If you are on the road in the Southwest, for one reason or another you will almost certainly find yourself passing through Las Vegas, an eccentric city with stunning lights and sounds and endless attractions. But after satisfying your curiosity about visiting the legendary Sin City in person, there won’t be much left for you to do. It is important to know that there are several nature attractions (and many other attractions!) to visit around this torrid city in the Nevada desert. Just to name a few, the Valley of Fire, Red Rock Canyon, and many others, including some others mentioned here.
Today I want to tell you about Bowl of Fire, a remote place within Lake Mead National Recreation Area that can be reached via a trail little known to foreign tourists, and rarely visited even by locals. Yet because of the trailhead’s strategic location and, of course, because of the beauty of the scenery (very similar to the nearby Valley of Fire), if you are a seasoned explorer and have some time on your hands, this trail might turn out to be a nice surprise.
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Things to Know Before You Go
Before diving into the hike, a few things that you must keep in mind:
- Avoid hiking this trail if you visit Nevada in the summer: Since the Bowl of Fire is in a desert area, temperatures here will be extremely high. The trail is not short and there is no shade, so the heat may be excessive and it is not worth risking your health.
- Even if you do the hike in a season with milder weather, bring comfortable clothes and plenty of water, because you will not find any convenience stores or visitor centers nearby.
- In some parts of the trail, the trail is not well marked. Also, when you arrive at the Bowl of Fire, there will be areas to explore, so you will want to use this route and keep your GPS navigator on to figure out where you are and which way to go with the various detours.
How do you get there?
If you do not have a 4×4, you will need to go to the trailhead located on the edge of Northshore Road (NV-167), precisely at this spot. From Las Vegas, it takes just 40 minutes to drive 34 miles to reach the parking lot. Leave your car at the roadside clearing and to your left, among the barren mounds, you will already see the red rocks of the Bowl of Fire popping up in the distance. That’s where you need to walk. If you are equipped with an off-road vehicle, however, you can get a little closer by cutting about 2 miles of walking round trip. Head towards this point, just at the confluence of the Callville Wash and another dry riverbed that will lead you to the Bowl of Fire.
What is the Bowl of Fire?
In geology, “ bowl” simply means “basin“, and it is clearly the flaming color of the Aztec Sandstone rocks typical of the area that inspired its name. Similar vistas can be seen in much greater detail in the nearby Valley of Fire and in an even more remote area of Lake Mead Recreation Area (Little Finland). The Bowl of Fire is a fairly confined area where you can see an expanse of rock formations and sandstone outcrops eroded into the strangest shapes. You will find small caves and other hollows, pinnacles, arches, and other rock formations. The color palette ranges from bright red to yellow to orange to soft pink.
The hike
Starting from the parking lot on NV-167, you will have to walk on fairly flat terrain for about one mile before you reach the edge of the Bowl of Fire. You will cross a vast dried-up riverbed (Callville Wash) and then hike alongside the dry bed of one of its tributaries to the southern edge of the basin.
When you begin to see behind the surrounding gray mountain ridges that red shade of the rocks deepens, and after a saddle, you will know you have arrived. Use these coordinates, about 1.5 miles from the trailhead, to arrive at your destination. When you get there you will realize that there is no exact route to take, but that on the contrary, the beauty is really in exploring the area looking for the most interesting views and rock formations.
There are at least a couple of side trails that go east climbing up the rocks to interesting viewpoints. To reach them you will have to deviate from the main trail and then retrace your steps. As I mentioned earlier, to avoid losing your bearings, I recommend that you follow the trail shown here.
To return to your car, you will have to walk the same way in the opposite direction. You may also decide to walk inside the creek bed to Callville Wash instead of skirting it from above. The hike for those starting from the Northshore Road varies in length (depending on when you explore), but it is about 4.3 miles round trip. Those who park at the confluence will walk about 2 miles less.
How to fit this stop into an itinerary
If you have some time on your hands and are in no rush, the Bowl of Fire would be ideal for a day trip from Las Vegas. However, since it is definitely a secondary destination compared to other parks in the area, you may not have time. A smart way to add a visit to the Bowl of Fire to your itinerary is to make it an intermediate stop between Las Vegas and the Valley of Fire, a state park that is usually reached via the I-15 N freeway. The latter route, which you see below on the map, is certainly the fastest way to reach the park’s western entrance, but not necessarily the nicest.
In fact, NV-167 (Northshore Road), where the Bowl of Fire trailhead is located, is a bit longer but certainly more scenic. If you drive on NV-167 according to the directions on the map below, you will arrive at the eastern entrance to the Valley of Fire in 1.15 hours from Las Vegas (30 minutes from the trailhead for the Bowl of Fire, which, as you can see on the map, is at the halfway point). If you are in no hurry to reach other stops (Zion, Bryce etc.) after the Valley of Fire, visiting the Bowl of Fire might be a really good choice for you.
Where to stay
Probably the Bowl of Fire will be a stop on your way to or from Utah. If you are heading northeast, find a place to stay in St. George, but if you are heading toward Las Vegas (from Utah or Arizona), check out our advice in this article.
