#6 of 18 sights in Valley of Fire
Sight · Valley of Fire State Park
A short, shallow canyon of pastel bands on the Seven Wonders route.
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
Fire Wave: Walk to the Stripes“You're approaching the Fire Wave parking area, the start of the walk to its pink-and-cream striped sandstone. Allow an hour or two for the one point four-mile round trip over loose sand and uneven rock.”
Plays as you drive up to Pastel Canyon in the Parkwolf Valley of Fire Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Pastel Canyon, also called Pink Canyon, is a roughly 300-foot narrows in Kaolin Wash. Low, smooth sandstone walls bend around the wash in bands of pink, cream, orange, and yellow. It is a short walk-through feature, not a deep slot canyon or a long standalone hike.
The walls sit low over a shallow wash, so the best views come from inside the bend and close to the rock. The colors can read as strongly pink and yellow or paler cream; notice the fine banding and smooth curves as much as the overall color.
Pastel Canyon is part of the park's Jurassic Aztec sandstone, formed from windblown dune sand after inland seas receded and the land rose.
Pastel Canyon and the Fire Wave/Seven Wonders route close each year from May 15 through September 30 because of heat risk. When the route is open, avoid high temperatures: the park warns that even short hikes are dangerous in high heat and can feel longer than the mileage suggests. Carry water and electrolytes. Rain can leave water or mud in the wash, making the narrow sections harder to cross.
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
ModerateWhite Domes Loop1.1 mi · 45 min · 0.6 mi awayA short loop with a sandstone slot and movie-set remains.
ModerateFire Wave, White Domes and Seven Wonders Loop3.8 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayA slot canyon, Fire Wave and painted sandstone in one loop.
EasyFire Wave Trail1.4 mi · 1.3 hr · 0.6 mi awayA sandy out-and-back to a wave of pink and cream sandstone.
ModeratePink/Pastel Canyon Trail1.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayFollow pink-banded sandstone into a narrow desert wash.
ModerateFire Wave/7 Wonders Loop Trail1.8 mi · 2 hr · 0.6 mi awayA short loop through striped rock and pastel washes, with tricky turns.EasyCrazy Hill0.5 mi · 30 min · 0.6 mi awayA short detour to a small hill painted in pastel bands.
ModerateDuck Rock Viewpoint1.4 mi · 45 min · 0.9 mi awayA short, rugged detour to a duck-shaped sandstone profile.
ModerateFire Canyon Loop Trail5.7 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayA longer Silica Dome circuit where a downloaded track earns its keep.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayFire WaveCurving stripes ripple across the sandstone like a low desert wave.Sight · 0.6 mi awayWhite DomesShort loop, pale domes, a slot canyon and a film-set wall.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayFire Canyon / Silica Dome OverlookA roadside stop for the pale dome and fiery canyon bands.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayRainbow VistaA ridge-top panorama over miles of multicolored sandstone.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayFire Canyon OverlookA short, sandy hike ends above a rugged red-rock canyon.
Picnic area · 2.7 mi awayMouse’s Tank Picnic AreaA shaded lunch stop with petroglyphs just behind it.
Sight · 3 mi awayMouse's TankA short canyon walk where petroglyphs lead to a rain-fed basin.
Sight · 3.5 mi awayBalancing RockAn odd little sandstone perch on a very short walk.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.
