White Domes Loop. It was fun to enjoy a longer hike at the park so I would encourage you to keep walking around White Domes Loop, but a lot of the scenery is the same as what you just saw from the other side, so if you’re short on time, you wouldn’t miss much if you skipped the loop.

Hiking White Dome’s Loop

Along the White Domes Loop, you will walk through an old movie set that was constructed for ‘The Professionals’ in 1965.

Old movie set from 1965 ‘The Professionals’

After completing the White Domes Loop, you will retrace your steps and get back on the Seven Wonders Loop. The trail will cross the road, and the last amazing part of this hike, is Fire Wave. If there is one thing I am frustrated with about this post is that I just didn’t take enough pictures of Fire Wave to have a good one to pick out in order to share. I was just caught up in the moment while we were there and therefore didn’t have my phone out taking pictures. It was incredible though!

Fire Wave

Fire Wave

Rainbow Vista

1.0 miles / 50ft elevation

You will need to get back into your vehicle and travel down the same road you came in on, back towards the visitor center. The next stop I’d recommend is for Rainbow Vista.

This trail has less color variation than Seven Wonders but the end of the trail is worth the short hike. Plus there are lots of rocks worth climbing along this trail.

Trailhead for Rainbow Vista

This trail also has several rocks with holes and small arches to explore.

Hiking Rainbow Vista

Exploring some of those small arches

The trail continues to the background of this picture.

Rainbow Vista

This is the view from the end of the trail. It’s not safe to continue into the valley as there are large drop offs behind me.

View from Rainbow Vista

Mouse’s Tank

0.75 Miles / 100ft elevation

The views along Mouse’s Tank aren’t as impressive as the other hikes, but there are petroglyphs everywhere. Below are a few examples that we saw.

Petroglyphs along Mouse’s Tank

Petroglyphs along Mouse’s Tank

Views along Mouse’s Tank

More petroglyphs along Mouse’s Tank

Not surprisingly, my boys found more spots to climb along this hike too.

Mouse’s Tank

Elephant Rock

0.33 Miles / 50ft elevation

Elephant Rock

From the visitor center, it’s just a 7 minute drive to the east end of the park to see Elephant Rock. You will park at the entrance.

You can actually see Elephant Rock from the road, but the best place to take a picture of it is from the trail.

There is a fun rock to explore right next to the parking lot before you get too far along the trail. This one was big enough that I was also able to climb through it as well.

Beginning of the short walk to Elephant Rock

Some nice scenery on the way to Elephant Rock.

Additional views along Elephant Rock trail

More views along the trail

It was already 5:30pm when we were wrapping up at Elephant Rock, so we didn’t have a chance to stop at Atlatl Rock, Arch Rock, or the Beehives. Hiking all day with still an hour drive back to the city that close to super time means “hangry” kids. Being a good mom means knowing when to stop.

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