My husband and I are going to Vegas at the end of January for a quick getaway. We don't gamble so we want an activity for during the day--we rented a car and want to go to Hoover Dam. Is Red Rock Canyon hikable in January? We are from northern Utah, so if the weather is in the 50s or 60s that will be warm for us. Just not sure if there is snow/raing/mud to deal with? Death Valley may also be a fun drive.

I am interested in a response on this too, so topping it off.

My wife and I were there on Thursday (1/6) There were a few patches of snow in the shady spots but we saw a few rock climbers on a cliff. I only took 2 short walks from parking areas but saw that there was a 5 mile loop trail that some were hiking. They had a massive rainstorm before the snow. The BLM cleared the gravel that washed into the road dips.
Unless you see that the LV Strip got snow again, you should be OK. There are several gas stations on the way out Charleston that are still under $3/gallon.

We were there on Jan 1 a couple of years ago. Wasn't much ice or snow at that time. We hiked the "childrens trail". I am not why they call it this, but it lead to a semi-frozen waterfall and was pretty neat short hike. It was a pretty neat place and I would like to have spent more time there. We were on our way to Death Valley and just stopped there for 2 hours or so. There was a segment about it just a couple of day ago on the Travel Channel.

Red Rock Canyon has been fine for hiking when we have been there at that time of year and spending an hour or two before heading to DV is good too.

Also consider going to Valley of Fire, which is about an hour north east of Vegas. You can go north on 15 and look for the brown signs for the park, go in, do a bit of hiking and then go out to the east and then along Lake Meade to Hoover Dam. Makes a nice full day trip. Do buy a cheap cooler and pack a lunch, drinks, and snacks for either trip.

Have a great time.

So glad to see all these replies! We have only one full day in Vegas--I would like to see Hoover Dam and Death Valley. We would be looking at starting around 10 am and wanting to be back by about 3 or 4 pm. Is that possible or pushing too much?

We don't want to drive all day--need to get out and hike a little bit. (1-2 hours. We could easily do 2-5 miles.)

You can't see Death Valley and be back by 3 or 4. Death Valley isn't really a daytrip from Vegas IMOP.

Not sure I totally get your plan here, perhaps you should tell us a bit more.

If you are going to Death Valley then a stop in Red Rock is certainly good and it does breaks the drive up.

Hoover Dam is in the opposite direction. Do you plan to do that on a different day?

If you got up early and headed to Valley of Fire and spent a couple of hours there, you could drive along lake meade, hit Hoover Dam and be back to Vegas by 3 or 4.

Red Rock canyon is only a half hour away, so that would be easy for a day trip too.

I have done parts of Death Valley as a day trip several times, but it would be a push to get back that early.

Ok, I finally grabbed a MAP--oh so old fashioned of me ;-). Nix Death Valley. I think we could do Hoover Dam as a trip and Red Rock as a trip. As spiro alluded, I need a plan. I think the plan is to have several "modules" of things to do and then we can pick/choose. Or even sit on my rear and read a book!!!

A few years ago, I made a day trip to Valley of Fire and saw some petroglyphs among other things. From there I went over to Hoover Dam. I walked all the way across and took pictures.
I didn't pay for a tour inside since I had been there for free when I was a kid. Less than 2 hours from the dam back to LV on US 93. The new bridge above the dam is now open.
Don't sit and read a book in Las Vegas-ride "The Deuce" $7 for a 24 hour pass.