Come Prepared
Valley of Fire is one of those places where it is hard not to get a great photo. You must come prepared. If you are staying in Las Vegas, then plan on spending most of the day. Our 'desert preparation guide' should assist you in establishing your physical necessities and what you should prepare for when you visit the desert.

Have A Strategy The best strategy to optimize your time here for getting the shots that you want is to start early. The reason is that unless you know ahead of time what you want to shoot and where, you could lose that valuable light angle that you might really need. The park has just over 20 miles of paved roads. The speed limit varies from 35 mph on NH 169 to 25 mph on the Rainbow Vista road. It can take about three hours to visit each of the major points of interest - very quickly. It is important to always keep in mind the angle of the sun. Shadows can both hide and expose interesting rock formations. The 'Dino Rock' is a good example of how shadows can 'create' things. The original is in the left panel. The shadow behind that rock, at that time of day, from that angle makes the rock look like a sculpture of a Dinosaur. Through the magic of PhotoShop, the middle panel shows approximately what the scene looks like when the eye adjusts to the contrast between the shadow and the rock. The panel on the right is an approximation of what the rock might look like in more direct sunlight.