Las Vegas Nevada Resorts

You have spent enough time in Las Vegas, gambling at the casinos, stuffing yourself with food at the restaurant and you are overwhelmed by the glitz and glamor of Vegas. You feel like you need a break from the busy and noisy Las Vegas Strip.

The Grand Canyon is way too far while the Hoover Dam is just overcrowded and you desperately need some space and fresh air that is not contaminated by the smoke of the cigarettes.

The perfect place for you is just an hour away, the Valley of Fire, sparkling red sandstone scenery where erosion of millions of years carved the rocks and dunes into amazing shapes stunning your eye and mind.

There is an elephant and over here a huge beehive… and you are still in your car. Get out of the car and explore the 3,900 hectares of Nevada’s oldest state park. Various trailheads will guide you on different hikes on your way. Every landmark will reveal something new to your eyes, for instance a natural arch, a balancing rock or a piece of rock with Indian carvings. On this road you don’t need much just plenty of water to avoid drying out, determination to keep walking and enough confidence that you’ll know the way back to the road and to your car.

Due to its nearness to Las Vegas and the amazing scenery, Valley of Fire is an easy and popular day trip for families or tour groups. Many visitors prefer to stay here more than just a day and the two campgrounds are frequently crammed spring and fall, while it is less people during the burning summer and cold winter.

As incredible as it might seem, this burning desert – now with an average of 10 cm of rain per year – begun as an ocean. In time, the water retreated leaving behind sand dunes buried by soil sediments roughly 150 million years ago. The dunes emerged to the surface because of the earthquakes and turned them into solid sandstone shapes. The red tint on them is the result of the rusted iron in the silica. All the rest was done by the wind which sculpted the sandstone into unearthly structures in millions of years.

Humans have wondered around these parts for about 4,000 years. First were the nomads, culture that gave way to the early Indian culture of Basketmakers, next the Anasazi-Pueblo and in the end to the Southern Paiutes.

Spanish travelers arrived here in the 1500s, followed later on by American, Mexican and Canadian trappers. Around 300 years later traders, gold seekers Mormon settlers and miners arrived to this place.

There are still traces of the human activity, such as the Old Arrowhead Trail as a reminder of the 90 year old road linking California, Nevada and Utah.

The state purchased the old mining claims to the region and established the valley as a state park in 1935. Today it is among the busiest Nevada parks with over 500,000 tourists a year.

This magnificent Valley of Fire is situated roughly 60 miles northeast of Las Vegas through Interstate 15, exit 75. It is open for visitors all year long, spring and fall is the best time to visit the park.

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