Description

Many of the "best" trails in Valley of Fire State Park—such as White Domes, Fire Wave, and Seven Wonders—are all rather short hikes.

This recommended route utilizes *all* of these trails to form an attractive 2.7-mile loop that tours the very best that the Valley of Fire has to offer. You can begin the hike from either the White Domes trailhead or the Fire Wave trailhead, although White Domes offers bathrooms and more amenities.

The route mapped here begins by connecting from the White Domes trailhead to the Fire Wave trailhead via a little-used connector trail.

This is the least-traveled portion of the entire hike, and it also offers the option to head up to a high point for a stunning overlook of White Domes and the entire state park. You aren't long into the hike by the time you reach the Fire Wave trailhead, but at this point, you have the option to head down a section of Seven Wonders and add in a bonus loop through some beautiful rock formations.

If 2.7 miles of hiking doesn't sound like enough for you, this addition is highly recommended. Once onto the Fire Wave trail, expect to encounter crowds.

Fire Wave is far and away the most famous hike in the park, thanks to a mellow trail leading to a spectacular rock formation. The Fire Wave itself is a stunning sandstone rock formation that resembles an ocean wave with swirling patterns of red, white, and pink sandstone.

Hikers will clamber all over the Wave to get their pics for Instagram, and professional photographers will set up at sunrise and sunset to capture the hues of the sandstone as it glows fiery red during golden hour. Thankfully, the next stretch of trail is delightfully bereft of hikers (most of the time).

You'll now drop into an unexpecting slot canyon that, while non-technical and not nearly as dramatic as some others in nearby Southern Utah, is nevertheless an unexpected treat.

You may encounter a couple of pools of water, especially in winter and spring. After navigating the first slot, you'll connect to the lower portion of the Seven Wonders trail and then to the White Domes loop.

Here, you'll enter a second fantastic slot with even taller rock walls and a superb narrow passageway! The final climb back up to the trailhead on the White Domes trail is quite spectacular, thanks to some of the tallest and most formidable rock formations in the park. And there you have it: a high-value loop connecting many of the Valley of Fire's most iconic vistas into one fantastic adventure!