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Valley of Fire Hwy s(u)

Not a big climb - but a great bike ride in late October or later, all on pavement and without rumble strips, through another variation of south western rock scenery. And yes - it does meet the requirements for a climb for these pages. It even climbs quite a bit more than the 500ft minimum on each side, and it does it very gently.

1.(00.0m,1220ft) START-END EAST: low point, immediately south of Overton 2.(06.4m,1540ft) profile turns left from Northshore Rd onto Valley of Fire Rd 3.(11.7m,1950ft) jct with White Dome Rd 4.(17.3m,3040ft) TOP 5.(30.2m,2020ft) START-END WEST: jct Valley of Fire Rd - I15

Approaches

From East. In order to find the lowest starting point possible, you could start the profile at one of the nearby marinas on Lake Mead. But in order to demonstrate the day loop below, I'll start it in the nice little town with wide streets, Overton in to Moapa Valley.

Soon after leaving town the road climbs a mesa with a panoramic view that has no equal, and we are not in any kind of federal or state land institution yet, where you have to pay to get in and park among tour buses. The view is dominated by the two major landmarks, that have been part of my rides during the last week, the Beaver Dam Mountains and the Mormon Mountains.

At the next junction the profile goes right into the Valley of Fire State Park. The road climbs ever so gently, but with every foot of climbing the viewing distance seems to increase by at least a mile. The road crosses through a small gap and then continues ascending ever so gently betweeen a multitude of rock formations. Some of the most contorted and fanciful are on the out-and-back to detour to Silica Dome and White Domes.

Surprise, even after leaving the state park the road still keeps on climbing. Before reaching the top, the grade actually gets something resembling reasonably steep, as a single switchback tops out on a slightly slanted mesa.

From West. Just let it roll, or even pedal with all your might, the comples of ranges in the distance does not seem to come any closer. One last stop next to the road shows off the last 8 miles to I15 as straight as a ruler, and none of it is interrupted by even the shadow of a cloud.