I lived in the Las Vegas area for over 4 years and I had only been out to Valley of Fire once, on an ATV adventure with one of my best friends from out of town. I didn’t get to see much since I was focused on driving and not getting lost on the trail. The park is about an hour north of Las Vegas and has a $10 entrance fee. There are tent and RV camping options as well. My pup had a blast climbing at Beehive and impressed some kids with her fearlessness and helped them conquer their fear of heights. We checked out the petroglyphs near the campgrounds, went for a walk around the Petrified Logs, drove White Domes and Fire Canyon Road, but I think the most exciting part was seeing Elephant Rock. The story behind seeing Elephant Rock is that last summer, my ex-husband and I looked EVERYWHERE for it and went on several trips looking for it. The problem was that we were looking in the wrong area for it. He thought it was in Lake Mead Recreation Park in what’s known as Bowl of Fire so we would go out there and explore all over the area looking for a rock formation that looked like an elephant. We obviously never found it, but found a lot of other cool formations and took some awesome photos so it wasn’t a complete loss.
My second hike this last week was at Callville Bay in Lake Mead Recreation Park. The west entrance is about 30mins from Las Vegas and costs $25 per car. There are a number of campgrounds throughout the park as well. The trail we took was simple and short but has amazing views of the lake. The ironic thing is, I lived in Callville Bay for 2 years and not once did I go on this hike. I’m glad that I waited to go on it since I hiked it for the first time with a really good friend of mine who is in the area from Alaska and it was good to hike and catch up in an area of the park that we met in.
After the hike at Callville, the pup and I headed to a popular art instillation south of Las Vegas onI-15 called Seven Magic Mountains for a sunset viewing. It is free to go check out these color totems and it’s open 24 hours. It was really neat to see them, but I personally wouldn’t have driven out of my way to go see them if I didn’t have some spare time on my hands. If you are traveling along I-15 and are in this area, it’s worth the stop.
My last hike in the area was the Arizona (Ringbolt) Hot Springs hike. I did this hike last year with my ex-husband and one of our pups, so we didn’t get to do the loop option. This time I did it as my first official solo hike, no pup, and it was one of the most empowering experiences I’ve had. The trail head is about 4 miles east of the Arizona/Nevada border and while it is a Lake Mead trail, there is no fee to park or hike the trail. Once you leave the parking lot, you hike in the wash under highway 93 and into what I call “no man’s land” which is just a flat nothing until you reach the canyons leading to the river. The suggest route to take is staying to the right and going through White Rock Canyon to the river and the hot springs, and then taking Hot Spring Canyon back to the wash and parking lot. When taking White Rock Canyon, the hike will be gradual until you reach the river. You will also have to climb a ladder to get to the hot springs and the first pool you get to will be the coolest of the three. If you come from Hot Springs Canyon, the hike is more steep and you will be at the top of the hot springs which will be the hottest. There are warning signs about putting your head under the water due to the brain-eating amoeba that can be found in hot springs. While the likelihood of this happening to you, it’s better to be safe and just not put your head under the water… You can also spot occasional petroglyphs along some of the trails if you keep your eyes open. Please note that this trail is closed during the summer due to extreme heat. The weather may not FEEL too bad when you start out, but the canyons have to potential to reach critical temperatures.
50 States in 5 Years 