Valley of Fire State Park

Driving from LV to Zion National park and we have been advised to stop at the ';Valley of Fire State Park'; It will only be a short stop, a few hours or so.

What are the must do%26#39;s or must see%26#39;s that we can do in this time frame?

Valley of Fire State Park

I always thought VOF and RRC were one and the same, we went to RRC last weekend and will check out VOF next trip... do you know how far away VOF is from the strip? The RRC was literally about 25-30 mins away, not too far and we could see the strip still from right around the canyon

Valley of Fire State Park

The trip to Zion is a full day. You leave early and come back late. Unless, you%26#39;re spending the night in Zion, I wouldn%26#39;t even consider doing vof on the same trip. :VoF is close enough that you can do at another time as a half day trip.

Valley of Fire is around 70 miles from Vegas. We try to visit at least once a year and take in a couple of short hikes, it is breathtaking. We usually take a picnic and make a day of it, driving back past Lake Mead.

Drive up the main park road to White Domes. That drive is the best part of the park by far and won%26#39;t take too long. If you download the park brochure at the VoP website, you%26#39;ll see it has a map that shows what I%26#39;m talking about.

If you%26#39;re pressed for time you can definitely ignore the small loop road and the other sites of interest along Rt. 169. They%26#39;re nice but not essential, especially if you%26#39;re heading up to Zion.

Valley of Fire has truly magnificient sandstone formations. Visit the visitor%26#39;s center for information, maps,etc. You can just drive from formation to formation- getting out of the car to have a closer look. But to truly appreicate its beauty you should hike on some of the trails. Some are short. Be sure Petrogyph Canyon (a half mile round trip hike) to see the Indian wall paintings. You can take pictures at Rainbow Vista . Elephant Rock (you will understand its name as soon as you see it) is another favorite. There are petrified logs and cabins from the 30s that are now used as a picnic area. Bring your own food- there is none at the park. Bring plenty of water and wear sensible shoes- no sandals. There are restrooms.

http://parks.nv.gov/vf.htm

www.desertusa.com/nvval/

I%26#39;m going to be in Vegas around Thanksgiving and plan to do VOF as a daytrip and drive back vua Lake Mead, too.

I%26#39;ve seen some interesting photos of sandstone slot type canyons at the park. Where are they? (You%26#39;d think after 9 days in Utah/AZ and hiking both Upper and Lower Antelope AND the Narrows at Zion, I%26#39;d have enough, but...no!) I have the whole day so can do a hike or two.

Thanks. And lama, Zion is fabulous. Take the park tram all the way to the end and walk the the trail along the river. So nice! See the Zion forum for lots of handy tips.

Bring food and drinks to VOF and picnic in the Seven Sisters area. There are covered benches amid the boulders with a good view of the desert. It%26#39;s about 65 miles from the strip but on a 75 mph road.