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Valley of Fire State Park is super dog-friendly so I made it point to return when my second pup was old enough to go on mini-vacations with me. I visited the park last year in January and loved it so much that it was on my list of places to revisit.

At the time of my visit last year (in January), I went with Crystal and her pup and the four of us spent two days exploring the various trails and sites of the park. This year, I went in mid-March and only had one day to explore the park with my two fur babies.

Where To Stay

I booked at the exact same hotel I stayed at last year at the North Shore Inn at Lake Mead. It’s located in Overton, Nevada and it’s the only hotel near the park that is pet-friendly. It’s a clean and basic hotel at a fair price. At the time of my visit, the average cost per night was $110. It’s located 11 miles from the state park and is an easy 20-minute drive.

There are a ton of lodging choices in Las Vegas, but it’s an hour away and the pet fees are significantly higher. I was driving into Overton from Los Angeles, which is a little over five hours so I wanted to stay at an accommodation where I wouldn’t have to do any more driving.

If you’re a camper, there are two campgrounds within the park: Atlatl Campground and Arch Rock Campground.

What To Wear

March is a fantastic time of year to visit the park. The mornings were a bit chilly at 45-50 degrees, but the temperatures quickly rose to the mid-70s by mid-day. You’ll definitely want to dress in layers. I started my morning hikes with a sweatshirt and by 10 AM I was in a t-shirt.

As far as shoes, you’ll want to wear boots that go past your ankles. Most of the hikes at Valley of Fire involve trekking through the sand, so you’ll want to wear boots to keep that sand out of your shoes.

10:00 AM - Park Entrance

Driving in from Moapa Valley, you will enter the park through the east entrance. There is an adorable polaroid photo-op you can take here, which I had to take with Zooey and Captain. It’s always a bit of a struggle holding a 40-pound pup, but I somehow manage to make it happen.

To the left is some park information and a trail leading up to the Elephant Rock. It’s an easy 0.3-mile hike, but since I only had one day, I decided to skip this and hopped back in the car, and headed towards our first hike at White Domes trail.

11:15 AM - White Domes Trail

White Domes Trail is a 1.5-mile loop trail and it is my favorite hike at Valley of Fire. It’s the most popular hike as well, so there is plenty of parking along with some restrooms. I was really looking forward to this hike since Zooey and I enjoyed it so much last year.

I was a bit worried that we wouldn’t be able to find parking since it was a Saturday, but to my surprise, there was still a handful of parking spots available. However, when we got back to the lot after our hike, it was completely full.

This entire hike is a scenic 1.25-mile trail with movie set remains, a slot canyon, and towering sandstone formations. The pups really enjoyed this hike and they especially loved running around in the sand. They also enjoyed climbing and jumping off rocks.

The temperature began to rise up to the mid-70s while we were hiking and the sun beaming down on us prompted us to take multiple breaks to drink water. The pups drank a ton of water, so I’m glad I was prepared and brought a big bottle of water for them and some water for me as well.

Although it is a fairly short hike, it took us a while to get back to our starting point. We made several stops to take photos and breaks to drink water. You can get more details of this hike from our post: Dog-Friendly Hike at Whites Domes Trail in Valley of Fire State Park.

1:00 PM - Lunch Break in Overton

After we finished our hike at White Domes Trail, we were pretty hungry. We settled on McDonald’s. There are several spots within the park where you can enjoy your meal with a gorgeous view, but we decided to head back to the hotel to eat our lunch and then took a quick nap.

If you don’t want to head back into town for lunch, you’ll need to pack your own food, snacks, and drinks as there are no eateries within the park.

4:00 PM - Visitor Center + Balanced Rock Trail

After eating and napping, we drove back to the park and headed to the Visitor’s Center. This area is also an excellent place to wander around and take some awesome pictures with your pups. The rock formations are gorgeous and I especially enjoyed having the pups climb inside the rock holes for cute photo-ops.

To the left of the Visitor’s Center building is a short trail that leads up to the Balanced Rock. It’s an easy 0.3-mile roundtrip hike and the pups really enjoyed running up and down the trail.

4:45 PM - Fire Wave Trail

This 1.5-mile roundtrip hike used to be a hidden gem years ago and recently made it onto the park’s official map in 2015. This trail starts off with trekking through a lot of sand, but midway through, you get to a rocky area that gives your calves a much needed break.

I initially wanted to reach the end of this trail right around sunset, but we reached the end a lot sooner than I expected. The end of the trail is an impressive display of striated sandstone that has eroded over time to create a beautiful wave effect.

We saw a handful of people on this trail and it seemed like some were staying and finding a spot to enjoy the sunset. We didn’t see any other dogs on this hike and Zooey and Captain were getting a lot of attention from other hikers. They were definitely enjoying all the attention they were getting from everyone.

After exploring the area for a while and snapping some photos, we decided to head back to the car. If you want a detailed review of this trail, read our post: Spectacular Dog-Friendly Wave Trail at Valley of Fire State Park.

6:30 PM - Sunset at Mouse’s Tank Road

Since there was still some light left in the day, I decided to head to one more spot before calling it a day. If you search for Valley of Fire on Instagram, everyone seems to have the same picture overlooking Mouse’s Tank Road, but this spot isn’t marked on the map anywhere, so it can be a bit challenging to find.

It’s located within walking distance to the Rainbow Vista Trailhead parking lot. Once you park there, you cross the street, walk down the road a bit, climb a few rocks and you’ll get that epic view of the scenic road.

I was pleasantly surprised that there was nobody here and also happy that we had the place to ourselves. Since it was getting close to the end of sunset, there was only so much time before we lost the light.

Final Thoughts

As we were exiting the park, I decided to stop one more time to take a photo at the entrance where the fun polaroid photo-op was. The sunset light was so beautiful and you can definitely see the red hues in the rocks compared to the image I took earlier in the morning.

Valley of Fire is a spectacular state park with breathtaking views and relatively easy hikes. I’m so grateful that this park is extremely dog friendly since I love traveling with my fur babies.

If I had more time, I would personally spend another day here and explore the other trails the park has to offer. This was my second time visiting the park and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. I’m so happy that I was able to make the second visit happen with Zooey, Captain, and Brian.

TIPS

• Bring your own meals and snacks as there are no restaurants or cafes within the park

• Bring plenty of water for you and your pup

• If you are prone to motion sickness, drive slower on the rolling hills and bumps

• Wear shoes that can keep the sand out

• Visiting hours are from sunrise to sunset, so plan accordingly

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