Clousie

We will have a an afternoon and entire day in Las Vegas to explore and are thinking of Red Rocks Park. It seems pretty interesting and we would want to do some easier walks and photograph. I think I read that early morning has good light. Should we plan for a whole day there or also go to Valley of Fire? Want this to be a relaxing trip for 2 older women rather than just rushing around to say we've been there. We will be returning from 5 nights in Death Valley NP, so perhaps we should consider a different type of environment, such as ghost towns, small towns or perhaps Hoover Dam. Any places of interest to see between Death Valley and Vegas? We will experience enough of Vegas on the 2 nights we are there. Thanks for any suggestions.

oldemalloy

Red Rocks is not too big and could be explored in a couple of hours. Valley of Fire has a lot more that to see if you are not going to do rock climbing. Check out the petroglyphs along the trail to Mouses Tank, walk around the Bee Hives, head out to Panoramic View. We saw a herd of big horn sheep there the last time we went.

in any case pick up sandwiches and drinks before you go as neither place has dining facilities other than picnic tables.

if you go to VOF by heading north on 15 then east, you can continue east through the park to Lake Mead. Then circle back to Vegas perhaps with a stop at Hoover Dam. VOF is a state park, RR is a national monument, so if you got a senior park pass to go to into Death Valley, it will get you into RR and Lake Mead but not VOF.

Have a great trip.

J62

Never been to Red Rocks, so can't comment about there.

One thing I like about VoF is that there are a bunch of little parking area where you are very close to various rock formations that you can walk around, or scramble on. It's easy to drive from spot to spot, and see what's there. There are also some medium to longer trails you can hike - but nothing about the park requires a lot of walking if you don't want to.

Last time I was at VoF it was a beautiful late March weekend and the lines to get into the park were quite long. I suspect weekdays are no issue, but if you go on a weekend be sure to get there before local crowds do.

clarkgriswold

The Spring Mountain Ranch (former Howard Hughes ranch) is an easy drive from Red Rock. https://parks.nv.gov/learn/park-hist...-ranch-history

Clousie

Thanks for the suggestions. Are the roads in the 3 parks accessable for regular cars?

From your comments it sounds as though VoF has more to see. How about for getting photographs?

AustinTraveler

Valley of Fire is great, especially if you do some hiking. None of the hikes are hard. But, what time of year will this be??

Fire Wave Trail and White Domes Trail are my favorites. And, of course, you have to see the petroglyphs.

J62

VoF is great for photos. Do a google search and you’ll see a lot with people in them - not just professional drone photos. Climbing on the rocks is half the fun - which you can’t do many other places.

yes. Any car is fine.

Clousie

Will be going the very beginning of March.

AustinTraveler

That's a perfect time!