Valley of Fire State Park

About Valley of Fire State Park

Valley of Fire was dedicated in 1935 as Nevada's first state park. The 46,000 acres of red Aztec sandstone date to the Jurassic and have been carved into the slot canyons, arches, and balanced rocks that fill every Nevada-tourism poster. The park is named for the way the rock appears to glow at sunrise and sunset. Key stops: the Visitor Center off the main park road, Atlatl Rock (interpretive ladder up to a major petroglyph panel), the Fire Wave (a striped sandstone formation reached by a 1.5-mile round-trip walk), and the Beehives. Mouse's Tank Trail offers the densest concentration of petroglyphs in a half-mile. $15 vehicle entry. About one hour northeast of the Strip via I-15 and the Valley of Fire Highway. Best lighting is the first two hours after sunrise. Avoid June through August — interior temperatures regularly hit 115°F.