Death Valley
 

We're spending a few days in Las Vegas and will have a rental car for one day. We were wondering if Death Valley is worth doing in a one day trip.

If we don't go to Death Vally we will spend the day going to Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire.

I also see on the map "Las Vegas Dunes". Has anyone been to this?

I would recommend Valley of Fire for a good half-day trip from Las Vegas. It's about 55 miles north-east of Las Vegas. Get a map at the visitor entrance and make a few stops at the main sites (Beehives, Elephant Rock, Seven Sisters etc) and see the petroglyphs. There are plenty of short walks within the park to choose from.

You could probably see the Hoover Dam in the same day-trip from Las Vegas if that would interest you as well.

Red Rock Canyon is closer but I haven't been there. I would probably choose one of Valley of Fire or Red Rock Canyon, not both.

It's getting hot here already in Las Vegas. Death Valley? I have been there during the winter months when it was pleasant. I don't know if anyone goes there this time of year. Red Rock and Valley of Fire are close by. It will be hot there also. A cooler, longer 1 day trip to Utah might be fun....Zion and Ceader Break.

I was in Death Valley last week for a couple of days and it was very pleasant. Temps were in the mid to high 70's for most of the day and got into the low 80's for 2-3 hours.

To answer the original question, unless you really enjoy desert landscapes and basin and range topography, I would also suggest Valley of Fire or an extended day trip to Zion Canyon. The drive through the Virgin River Gorge on the way to Utah is also highly scenic.

Death Valley doesn't make for a very good day trip. You'll spend most of the day in the car (it's almost 9 hours' drive roundtrip from the strip to the tourist areas in DV), and while you're in DV you won't have much time to look around. It's not a small park.
Average daily high in June is 107.

Thanks for the good feedback! Think we'll do Valley of Fire and Red Rock.

We spent a couple of weeks in Utah before and have seen Zion.