Moapa Valley

Overview

The Moapa Valley is reached 50mi/80km northeast of Las Vegas using Interstate 15.  The valley is made up of a series of small towns – Glendale, Logandale, Moapa and Overton – with a total population of over 8000 residents.  The elevation is about 1700′/520m.  Logandale is the site of the annual Clark County Fair and Rodeo and an annual Bluegrass Festival.  The State of Nevada’s Lost City Museum is located in Overton.  Valley of Fire State Park, the largest and oldest in the Silver State, is reached 10mi/16km south of Overton.  Lake Mead National Recreation Area is 8mi/13km south from Overton.

Visitor support services are concentrated in Logandale and Overton, with banks, a Best Western motel, gas stations, markets, and RV parks.  Sugars restaurant and the Inside Scoop ice cream parlor are noted local eateries with the former written up in Nevada Magazine.

The Moapa Valley Regional Hub, including three Nevada Important Bird Areas within 10mi/16km – Lake Mead, Moapa Valley, and Virgin River – as is Valley of Fire State Park, serves birding/wildlife viewing sites.  Bowman Reservoir is on the northern edge of Logandale, while Overton Wildlife Management Area is at the southern edge of Overton.  Overton Park is right in Overton.

As is the case with much of Southern Nevada, Moapa Valley birding is best during spring migration and fall migration when resident species, some wintering species, and some nesting season species are present and supplemented by migrants passing through the area.

Winter birding can be productive, too, as water birds flock to Bowman Reservoir, Lake Mead, and Overton Wildlife Management Area to join resident and wintering land birds including raptors.

Summer is likely the most inhospitable birding season in the Moapa Valley.  Yet, early morning birding along the Virgin River between Riverside and Mesquite can produce an impressive suite of riparian forest bird species present for nesting season.