Little Mountaineers Rating: Moderate (1 mile loop, sandy trail and rocky decent)
Last week we ventured to Henderson, Nevada for spring break to visit family, and enjoy some warmer weather. We have spent many vacations in the Las Vegas area and I always get asked what we do. When most people think of Las Vegas they think of the Strip and Casinos, not quite what they would consider a family friendly destination. The Las Vegas area actually hosts some of the most beautiful and interesting outdoor adventures. Each time we go we find new places to explore. I can’t wait to share some of our past experiences as well.
Just over an hour outside of Las Vegas you will find Valley of Fire State Park. Click HERE for more information on the park. We were excited to venture out to this park for the day and do some exploring. We looked up the map of trails, decided on a few we wanted to try, and left after breakfast.
We may have been overly ambitious thinking we could take on 3-4 trails that day. We ended up doing 2 and arriving home around 3:30 pm exhausted. Here are some tips if you want to venture to Valley of Fire State Park with your family.
TIPS
- Hiking in sand is much more difficult than hiking on nice hard flat ground, especially for young children. Almost all of the trails at this park include sand, and lots of it. The sand was especially difficult for my 2-year-old and we carried her part of the time.
- Many of these trails have little to no shade. This is probably not the best park to visit in the middle of summer. Sunscreen, hats and plenty of water is a must.
- The age of your kids will matter here. Young kids will maybe be able to finish one hike. You will probably have a more enjoyable time just hanging out in the sand, exploring rocks, and having a picnic, rather than doing a full hike. Older kids will be able to do more hiking, but plan on it being longer and more tiring.
Driving through the park is a beautiful scenic drive on its own. Even if you didn’t do any hiking and just drove around, had a nice picnic, and did some exploring it would be more than worth it for the beautiful scenery.
The first trail we decided to take on was the White Domes Loop. A mile loop trail that included unique rock formations, a narrow slot canyon, and lots and lots of sand.
WHITE DOMES LOOP
So much sand!
The trail starts off with a fairly steep rocky decent.
My son was always on the lookout for shade, sometimes you had to be a little creative.
The kids loved playing in the sand.
This is just a short slot canyon, but it was still fun to venture through.
My 2-year-old has to follow my 6-year-old everywhere, and she’s pretty good at it!
The desert is a beautiful place.
We found the perfect spot for a nice break to refuel.
Despite the sand, my kids managed to survive and we finished the whole loop in about 1.5 hours. Stay tuned for part 2 of this adventure where I go into detail about the 2nd hike we explored.
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