Maya Patterson

If you are doing red rocks, get there early in the morning.. I was there in May and the dessert flowers were blooming and there were lots of humming birds. There are lots of humming birds near the visitors center. The early sun makes all the difference.

Flying Three Loc: Berthoud, CO

About 1.5 miles south toward Laughlin is Grapevine Canyon. Great petroglyphs

anotherview Loc: California

Three from Hoover Dam. Hope these give you a flavor of this iconic structure.

Hoover Dam


Row of Generators, Hoover Dam


View Downstream, Hoover Dam

riderxlx Loc: DFW area Texas

Red Rock is nice, if I recall, it's a 14 mile drive through the park area.
HOOVER DAM IS A MUST SEE !!!!!!!!!!!
Take the tour into the dam. It is amazing.
Bruce.

Shaun Loc: Tucson, AZ

Like most responders, I would suggest that seeing both is best but if you only have one day to dedicate to the trip, I would suggest Valley of Fire. The reason I suggest this is not only does it have more and varied rock formations but it also has some excellent petroglyphs on the Mouse's Pool trail but if you get there early in the morning as we did, you may get some beautiful close ups of desert bighorn sheep. The later you get there, the more people there are and the wildlife stays hidden. On our last visit, not only did we get up close to a group of bighorn sheep but were treated to a desert tortoise. We arrived around 8:00 AM and had the park to ourselves for about an hour. We spent about 4 hours in the park and finally left due to the heat of mid day (we were a lot earlier in the year than you will be). Another bonus to Valley of Fire is that you can drive to almost every scenic point. The only trail we hiked was the one with the petroglyphs and that was a very easy one. There are some nice picnic tables right alongside the main road so take a lunch and make a day of it. Like any venture in a desert climate, take plenty of water and stay hydrated.

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Kuzano

Tour of old gangster graves. Little difficulty because of the unmarked locations and nobody's talking.

Besperus Loc: Oregon

There is a ghost town east of Las Vegas that Ian Fleming incorporated into one of his novels, “Diamonds Are Forever”. And Death Valley isn’t too much further. Hoover Damn too. Seem to remember there is s mine in that town, where you can get some jasper? Been a long time but I’d love to go back, this time with a camera.

WorldTraveler Loc: San Antonio, TX, now in Greenfield IN

I spent 4+ years in Vegas, went to both and I think the Valley of Fire is the winner. Some will disagree, but you understand that. Enjoy!


Clint

PS. Better go quickly, as if too many flush at once, the level of the lake will go down lower than it is now. (Sorry , bad joke about a not funny situation. )

hj Loc: Florida

Thanks everyone for your input. While many options were offered, though not mentioned in my initial post, I suspect we will stick with Valley of Fire as first choice followed by Red Rock Canyon if time allows.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

Valley of Fire! Fabulous petroglyphs. We took a Pink Jeep tour that was incredibly informative and a great tour. They know where to go. They were very supportive of photography. Do Red Rock if you have the time.