Overton, Neveda
November 29, 2020
Location: 1.5 hours from Las Vegas, 5.5 hours from Phoenix
Parking: Small parking lots at a lot of the trailheads. Never park in a area that has a no parking sign
Pets: Not allowed on trails
Fee: $10 entrance fee. Pay at self-pay station if there is no one at the gate or pay at the Visitor’s Center
Restrooms: Yes, at certain trailheads
Time Needed: Varies. We spent 3.5 hours at the park
We decided to end our trip to Death Valley NP with a quick visit to Valley of Fire State Park. Since we stayed in Enterprise, Nevada this was only an 1.5 hour drive from our Airbnb. We drove through Lake Mead National Recreation area because we heard it was a beautiful drive and it did not disappoint! This added a little extra time to our drive, but we didn’t mind.
We paid at the self-pay station at the east entrance of the park. Luckily we had cash! Prior to our trip, we didn’t do a ton of research. While we were at the entrance we started to explore a little and came across a beautiful orange rock structure. At the time we had no idea that this is one of the popular points in the park called Elephant Rock. This is a very short hike. It is only a .3 mile out and back hike.
From Elephant Rock we stopped at the Visitor’s Center and then continued up Mouse Tank Road. We stopped pretty quickly at a pull out and climbed up some rocks to take pictures. From there we continued to Rainbow Vista, parked at the small lot, and hiked up a massive rock – you can’t miss it on the side of the road next to parking lot. Part of it was slick and nerve racking, but at the top we took in an incredible view!
After Rainbow Vista we headed to The Fire Wave to do a short 1.5 mile out and back hike. This is a really popular spot in the park so we do recommend to get there early as possible. There are two small parking lots on both sides of the road. There is a sign that says “P3” which is where you will want to park. This was a very easy hike. It takes you to rocks that look like they are wavy. It is incredible! There are other hikes starting from these parking lots that we just didn’t have time to do.
After Fire Wave we drove to the end of Mouse Tank Road just to see what the rest of the park looked like. We turned around and headed back from where we came from. We turned down Fire Canyon Road to explore a little more before we headed back to Phoenix. We stopped at a lookout, took in the view, and then decided to get back on the road. Overall, this park is amazing! We can’t wait to come back and explore some more.