Valley of Fire State Park

Practicalities:

Entrance to the park is $6,- per vehicle and it works on an honor system, meaning there is a self pay station where you get an envelope in which you place your money and drop it in a post box.
Remember to tear off the stub, which serves as your proof of payment as well as your permit, from the envelope. You may be asked to show it when leaving the park.

Do make a point of visiting the well equipped Visitor Center, which offers well arranged exhibits on the parks geology and archeology. This Visitor Center is every bit as well set up as any of the National Park's visitors centers. Don't miss it!

The park has two entrances, both off I-15, so the best way of visiting the park would be by going in on one side, exiting at the other. Next to the Visitor Center is a spur road leading to most of the major sites in the park.

Located about 50 miles (~80km) North East of Las Vegas in the Mojava Desert, the Valley of Fire State Park is a great place for a day trip.  It contains brilliant formations of erroded sandstone and dunes that are more than 150 million years old.  It looks like the place has been erroded by water, however most of the work was done by wind born sand particales.

On the approach road to the park the surrounding area, while still impressive, looks somewhat bleak and gray due to the soil.  However once you crest the final hill before the park you are presented with a brilliant sight of the Valley of Fire.  With a high Iron content the whole valley practically glows a deep red colour hence giving it it's name.

The park is open all year round from dawn till dusk.  While entrance is not restricted after nightfall, there really isn't much to see once the sun goes down except the exceptional view of the stars that you typically get when you get out away from city lights.

Fees:
Entrance: US$6.00 per vehicle per day
Camping: US$14.00 per night per vehicle (However it pays to check that space is available because the camping grounds fill up very quickly.)