Elephant Rock - Valley of Fire

Overton, Nevada

Thousands venture to the Valley of Fire for its dramatic landscapes, hiking trails, Indian petroglyphs, and overall eerie familiarity. It's familiar because it's been in many movies (conveniently only an hour from Vegas), including sci-fi such as Total Recall, Transformers, and Star Trek (Captain Kirk died here). No trip is complete without a stop at photogenic Elephant Rock.

Red sandstone boulders are all over Valley of Fire State Park, but Elephant Rock is really easy to spot, right along the road. The large, trunk-like arch is a giveaway that this natural formation resembles an elephant (and not an anteater or vacuum cleaner). If you're not paying attention, the brown point-of-interest sign helps.

You can scramble up around the other side of Elephant Rock, which retains its pachyderm effect; maybe more convincingly.