Valea Chioarului is a commune in Maramureș County, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Curtuiușu Mare (Nagykörtvélyes), Durușa (Durusa), Fericea (Szamosfericse), Mesteacăn (Kisnyíres), Valea Chioarului, and Vărai (Kőváralja). The commune is located in the southwestern part of Maramureș County, 34 km from the county seat, Baia Mare, on the border with Sălaj County. It lies at an altitude of about 300 m, on the banks of the river Bârsău. Valea Chioarului is crossed by national road DN1C (part of European route E58), which runs from Cluj-Napoca north towards Baia Mare and the Ukrainian border at Halmeu.