Mouse's Tank

Mouse's Tank is a rain-catching basin at the end of a 0.7-mile out-and-back through Petroglyph Canyon on White Domes Road. The narrow red-sandstone passage and the rock art along it are as much the draw as the basin. It's a good short stop if you want to stretch your legs beyond a roadside pullout, but loose sand and uneven rock make the walk slower than its distance suggests. The basin can be dry, so don't come expecting a pool.

Petroglyphs appear along the canyon walls, and some are easy to miss if you only follow the main signs. The park describes its rock art broadly as about 2,000 years old; that isn't a date for each panel here. Valley of Fire has a much longer Indigenous history, with use of these lands going back thousands of years and Nuwu (Southern Paiute) communities still connected to the area.

Mouse's Tank is a natural hollow in the sandstone where rainwater collects, not a spring. Water levels vary, and neither water depth nor drinking-water quality is established. For a photo, include the curved sandstone lip around the dark basin so the frame shows the catchment's shape, not just a dark opening.

The park's red sandstone began as dunes during the age of dinosaurs, more than 150 million years ago. Wind and water keep eroding it, which is why this walk feels enclosed by rounded, sculpted walls rather than a single sheer cliff.

Start at the Mouse's Tank trailhead on White Domes Road and return the same way. Bring drinking water and go during cooler hours; the park warns that high heat makes even short hikes dangerous. Shaded areas and restrooms are near the trailhead, but there's no food or drinking-water stop listed there. The park closes to all visitors for annual maintenance Dec 1–14, so avoid that window for a winter visit.