I found the Wave alternative, a $10 hike near Vegas was just as beautiful

• For years I've been trying to get my hands on a hard-to-get permit to ride The Wave.
• I decided to visit the Fire Wave at Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park, which offers similar views.
• Valley of Fire National Park was a great alternative, but I still hope to visit The Wave someday.

For the last 10 years I've been obsessed with getting my hands on a permit to ride The Wave. Even though I was unlucky, this experience remained at the top of my bucket list.

Located on the border of Utah and Arizona, this spectacular natural wonder is a highly sought-after hiking destination. In fact, experience requires a permit, which is only granted to approximately 8% of candidates.

While holding out hope that my chance to hike The Wave will present itself, I decided to check out the next best option: Fire Wave, located in Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park.

The park, known for its 40,000 acres of Aztec sandstone formations, is open to the public between October and May. When I read that it was considered a geological wonder AND did not require a permit, I was sold.

This is what my experience at Valley of Fire State Park was like.

Getting to Valley of Fire National Park was simple

Valley of Fire State Park is located an hour northeast of Las Vegas, with fully paved roads easily accessible throughout.

After following signs to Nevada's oldest and largest state park, my husband and I stopped at the ranger station to pay the entrance fee: $10 for those who live in the State or $15 for non-Nevada residents.

The route took us from the ranger station to the interior of the park, with stops along the way including ancient petrified trees, 2,500 year old petroglyphs, slot canyons, painted hills and of course , the wave of fire.

After parking, we grabbed our backpacks and began the mostly flat 1.5-mile round-trip hike, a drastic difference from The Wave's difficult 6.4-mile round-trip hike.

We were fascinated by the wave of fire

Our hike was a quick and easy walk that took us longer than expected due to all the great photo opportunities.

Once we arrived at Fire Wave, we no longer wondered why this mesmerizing geological formation is the most popular feature of the park.

We found ourselves surrounded by layers of undulating sandstone, sculpted by the elements to reveal stripes of pink, red and white.

We took our time wandering around The Fire Wave to make sure we didn't miss any of the otherworldly scene around us.

As I took photos showing off the dreamscape, I couldn't help but feel like we were in the middle of the cover of Dr. Seuss' “Oh, The Places You'll Go.”

As we turned away to begin our hike back to our car, I was so happy that we were off exploring Valley of Fire State Park. Ultimately, we encountered more bighorn sheep than visitors at this underrated gem of Nevada's park system, and I would happily return again and again.

Valley of Fire State Park was a great alternative to The Wave. But deep down, I also knew it was only a temporary solution to my insatiable need to experience The Wave, which is still permanently at the top of my adventure list.