We have been to Valley of Fire multiple times and it never gets old - I absolutely love the vibrant colors and interesting rock formations. This is a small park, but it packs a punch. And being only an hour from Vegas it’s easily accessible, although that does bring crowds during a holiday week. We got an early start and arrived shortly after sunrise. No lines, no crowds and we only saw a handful of people on our first hike once we got to the Fire Wave. It was a different story when we left the park around noon - there was a huge line of cars and we thought the wait to get in the park was probably an hour. We certainly enjoyed the solitude in the early morning.

First up was hiking the Seven Wonders Loop and White Domes trail (Strava said we did about four miles and 600 feet total). We parked at the Fire Wave trailhead and started the Seven Wonders Loop on the west side of the road. The Seven Wonders loop is a recently named route in the park (this official route didn’t exist when we first visited Valley of Fire). Although it is a route versus a trail, the park has put in some signs along the way to guide people and warn them if they have taken a wrong turn. This is one of my favorite areas - such a beautiful, unique landscape - and I would like to spend more time exploring off route on a future trip.

We spent some time around Crazy Hill and continued south to Kaolin slot. This is where the Seven Wonders Loop turns east, but we went west through the slot to hook up to the White Domes trail. This is a ~1.3 mile loop through a very short, but scenic, slot canyon and some other colorful rock formations. Once we completed the loop we retraced our steps through Kaolin slot and continued the Seven Wonders Loop. Next up was the obviously named Pink Canyon on our way to the Fire Wave. The Fire Wave is one of the most popular spots in the park and I was surprised to see only a few other people here. Unfortunately, by this time the sky had clouded over and we lost the sun, which rendered the landscape flat. We made a few other stops before heading back to Las Vegas: Silica Dome and Rainbow Vista. Our meal this day was Forte Tapas - a mix of traditional tapas and Eastern European dishes - it was terrific!