Vacation Hiking Road Trip: Part 2 of 4
- Video: https://youtu.be/aHrk4CLxEww
- Park Link: http://parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire
With yet another early start, we set off towards Valley of Fire State Park, an approximate one-hour drive from Vegas. Being a weekday, and early at that, the drive was easy with little traffic. As we made our way, I could feel my excitement building. I had never been to the park, but heard it was a “must do” and the pictures I had seen of “the wave” looked absolutely amazing. Knowing social media photos are often “edited”, I knew that if the true experience was but a fraction of what I had seen, I was going to be in for a treat.
The road into the park, from this direction, is a treat in and of itself. Stretches of it are rolling hills and if you have it to yourselves (as we did) and floor it (shhhhhhh… don’t tell anyone I’m a bit of thrill seeker), it’s like a really cool FREE roller coaster 
.
Entering the park early, the manned pay kiosk was closed. Important to note….. the self-pay kiosk only accepts cash. Needless to say, this left us with a bit of a moral dilemma given we had no small bills………. You’ll face your own dilemma should you find yourselves in the same situation.
Being a popular State Park, it is situated with many “photo op” locations established along the road. Preferring a more solitary nature adventure, these “tourist trap” options are not my favorite, albeit there is a time and a place. First up were “Beehive” rocks. They were crowded, even at the early hour, with young children scurrying about. Just in front of them, though, was a fairly massive rock formation which to me looked just like a rabbit and as such I’ll dub it “rabbit rock.” We chose to explore it instead.
“Atlas Rock” is yet another tourist stop, and upon arrival we discovered man made steps leading to a landing about mid-way up the rock. To this day, I can’t figure out the draw. From that landing, there is nothing to see but the road and the restrooms. From the All Trails write up, it does appear there are petroglyphs at the landing.
Being mindful of areas where signs indicating climbing on the rocks was NOT allowed, we chose to explore the rocks just to the left instead. There we found critter tracks in the red sand, amazing sandstone formations, of various colors and striations, and a series of petroglyphs. I was particularly amazed by the Stalagtite/Stalagmite formations which have developed over I can only imagine hundreds if not thousands of years. Seeming similar to orange traffic cones stacked on top of one another end to end, the tiny areas where the two meet seemed to be holding up massive loads. I had seen similar formations inside caves and caverns but seeing them formed out of this magnificent sandstone was bewildering. After exploring all the nooks and crannies, we did a drive by of “Arch Rock” and moved on to the visitor center.
The only planned hike, for this park, was the “Fire Wave, White Domes and Seven Wonders” loop: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/nevada/fire-wave-white-domes-seven-wonders-loop?u=i Although only a 3.5-mile “hike,” this was where all of the glorious photos I had seen were taken and I couldn’t wait.
Upon arrival, the parking lots were almost full. The trail in was crowded, in April, so I can’t even imagine what it is like later in the year. The “Wave” is like nothing I had ever seen and the pictures do not do it justice. With lots of people about, it is difficult to get pictures of just the sandstone formation, but with patience we did our best. Completely in awe of what Mother Nature had created, I could have spent hours here. The smooth wave, with its intricate red/white layered color striations, was hypnotizing.
As we moved passed, continuing on with the “loop” we were walking, navigation became very difficult as the GPS coordinates started bouncing all over the place. The trail was not obvious, being essentially a creek bed, and it took us several wrong turns to finally get our bearings. The farther we went, the fewer people we were competing with, which led to a more enjoyable experience. Beyond the wave, I really had no expectations so when we entered the “Pink Canyon” I felt like I had just dived headfirst into a massive pile of cotton candy. Walking through this mini slot canyon, it felt like Mother Nature had just dropped pink paint balloons from the sky with them splattering about the rocks upon landing.
Growing up, I was always old and serious beyond my years. Forced to grow up quickly, while being responsible for others, I look back now and realize I really never had an opportunity to be a kid. Having a mother who feared many things, which made traveling difficult, I had very few opportunities to be exposed to and look at new situations with amazement and wonder. As we continued on this trek, I became the kid I never had the opportunity to be. At the age of 54, I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I was playing in the cotton candy and I was giddy. Bouncing around, touching, climbing, exploring, with wide eyes a huge smile and excitement. Chris was oh so patient as I continuously handed him my camera exclaiming, “take a picture of me here,” or “I wanna get up there!”
Next up were the Kaolin and White Domes slot canyons which towered above us as we meandered through their tight openings. The variety of sandstone shapes and colors, within such a small section of land, is mind boggling. With a right turn on White Domes Trail, to complete the first loop, we were instantly teleported to yet another color variation. Now seemingly walking through a carton of Neapolitan Ice Cream, the crowds began to grow as we moved closer to the main road. You will pass through a main parking area, where restrooms are available as are tables for a shaded snack.
After completing this loop, we returned through the slot canyons and turned left onto the Seven Wonders Trail to finish the route back to the car. There is no trail sign here, and without a GPS of some kind you will not find it as there is no trail at the connector. Following All Trails, we knew where we needed to turn left, and even still it was a leap of faith. Up and over rocks, we ultimately found the trail on top. Given the navigation difficulty, this last stretch was void of people until ultimately approaching the cars. Water is important, for this trek, as there is little to no shade and the sun on the rocks heats things up quickly.
Although only 3.5 miles, this trek took us easily 4 hours given the amount of time spent navigating, climbing, exploring, photographing, and appreciating. After completing this trek, I could have left the park seeing nothing else and been a perfectly happy girl. Truly an amazing experience.
With one final stop at elephant rock, which actually does look like an elephant when viewed from the right angle, we concluded our day in the park.
With so many more trails to explore, returning another day will remain on my radar.