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Local Love & Wanderlust | Cleveland-Based Travel & Lifestyle Blog

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Valley Of Fire State Park When You Only Have Half A Day

Destinations, Outdoors

Valley of Fire is a State Park roughly 1-hour NE of Las Vegas and should be on every nature-lovers list. While there are many incredible views, we’ll only cover a few key points that we were able to visit. My goal is to inspire you to visit this geological marvel even if you don’t think you have enough time. You can easily see a lot of amazing views within a couple of hours.

What To Know About Valley Of Fire State Park

But first, let’s talk about what you need to know about Valley of Fire State Park.

The park was founded in 1935 to preserve the bold red sandstone landscapes and formations. Covering over 42,000 acres in the desert roughly 1 hour northeast of Las Vegas near Lake Mead.

Hours: The park is open every day from sunrise to sunset with 24-hour access to campgrounds. If you are in the park past sunset outside of the designated camping area it will be considered trespassing.

Park Fees: If you are from Nevada your fee is $10.00. Out-of-state visitors pay $15.00

Directions: From Las Vegas take 1-15 North for about 33 miles. Take exit 75 and follow the Valley of Fire highway for another 14 miles till the park entrance.

Visit the official park website for more information.

The Beehives

The Beehives are one of the first jaw-dropping views you’ll get to see once entering the park. These sandstone formations full of geological cross-bedding (the lines through the rock) are a sight to see.

Once you pay to enter the park, continue on Valley of Fire Highway as it leads you right to this viewpoint.

Arch Rock

Just a short drive from The Beehives is a turn-off on your left named Campground Road. Here you’ll see Atlatl Rock which has a collection of petroglyphs on a boulder of red sandstone. The petroglyphs are roughly 50 feet above ground, a metal staircase was installed to help view. We skipped this due to time and make our way directly to Arch Rock, the next viewpoint on Campground Road.

This arch was created over millennia of strong winds and rains eroding away at the material holding the rock together. This was a quick stop with beautiful views. You can return the way you came, or continue on the 2-mile scenic loop past Arch Rock. We decided to return the way we came to save time. Having not been here before, we weren’t sure how much time we needed so played it safe.

Some other viewpoints that were on my list in this area that we didn’t see: Fire Cave/ Windstone Arch, Petrified Logs

This park appears in my post Las Vegas When You Don’t Like Las Vegas. Check out the post if you’re looking for more things to do in Las Vegas when it’s not really your place.

Mouse’s Tank Road in Valley of Fire State Park

After you get back to Valley of Fire Highway, you’ll head East for roughly 2-miles before you see the entrance to Mouse’s Tank Road on your left. This is the scenic desert view of your dreams. This almost 6-mile drive has several turn-offs for multiple viewpoints. If you’re short on time, however, you’ll need to be more selective of which viewpoints you stop at.

Several of the viewpoints require a small hike to the destination, and unfortunately, with our short timeline we had to limit our stops to points that were close to the parking areas. The views were so beautiful along Mouse’s Tank Road that you won’t feel too bad about missing out on multiple hikes. We were able to make a few more stops on this road before we got close to sunset and had to make our way home.

Keep your eyes open as you may see some animals along the route. We came across some bighorn sheep climbing the rocks along Mouse’s Tank Road. You’ll also see so many incredible photo-ops of the dreamy desert roads on the horizon photos.

Some other viewpoints that were on my list in this area that we didn’t see: Visitor Center, Balanced Rock, Pastel Pink Canyon Trail, Fire Wave, White Domes Trail

Fire Canyon / Silica Dome

When you only have half a day to visit, one view you should definitely see is Fire Canyon/ Silica Dome. With such vivid layers of color, this was one of our favorite stops. The views were close to the parking lot making this easily accessible to most. Perfect for when you are short on time. These stunning colors are from layers of sandstone that have sand grains that are almost pure silica. The bold red coloring comes from small quantities of iron in the rock producing rust-like stains.

Crazy Hill

The next stop on our drive through Mouse’s Tank Road is Crazy Hill. This was another relatively short walk away from the parking area that yielded colorful views. Layers of pinks, oranges, and a creamy white fill the views.

Love beautiful desert landscapes? Check out my post on A November Day in Joshua Tree for more beautiful scenes.

Fire Wave

Across the street from the parking lot, we used to visit Crazy Hill is a trail to the Fire Wave. It was getting late in our trip and I still had one more view I wanted to see before sunset. We walked maybe 15 minutes in and made it to the top of the hill Fire Wave sat below. We decided to not walk all the way down to the views. There wasn’t much time until sunset, and we still had the view to find.

Rainbow Valley in Valley of Fire State Park

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A post shared by Jen | Local love + Wanderlust (@localloveandwanderlust)

This was our last stop on Mouse’s Tank Road and it was the view that I’ve seen everywhere and really wanted to witness. We found a hill near the road in Rainbow Valley that had a parking lot nearby. This is definitely one of the most spectacular views in the park and was the perfect way to end our drive-through.

Want to see even more spectacular rocky desert views? See more on my post about Seeing The Grand Canyon South Rim In One Day.

Valley of Fire State Park is the perfect destination for those needing a break from Las Vegas. At only roughly 1-hour away from the city, it’s an easy drive with memorable views. I highly recommend this park, even if you only have a couple of hours.

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Hi, I'm Jen - a Cleveland-based photographer, designer, and content creator with a love for travel and my hometown. I share curated travel guides, inspiring itineraries, business and restaurant spotlights, hiking-focused outdoor content and all the best things to do in Cleveland showing you why it, too, is a travel-worthy destination.
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🥾🍁 Fall Hike in Cleveland with Epic Views W 🥾🍁 Fall Hike in Cleveland with Epic Views

With the official start of fall this weekend and pops of fall color already popping up, it’s time to talk fall hikes 🍁🥾

Last Fall I checked out the newly opened Eatern Ledge Trail within the Euclid Creek Reservation, part of the @clevemetroparks 

This trail winds you through a fall forest along a flowing creek and takes you to a ledge overview 130 feet above Euclid Creek. 

I found it to be a easy to moderate trail due to the incline. The views were epic, especially when the sun is out creating intense shadows.

Tag a friend or send this to someone you’d love to hike this trail with! 

🥾1-mile out & back

🍁 Mixed terrain, paved parts of trail are accessible 

↗️ easy to moderate

🚘 Nearby parking, picnic area, and play area

📍Euclid Creek Reservation 44143

#findyourpark #euclidcreekreservation #easternledgetrail #clevelandmetroparks #thisiscle #clevelandohio #euclidcreek #clevelandhikers #hikemore #ohiotheheartofitall #optoutside #fallhikes #clevelandblogger
POV: you fly to your destination only to drive aro POV: you fly to your destination only to drive around the entire place for days seeing amazing views, sunsets, and the spectacular view in the last clip 😍

Do you prefer to fly, drive, or a mix of both when you travel?

#newmexicotrue #newmexico #roadtrip #travelblogger #albuquerque #santafe #whitesandsnationalpark #carlsbadcavernsnationalpark #desertroad #exploremore
The Places We Find Along the Way Carrizozo, New M The Places We Find Along the Way

Carrizozo, New Mexico was just a small town we were going to stop in to grab lunch in between getting from White Sands National Park to Albuquerque. What we weren't expecting was a charming little town with lots of personality. I only wish we had a little longer to spend exploring. 

We had lunch at @honeygirlscafe which was the cutest little spot with great food and the nicest people working there. You could tell this was a neighborhood favorite with how many people stopped in during our short visit. 

There were little shops around town I wanted to check out, and lots of photogenic scenes and street art. Just lovely. If you're taking the White Sands to Albuquerque route I highly recommend stopping here for lunch.

Also seen:

Billy the Kid country sign - I was a huge Billy the Kid fan when I was younger so this was kind of cool to see. I imagine he could have ridden through this town at some point. 

Carrizozo Volcanic Fields - on our drive out we passed by volcanic fields from a long ago eruption. So long ago that thousands of plants were growing in the lava. It was really cool to see. 

Have you found somewhere you weren't looking for but are glad you found it in your travels & local explorations?
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#carrizozo #newmexico #NewMexicoTRUE #travelblogger #clevelandblogger #billythekidcountry #lincolncounty #GramOfEnchantment #landofenchantment #newmexicolove @newmexicotrue #carrizozolavafields
Hike you need to try: Tree Farm Trail in @cuyahoga Hike you need to try: Tree Farm Trail in @cuyahogavalleynps 

Once part of a tree farm, this fairytale-esque hike takes you through a shaded trail surrounded by trees and vegetation until it leads you to symmetrical rows of what was once Christmas trees which now tower high above the trail. 

This is what drew me to want to explore this trail, but once we got there I was instantly enamored with this section of Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 

You’ll also find a swampy-looking odd-shaped pond covered in moss with a beautiful tree-and-flower-lined trail that takes you over a wooden walkway and through a grassy field toward a pavilion. 

While this was a spur-of-the-moment visit, we didn’t do the full hike, but we did get to see part of the former Christmas tree farm with its lovely trees in a row and it’s a stunning view every fan of nature will love to see. This was our second hike of this day and the temperature was getting up there reminding me why I don’t usually like to hike in the summer. 

The Tree Farm Trail takes you through a variety of terrain so you’ll definitely want to wear proper footwear. You’ll encounter wood planks, dirt, and grass-covered terrain. 

This hike also counts toward my goal of hiking 24 new-to-us hikes as it was our first time visiting. This is also a hike I wish I had my camera with me for, but my iPhone had to do. I cannot wait to return, maybe in the fall! 

📍Horseshoe Pond & Tree Farm Trail�2075 Major Road, Peninsula, Ohio 44264
📝The Details:
🌲2.8 m loop trail
⭐️Access through Horseshoe Pond Trailhead
⏱️1 to 1.5 hours
🗻150 ft elevation
🥾Easy hike with mixed grass and dirt trail
😎Trail is mostly shaded
🧻Restroom facilities in the parking lot
🧺Picnic pavilion with tables + grills

#HIKE24IN23 #cuyahogavalleynationalpark #cvnp #nationalparkgeek #travelblogger #ohioheartofitall #optoutside #womenwhohike #forcvnp @forcvnp @ohiotheheartofitall #beautiful_ohio_scenes
📍Rocky Mountain Views This national park was a 📍Rocky Mountain Views

This national park was an absolute dream. We had a few challenges on our two and a half days in the park, from me dealing with mild altitude sickness to Canadian wildfire smoke clouding up half our trip. We still had an epic adventure. This National Park has made its way to one of my favorites, these pictures only do the park a little bit of justice.

What’s a beautiful view in nature you’ve seen lately? 👇🏻

#traveltuesday #nationalparks #nps #visitestespark #rmnp #rockymountainnationalpark #womenwhohike #colorado #coloradolive #coloradohiking #coloradoadventures #travelblogger #clevelandblogger @only.in.colorado @rockynps @visitestespark @visitcolorado

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