Valley of Fire – Put this on your list!

You know how when something gets hyped and you’re really looking forward to it and then, sigh, it just doesn’t quite meet expectations?  Well, I’m happy to say that was NOT the case at Valley of Fire State Park near Overton, Nevada. The state park has two campgrounds with over 70 sites, all first come/first served, but only 22 sites have hookups. We rolled in around lunchtime on Monday, 5/6, and snagged the first open site that we came to with hookups. It was a huge pull-through site with great views of the red rock formations that give Valley of Fire its name. We parked and walked the campground and agreed we had totally lucked out.  Yay us!

 

View from the patio: red rock and the gray limestone "Mud Mountain" in the background.

We paid for three nights and got settled in. The only downside was no cell phone signal at the campground. Pay wifi was advertised, but we didn’t bite. However, Rog figured out that if he positioned his iPhone just so on his seat of the dinette he could get 2 bars of 4G! If he picked up the phone or put it on the table, he’d lose the signal completely. So he used his phone as a hotspot and sat outside enjoying the view, beer in hand and followed the Mariner’s game on his iPad. I never did get a decent connection; guess I sit on the wrong side of the dinette. Lol.

Valley of Fire gets its name from the large number and variety of red sandstone formations. The sandstone has been eroding for millions of years and is a wonderland of windows, arches, alcoves and bizarre shapes. Seismic uplift has also created areas where older, gray limestone and granite sit on top of or adjacent to the younger sandstone. It all adds up to some pretty cool landscapes. The park isn’t huge, but it has quite a few features. There’s a 2-mile scenic loop that goes past the two campgrounds named after Atlatl Rock and Arch Rock.

Atlatl Rock - The early tribes left this billboard high on the rocks.

Arch Rock - they're everywhere!

Valley of Fire road is 10.5 miles and runs east/west with multiple stops along the way to see things like petrified logs and Elephant Rock.

Elephant Rock - cool!

Petrified logs can be found in several places in the park.

The visitor’s center is located in the middle of the park near White Dome Road which runs 5.5 miles north/south with stops for Mouse’s Tank and Petroglyph Canyon, Rainbow Vista, and Fire Canyon Road. Mouse’s Tank was named for an outlaw who used the area as a hideout in the 1890’s. The tank is a natural basin that holds rainwater, sometimes for months.

Mouse's Tank.

The Anasazi left their mark throughout the area.

Met this friendly chuckwalla on the Rainbow Vista hike.

Fire Canyon Overlook.

View from Fire Canyon Road - the red is caused by iron in the rock.
Think of it as a rust stain. Lol. 

The park also has some historic buildings from the Civilian Conservation Corps building boom. Three cabins were built in 1935 from native sandstone and were used for years to house campers and park visitors. 

Stone cabins built by the CCC.

The cabins had a cozy fireplace and a spectacular view.

The longest hikes listed in the park brochure are the 1.5 mile Fire Wave and 1.25 mile White Domes hikes. Rog found a connector trail on the All Trails hiking ap that made a loop out of those two hikes and added in the Seven Treasures trail.  It was excellent!! Rog and I agreed that several formations were so complex and colorful that they would have been right at home in Coyote Buttes South. Many of the very best areas weren’t even noted on the park map. Although, to be fair, parts of the trail weren’t very well marked or maintained so it could have been more by design than oversight. Lol.

Check out the colors! Purple, yellow, orange, white, red.... Wow!

Red rock with a perfect white crystal stripe.

Perfect stripes and a window with a view. 

A little slot canyon action. :) 

Reminiscent of Coyote Buttes South for sure.

Lizard love and more amazing colors.

A row of yucca blooming in front of a rainbow sherbet formation.

Walking out to the Fire Wave.

Fire Wave is a swirl of red, purple and cream stripes that ends in a pour over. 

This portion of the Seven Treasures Trail was a favorite!

Amazing colors!

Valley of Fire goes way beyond just red rock.

Fun pathways through the rock.

Duck into an alcove and find a window - fun exploring.

Purple and yellow rocks, purple and yellow flowers.
Mother nature is on a roll. :)

Wednesday, 5/8, Rog celebrated a milestone birthday – he turned 60! No big party or fancy gifts. Just a fun day hiking and a Porterhouse steak dinner that would have made Fred Flintstone proud. We went on a search for a "cave" (really just a deep alcove eroded in the rock face) that Rog read about, not sure if we found it since there were several that could have fit the description. The area is riddled with them!

Old guy still looking good. :)

Fantastic erosion and a hanging garden.

This area reminded us of the town of Bedrock in the old Flintstone cartoons. 

Cave hunting....

...could this be it? 

We could have easily spent longer at Valley of Fire, but it’s time to start moseying toward home. We spent Thursday night, 5/9, at Desert Springs RV Park outside of Barstow where we refueled and got groceries. From there we’re heading over to Hwy 395 and stop at the Alabama Hills – one of our most favorite places in the world. 😊