Picnic area · Valley of Fire State Park
A shaded lunch stop with petroglyphs just behind it.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Valley of Fire Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Valley of Fire State Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Mouse’s Tank: Look Along the Canyon Walls“You're nearing the Mouse's Tank trailhead, where a sandy canyon walk passes petroglyphs on the way to a rain-catching rock basin.”
Plays as you drive up to Mouse’s Tank Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Valley of Fire Tour Guide.
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Guide
Mouse’s Tank Picnic Area is a day-use picnic spot on Mouse’s Tank Road, across the road from the parking lot for the short Mouse’s Tank trail. It’s a useful break if you want shade and a place to eat without walking to the sandstone basin. Heading north from the Visitor Center, the picnic-area parking is on the left, opposite the trailhead lot on the right, about 1.2 miles up the road. Restrooms are nearby.
The distinctive extra here is the petroglyphs on the cliffs behind the picnic area. They’re near the roadside stop, not only farther up the canyon trail, and are visible from the road. The figures are carved into dark desert varnish on sandstone.
Mouse’s Tank is the sandstone basin at the end of a separate half-mile round-trip trail from the trailhead across the road. You can stop for the picnic area and nearby rock art without taking that walk. If the basin is your goal, use the signed trailhead parking rather than expecting the picnic area itself to be the basin.
Wildlife
638 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
11 sightingsMojave Desert TortoiseMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
23 sightingsSidewinderMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
18 sightingsBlack-tailed JackrabbitMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
11 sightingsRingtailMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
19 sightingsRed-tailed HawkMost seen around 10 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Valley of Fire. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyMouse’s Tank Trail0.7 mi · 36 min · 0.1 mi awayLook up as you walk: petroglyphs mark a sandy red-rock canyon.
EasyRainbow Vista Trail1 mi · 45 min · 0.6 mi awayA sandy canyon walk to a rugged overlook above Fire Canyon
EasyBalancing Rock Trail0.3 mi · 15 min · 0.8 mi awayA short walk to a sandstone stack with an eyelet.
ModerateSilica Dome Trail1.2 mi · 1 hr · 1.3 mi awayA short scramble climbs to a wide view over Fire Canyon.
ModerateFire Canyon Loop Trail5.7 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.3 mi awayA longer Silica Dome circuit where a downloaded track earns its keep.
ModerateProspect Trail4.6 mi · 3.3 hr · 1.7 mi awayAn open cross-park hike over a red-rock pass into a striped wash.
EasyPetrified Logs Loop Trail0.3 mi · 20 min · 1.9 mi awayA short loop with fossil wood and the story behind its grain.
EasyThe Cabin Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 2.1 mi awayWalk to 1930s CCC cabins, then pause at the shaded picnic area.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayMouse's TankA short canyon walk where petroglyphs lead to a rain-fed basin.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayFire Canyon OverlookA short, sandy hike ends above a rugged red-rock canyon.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayRainbow VistaA ridge-top panorama over miles of multicolored sandstone.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayBalancing RockAn odd little sandstone perch on a very short walk.
Historic marker · 0.8 mi awayNevada’s First State Park Historical MarkerA quick marker stop for the park’s early history and Arrowhead Trail.Sight · 1.2 mi awayFire Canyon / Silica Dome OverlookA roadside stop for the pale dome and fiery canyon bands.
Picnic area · 1.4 mi awaySeven SistersA shaded roadside picnic area beneath seven red sandstone towers.
Sight · 1.8 mi awayPetrified LogsThe best-exposed trunks come farther along the short loop.Parkwolf’s Valley of Fire ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
