[Diamond Dog]

I'm new here, so please bear with me if I'm not quite up with the protocol...

We're in Las Vegas in July and I'd really like to visit the above three places of interest. Is it possible to drive and do all three in a day and, if so, which would you visit first and last? Is the drive between all three reasonably easy? Anything else I ought to know?

Thanks in advance.

[dynimagelv]

all COULD conceivably be visited in one day......OR one day for EACH......

Valley of fire is a HOT one in July.....temps will be in the upper teens and will take at least most of a morning or afternoon to just drive thru.[exlporing is much longer.]

Mt charleston is far cooler but a lot of hiking involved to see it.

Red Rock Canyon takes at LEAST half a day if you include Spring Mountain Ranch St Park.

[Diamond Dog]

Thanks for that - I was originally thinking Red Rock Canyon in the morning, when it will be cooler, heading off to Mt Charleston in the afternoon, and driving back into Vegas early evening. Not really into hiking, just want to see the places & show the wife & kids there's more to Las Vegas than just the glitz of The Strip!!

Maybe I'll do Valley Of Fire another day?

[hockeygirl4]

Red Rock Canyon is a 13-mile loop which has different stopping points which you can park, get out and walk around, take some pics, and get back in to continue around the loop. My friend and I did it this past weekend in about an hour, but that was just stopping, taking photos and continuing. No walking around or anything.

[gulfer]

I saw the Valley of Fire last year. I could easily spend a couple days right there. Please give yourself a day for this trip, it is phenomenal. I saw the Red Rock Canyon two years ago, another great trip, but I didn't get to see all I wanted, so another day there as well.

[MR77]

Mount Charleston is a nice drive. Rent a car and go up there for the day. You will not be sorry. Even if you don't like to hike, there are a lot of things to explore out there. Red Rock is also a nice little ride away from Las Vegas, but not as impressive as Mount Charleston. Ive been out to the Valley of Fire a few times and I get bored out there. Not worth the trip.

[KonaKat]

Way too much for 1 day. In July, Valley of Fire will be hotter than you-know-what. Mt. Charleston will be a nice half or most of a day, drive up, have a lunch, walk around a bit. Red Rock and Calico Basin is also an easy part of a day. Valley of Fire, mostly one day because of the distance away. Red rock is prettier, in my opinion.

Relax, don't try to do too much at once! Have water with you at all times and don't wander off where you can't see your car or for sure the path back to it. Tell someone where you're going and when you should return. Not kidding. There are places where your phone won't work.

[Diamond Dog]

Thanks everyone - I was thinking of leaving a note in the hotel room to say where we were going, just in case anything goes wrong. Obviously, we'll take my mobile phone but, as you say, it may not work there.

The drive to VOF (about 90 minutes from The Strip?) means we'll take a day out specifically for that. I think we'll do RRC early in the morning, stay until around mid day, and then drive up to MC in the afternoon - where it will be pleasantly cooler (hopefully).

I'm looking for ward to it already!

[Buzz123]

If you want to do a really nice day trip drive up to Zion National Park in Utah. Zion National Park - Zion National Park Utah It won't be as hot up there and it's one all Americans should see. You probably won't have time, but if you want to see the west, the Grand Circle the best place to start. Grand Circle | Utah.com

Red Rock will be hot, Valley of Fire will be hotter than he**, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from seeing them, or Mt. Charleston. You wouldn't want to try to do it all in one day though, even Red Rock and Mt. Charleston. The formations at Valley of Fire are beautiful, but the real attraction is the thousands of Indian petroglyphs on the rocks that go back at least 800 -900 years. Even the modern Indians can't interpret them. There is a lot of other history there too, like Mouse's Tank, the old CCC cabins, the spot where a U.S. Cavalry officer died crossing the valley alone by horse and buggy and was found under his buggy, and petrified logs which are unusual since there hasn't been a tree in that desert for millions of years. And up the road from there at Overton, NV, is the Lost City Museum where some of the ancient Anasazi lived. The Virgin river runs through the Moapa Valley there and hundreds of years ago about 20,000 Anasazi Indians farmed the valley. Now farmers are always finding pots and other artifacts when they plow their fields.

If you go to Red Rock, make the loop all the way through the town of Blue Diamond and come back to town via I-15. Be sure to stop at Bonnie Springs Ranch, and Spring Mountain Ranch State Park along the way. Nevada Division of State Parks - Spring Mountain Ranch State Park

You might also enjoy a stop at Bass Pro Shop at the Silverton Hotel/Casino at the Blue Diamond exit on I-15 south. It's an attraction in itself.

[dr.gomonas]

How much hiking do you want to do? Or do you just want to see these places? If you want to drive the Scenic Loop at Red Rocks, then go up to Mt. Charleston and drive around, you could definitely do that in a day. Possibly even do a short hike (<2 mi) at each one, but that would be a pretty full day.

I highly recommend that when you go to Red Rocks, also go to the Calico Basin area (turnoff ~1 mi before entrance to RR). It's free and one of the most beautiful parts of red rocks, IMHO. There are some trails, but it's easy just to get out there and see some beautiful stuff without going too far. If you want to do a hike, once you're inside the scenic loop, Ice Box Canyon might be a good one for July... as the name implies, it will be a bit cooler there.

Mary Jane Falls at Mt.C is a relatively short and very popular hike; probably won't see much of the falls in July though.