The Incredible Valley Of Fire In Nevada

The state of Nevada is world famous for the city of Las Vegas, however, once there, one can escape the bustle, neons and gambling of Sin City, and get closer to the Valley of Fire. A radically different experience and, of course, tremendously inspiring, since here nature is the main protagonist.

Get to the Valley of Fire in Nevada

Knowing these landscapes is really easy if you stay in Las Vegas. They are only about 90 kilometers from the city center, in the town of Overton. In fact, many organized tours leave there that include the tour of the interior of the Valley of Fire, which is actually the oldest and largest state park in Nevada.

However, you can also travel on your own and get there by rented car, that is, you will have to pay a small sum to enter with the vehicle.

The magic of the Valley of Fire

A name as powerful and suggestive as Valley of Fire is due to the fiery colors that emerge from these landscapes under the rays of a scorching sun.

Everything is flooded with oranges, reds and yellows from a land with a desert appearance, but which houses a surprising life inside, both in the form of flora and fauna, since coyotes, foxes, reptiles or snakes live here.

It seems incredible that in such arid environments life can develop, but it is. And all this in a natural setting that is actually a fossilized landscape for hundreds of millions of years, when these rocks were still sand dunes.

Obviously, man would arrive here much later, and some indigenous tribes were able to settle in such an inhospitable territory as this. This is proven by the thousands of petroglyphs carved into the rock, especially in the Mouse’s Tank area, one of the busiest by tourists.

Visitable areas of the Valley of Fire

In addition to Mouse’s Tank there are other places where nature has been capricious and has sculpted forms in the rock over the millennia that are tremendously evocative. For example, there is Raimbow Vista, White Domes, Seven Sister or the Atlati or Arch rocks.

All these places are accessible by vehicle or by short walks. They are really beautiful, but if you want to know how these forms have been generated, it is best to start the tour at the visitor center, where you will find basic information about the geology, flora and fauna of the place. In addition, here you can purchase the relevant interior plans where hiking, picnic, and even camping areas are indicated.

Hiking in the Valley of Fire

We have already said that much of the tour of the Valley of Fire State Park, or Valley of Fire in its official name, can be done by car (if you come like this, do not forget to bring a full tank of gas, for what could happen ). It can also be done in perfectly air-conditioned buses whose interior comfort contrasts with the heat that can be outside.

However, the experience of feeling nature is much more intense hiking in the area. Although we are an hour from Las Vegas, the truth is that it may seem that we are in another country, and even on another continent.

There are routes enabled for trekking, and there are even sections prepared so that people with disabilities can enjoy this spectacular and unique enclave. If you decide to take a good walk in the park, do not forget that it is a space that is closed and whose entrance is kept open while it is daytime, that is, from dawn to dusk.

Movie landscapes

Like so many other places in the United States, especially its most spectacular national parks, the Valley of Fire in Nevada has also become an outdoor set for great Hollywood productions.

Here they have been shot from scenes set in Prehistory, to much futuristic ones with the characters from the Transformers or Star Trek.