You’ll also see shades of yellow, orange, and white. True to its name, the canyon walls radiate soft shades of pink hues in every direction. A lesser known, and equally stunning, attraction. What you probably haven’t heard about is Pink Canyon. Just an hour outside of Vegas, it’s the perfect retreat for anyone who is in need of a reprieve from the city lights.Īnyone who has heard of this park is likely familiar with the Fire Wave. Valley of Fire is a place that will exceed your expectations. A great way to avoid crowds, and easily one of Nevada's most beautiful geological displays. The White Domes Trail has only a small elevation change but the bright, light-colored surroundings reflect the sunlight so in summer the heat can be quite intense.Pink Canyon is an unmarked canyon in Valley of Fire State Park. The 1.2 mile loop hike back to the carpark is completed by a more open stretch that crosses sandy desert and has views towards the far away North Muddy Mountains. The top of these give a nice panorama of the rather surreal surroundings. After emerging suddenly back into the heat, the trail turns right, climbs a slope and runs through another gap between two sandstone ridges. Although less than 200 feet long, the rocks are beautifully colored, and the cool, sheltered passageways allow welcome respite from the sun.

Downstream along the dry wash the path enters a short section of slot canyon, the best feature of the hike. On the way are the remains of a film set, used for The Professionals in 1966, a time when such commercial activities were allowed in the park the set is now treated as some kind of historical relic. The path heads south through a sandy gap between two ridges, down the slope beyond and on to the floor of a dry drainage, Kaolin Wash.

Mouse's Tank Trail is the most used path in the park, and even tour buses regularly stop here, though despite being quite short, the soft sand and hot, airless conditions can make the trip quite strenuous for those unaccustomed to walking in the desert.īack on the main road are several other roadside pull-outs including for the route through fins and ravines to Top of the World Arch, another for the hike to Fire Wave and Pastel Canyon, and one for the walk down Magnesite Wash, before the highway ends at a shaded picnic area and trailhead for the hike to the White Domes, another cluster of rounded, cream-colored sandstone mounds. The drainage is now known as Fire Canyon Wash, and it can with some effort be followed for several more miles, through narrow places and over dryfalls. An alternative perspective can be had by climbing the rocks on the left side, beyond the end of the official path, to a viewpoint that also looks down over the continuation of the canyon below the drop off, as it snakes its way eastwards between more weathered red cliffs and boulders.

The tanks might be historically significant but they are not particularly interesting to look at, being quite small, in shade most of the day, not fully visible from the path, and liable to contain litter floating in the stagnant water. The trail along the sandy canyon floor ends at a 20 foot drop off in a V-shaped crevice between two cliffs, in which are found the tank, or rather tanks - two deep, sheltered potholes formed by the action of floodwaters flowing over the sandstone.

White domes valley of fire