Bowl of Fire

Had a great time hiking to the Bowl of Fire. The directions given in previous reviews are perfect. I followed the wrong path at first p, but had fun along the way. I eventually made it, and it was well worth it. The formations are really easy to climb making it easy to get great pictures.

One of the many hikes to take advantage of out at LMNRA during the winter months. One of the nice things about this hike is no need for a HCV, the trailhead is just right off the road, but you will need to pay to get into Lake Mead if you don’t already have a season pass.
The hike starts out on a well marked trail, and it continues to a wash until you hit the actual Bowl of Fire, which is very easy to spot (it’s the big red area in the middle of the desert). Once you hit the area of BOF, there are a few spots to scramble up and over, nothing too hard. A few dry waterfalls. We did notice a decent rise in the temps once we hit the canyon area and the red sandstone, the red rocks just grab onto that heat and it really warms you up. Beginning of February, it was 75 degrees and we had all stripped down to our first layer.
You will pass lots of interesting areas. Natural arches, areas with tons of holes in the rocks that looks like they could inhabit some creatures. Once you hit the top of BOF, the area of Raven’s Balcony, you are overlooking the entire area below and there are a ton of dry washes, it’s a pretty cool site from the top. This is where we took a lunch break.
There are a few ways to do this hike, we did a loop, one person dropped their car at MM 20.6, and another dropped it at MM 18.2. I prefer loop hikes whenever possible so I can see some different terrain on the way out.

This is an excellent hike to scramble and boulder over some prehistoric RED sandstone from the Jurassic-​Age. This is one of those hikes that an out-​of-​state or even a local hiker might not find without someone showing you. Luckily, I had the privilege of Norm K. of Las Vegas as our guide on this amazing hike. You can find different trail loops to the Bowl of Fire on
, but Norm had his own 2.4 mile loop. And as before, Norm is an exceptional hiker and guide!
To get to the trailhead for this loop, drive to the Anniversary Narrows trailhead.
Take I-​15 North to Lake Mead Parkway exit and head east for 17 miles to Northshore Road. Just before you reach Northshore Road you enter the Lake Mead Recreation Area where you pay a $ 10.00 entrance fee. Make a quick left on Northshore Road, drive to mile marker 16 and turn into the parking lot on the left side of the road onto Callville Wash Road. If you have a low clearance car, you can park here, which will add 4 miles to the 2.4 mile hike. If not, continue driving up the dirt road and instead of taking a left on 94A to go to Anniversary Narrows, go straight past the Muddy Mountains Wilderness sign. About 1.8 miles from the parking lot off Northshore Road, the bumpy dirt road seems to split in two. Stay to the left and park in front of a large white rock by a fire pit ring.
This is the trailhead parking lot for the higher clearance vehicles, exactly 2 miles from the Northshore Road parking lot.
To start your hike, follow the wash northwest towards the red sandstone of the Bowl of Fire. You will soon come across a wide two tier step of white glauconitic rock; cross over it and continue walking through the soft red sand and rocks. In 0.52 miles from the large white rock trailhead, you will need to boulder up and over the ‘Conglomerate’ crevice boulder formation.
As you get over this crevice, head to the left towards the bright red sandstone boulders just ahead. What beautiful and amazing ancient formations! At 0.81 miles look up and head towards the notch with the huge rock walls on each side.
You will reach the notch at 0.93 miles, also reaching the highest point of this hike at 1,824 feet. Looking back from the notch is a great view, but the view ahead from the notch is what the Bowl of Fire is all about. And such an experience as you boulder ahead and down into the Bowl! As you reach the final bouldering descent at 1.08 miles, you will find yourself in a wash passage of soft red sand again. Around 1.77 miles in this wash, look for the skeleton of a Bighorn Sheep… or maybe it was a lost Unilocaler. Continue following this wash to the right, southeast, as you loop back around towards the ‘Conglomerate’ crevice boulder formation again. This will put you at 1.93 miles. Head back down through the crevice and retrace your path back to your car, stopping at a 2.4 mile hike. I can’t wait to hike this again, endeavoring into the unknown bouldering of these Jurassic-​Age formations!

I’ve had the good fortune to hike here several times. There are several ways you can do it or you can just walk around and explore and look at the marvelous sandstone formations. Most of the photos I’ve posted are from 2004 when I first went to the Bowl of Fire.
Two routes will get you here as Ron says in his review. For most people, you’ll park at around mile 18 on Northshore Road. There’s a pull off parking area on the left side of the road. From there, hike across the desert and around the hill. When you get around the hill, you’ll see the Bowl of Fire in the distance and the way to go. There are several trails across the desert. The only difficulty here is picking up the trail on the other side of several washes.
Once inside the bowl, I usually go to the left and follow the trail around the southern part of the bowl, up a ridge, down the other side, and eventually complete a large loop. There’s some rock scrambling to this route and you really should wear something more than sneakers for the hike. Hiking boots will help you keep your traction on the steeper ups and downs.
If you go, take plenty of water with you. Also, be aware of where you’re going. After awhile, the sandstone may all look alike and you need to know your way out.