The valley contains the approximately 18-mile (29 km) long Buena Vista Lake Bed, a crescent shaped lakebed adjacent the southeast perimeter of the Humboldt Range.

The valley is at its widest at the north end of the Buena Vista Lake Bed, about 13-mi.

The narrowing of the valley southwestwards is caused by the Stillwater Range, its north section which turns to trend due-northeast.

The south of Buena Vista Valley can be accessed from the west via Interstate 80, north of Lovelock, via Coal Canyon Road; the road is paved to the valley's south end.

The valley's north has Nevada State Route 400 traversing due-south from Mill City on I-80 to Unionville at the west foothills of the Humboldt Range.