Hike Bowl of Fire Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV

Dec 16, 2022 — The Bowl of Fire is an incredibly cool area with gorgeous sandstone on the northshore of Lake Mead, a massive pocket of colorful rock deep enough into the desert that relatively few hike to it. Bowl of Fire is characterized by two regions, the northern one (described in this trip report) and the western one (which you can check out in my Murphys Peak and Polytick Peak hike). The latter requires much less hiking and is a lot more popular. You could of course extend this loop to include that western portion of Bowl of Fire, but there's enough gorgeous stuff to see in both areas that it makes sense to separate them into two hikes. I should also mention that Bowl of Fire, despite its similar name, should not be confused with Valley of Fire State Park to the north.

This hike is mostly on a trail or within a wide wash, resulting in a nice loop with a destination that lends itself to exploring, resulting in some route-finding and Class 2 scrambling. Many hikers will probably want to do this as an out-and-back, but the second half of the loop is pretty in its own way, even though it's mostly in open desert. I first did some variation of this loop in 2017, so many of the photos of the sandstone features below are from that initial exploratory hike. The loop has since become a staple desert jog, so my attached map is pretty optimized to be as efficient as possible to reach Bowl of Fire and then navigate its perimeter. After so many years I figured I'd update my old trip report to be more cohesive.

I parked at the Northshore Summit Trailhead and started along the popular, short hike leading to a viewpoint toward the Bowl of Fire. From here the trail descends a few hundred feet into a minor drainage that has ample footprints, but no longer a clear trail. This drainage spit me out into a wash, where I took a left and ended up on a dirt road within Callville Wash. With a decent vehicle you could actually drive out here and skip the first few miles if you want. I followed the road for a bit, keeping right at a major junction within the wash, then left at another junction. Past here pay attention on the left, where a cairned trail leads out of the wash and above the wash. A faint social trail continues through the flat desert and into the eastern reaches of Bowl of Fire.

On my first trip out here there was no method to my wandering; I was happy to just peruse the countless sandstone features. My attached map and stats assume you want to circle Bowl of Fire as efficiently as possible, so it serves mostly as a guide to access the area. I highly recommend venturing out in all sorts of directions to explore the scrambles, drainages, and cool sandstone vibes. You can also check out the high point of the Bowl of Fire called Fire Cliffs High Point. Assuming you mostly stick to my outlined route, the faint social trail leads through a minor wash, the majority of the sandstone features on the left, and continues around to the head of a major canyon. This canyon does not directly descend back to the desert below, so it mostly just serves as an obstacle to wrap around. Past here is the heart of the Bowl of Fire, where you can see the brightly-colored taller rock clusters to the south.

After you've had your fill of sandstone fun, it's time to descend out of the Bowl of Fire and into the desert below to the west. On my attached map you'll notice a small loop on the northern end. Both are viable options, and I included both on my map because they're equally interesting. The southern option leads though a flatter portion of Bowl of Fire to the head of a major drainage. Class 2 leads through this bright orange passageway, but there is one dryfall that requires a Class 2+ workaround just to the left. Otherwise it's a pretty straightforward endeavor. The northern option follows a major drainage on the far end of Bowl of Fire. If taking this route, I recommend initially keeping out of the drainage proper since there are lots of dryfalls to navigate around and instead stay just to its right. Once at around 2300', the drainage becomes more easily passable and introduces short narrow sections and more boulder-hopping obstacles.

Both routes lead into a major south-draining wash. I took this all the way back to Northshore Road, along the way taking in the expansive views of the surrounding desert. It was nice to be able to look back toward the Fire Cliffs and northern Bowl of Fire, as well as get hints of views toward the western portion of Bowl of Fire. I hiked along the pavement back to the trailhead.