Sometimes, great adventures are just a short trip away. How? By visiting one of America’s 10,000 state parks!
I recently visited the Valley of Fire State Park in Overton, Nevada. After a short drive from Las Vegas, I was transported to a completely different world – one filled with red rocks, limestone formations, magnificent cacti, and so much more.
If you’re able to make the trek to Valley of Fire, here’s what I recommend to get some gorgeous snaps:
Book the whole day on your calendar.
Valley of Fire is open from sunrise to sunset (or 24/7 if you’re using their campgrounds.) When I visited with my friends, we initially expected to stay an hour or so, then head off on the rest of our road trip. We arrived around 2PM, and we only were able to explore a small portion of the park by the time sundown came – you definitely need more time than a few hours!
Don’t be afraid to go off the trail.
There are a ton of great trails to explore, but you also can’t go wrong with parking at one of the designated parking spots and exploring the surrounding area. Get up close with the rocks!
Play with perspective.
At Valley of Fire, there are a lot of rocks you can easily climb. Head to the top for a new view, or plant yourself directly below one and get a bug’s eye view. I also liked the dissonance of how huge the rocks are paired with just how small I felt.
Capture the changing landscapes.
There’s something different to see almost everywhere you turn – different types of rocks, a range of colors, both flat and mountainous terrain. I liked finding the areas with a little bit of everything.
Keep your eyes peeled.
There’s a lot of wildlife at Valley of Fire, including ravens, coyotes, foxes, lizards, even roadrunners and jackrabbits! As it got close to sundown, I swore that I saw a snake sticking its head out of a little hole in the sand. Unfortunately, my reaction was more scream & run away than Wow, what a cool photo opp. So, be aware – who knows what you’ll be able to capture!
Have you been to Valley of Fire State Park? Let us know about your experience in the comments! Ready to get printing? Hint, hint: the otherworldly colors from Valley of Fire will look perfect when printed on Metal.
