How NOT to Visit Valley of Fire State Park
We planned to stop by Valley of Fire State Park on our drive from Las Vegas to Zion National Park. We figured it would be a great way to break up the drive, and it was, but we made two big mistakes on this journey, and we repeated them throughout the rest of our road trip. Hopefully, you’ll learn from us and do it better!
Scenic drive through Valley of Fire State Park
Mistake #1: Poor Time Management
The drive from Las Vegas to Zion National Park is under 3 hours if you take the direct route that Google Maps suggests. “Plenty of time to stop by a state part on the way!”…or so I thought. I also thought it would be a great idea to stop by the Hoover Dam, because when you’re even remotely nearby, it seems like it’s worth the detour…and it is. But too many detours can really add up and limit how much time you have to enjoy things along the way.
We were up and getting breakfast in Las Vegas at 7am, a nice early start to the day. We ate at Eataly and we can highly recommend stopping for a visit if you’re nearby, it’s well worth it. We lingered at breakfast longer than we had anticipated and we weren’t out of the hotel until around 8am. For most people, that’s probably still an early start to the day, but for us with all we had planned, we were already behind.
On our way out of Vegas, we stopped by the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. We weren’t anticipating the crowds that were already there at 8am, but everyone had organized themselves into a nice line, so we joined in because we weren’t about to leave Vegas without getting a photo in front of this sign! What was supposed to be a quick photo stop took an hour and by the time we got out of there, it was almost 9am!
Enjoying the views of the Hoover Dam from the adjacent bridge
The drive from Las Vegas to the Hoover Dam is around 45 minutes and we ended up arriving just before 10am. It’s a short hike from the Boulder Dam Bridge parking lot to the viewpoint on the bridge. Despite our late start getting out of Las Vegas, we were still ahead of most tourists and the crowds on the bridge were fairly spread out. We spent around 15 minutes on the bridge and we felt that was the perfect amount of time to take in the views and enjoy it without feeling rushed.
Backside of the Hoover Dam
We then drove across the Hoover Dam and parked on the back side to check out some alternate views. Overall, our pitstop at the Hoover Dam ended up being exactly as we had planned. Including parking, hiking to the bridge, driving across the dam and enjoying the views, we ended up spending around one hour at the Hoover Dam. We didn’t do any tours inside the dam and we didn’t walk out onto the dam, so plan to spend more time there if you’re doing those activities.
Karin and Jeremy at a scenic viewpoint for Lake Mead
On the road again and we are finally heading to Valley of Fire State Park. We followed the recommended route through Lake Mead National Recreation Area to get to the state park. The drive was incredibly scenic, especially when compared to being on an interstate. We made a quick stop at an overlook for Lake Mead, and while the water level was extremely low, the views were still great. If you have extra time, the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead would make a great day trip from Las Vegas. If you did that, then you could do a full day at Valley of Fire State Park the following day.
Entrance sign at Valley of Fire State Park
We finally arrived at Valley of Fire State Park shortly after noon. We ended up wasting a lot of time at the entrance to the state park, about 30 minutes. There was no one staffed at the entrance gate, so we had to pull into a parking lot to pay for a one-day permit. There were no cash machines and we didn’t have small bills so we had to wait around for someone to break a $20 for us, it was such a frustrating part of the day and so many other people were just as frustrated as us. At least we had cash, some people just turned around because they didn't have any cash on hand to pay the entrance fee. Hopefully, when you visit, someone will be staffed at the entrance booth, but if not, bring $5s and $10s to pay for the entrance permit.
Elephant Rock is a short walk from the entrance parking lot at Valley of Fire State Park
Mistake #2: Underestimating Valley of Fire State Park
There’s a lot to see and do at Valley of Fire State Park and we really underestimated how much we’d love exploring the park. In our research, we had treated the park as if it was going to be a short pit stop on our drive, but it really deserves a lot more time, a full day at least!
Color changing landscapes at Valley of Fire State Park
We decided to spend the majority of our time enjoying a scenic drive through the park, stopping at pull offs along the road if something caught our attention. The desert landscapes in the park are incredible and constantly changing. You might see three or four different colors of rock in the same view!
Scenic drive in Valley of Fire State Park
We also enjoyed walking around and getting a close up view of some of the local desert plants. If we had more time, we would have gone on a hike or two. We will definitely be back to hike the Fire Wave trail!
Cholla cactus at Valley of Fire State Park
If you’re lucky, you might see some wildlife while you’re in the park. We spotted a family of desert bighorn sheep near the road!
Desert Bighorn Sheep at Valley of Fire State Park
Learn from our mistakes!
If you’re planning to visit Valley of Fire State Park, hopefully these tips will help you on your next visit:
Plan to spend a full day at the park because there’s a lot to do
Get there early. If you’re coming from Las Vegas, leave early and don’t make too many pitstops along the way
Bring cash in small bills ($5s and $10s) in case you have to pay the entrance fee and there’s no one to give you change
Bring lots of water, it’s the desert, it gets hot!
Plan to get out and hike! There is a lot more to the state park than just a scenic drive
