Red Rock Canyon Vs Valley of Fire: My experience visiting both (2024)
Thinking of venturing out of Las Vegas to explore the great outdoors and wondering which park to choose between Red Rock Canyon vs Valley of Fire?
On my last Vegas trip, I enjoyed a week-long family vacation in Las Vegas and had time to visit both of these parks in Nevada with my husband and kids. We hit up Valley of Fire first and then in a coupe of days visited Red Rock Canyon.
We visited both parks in January, so the weather was pleasant and not very hot. We had a rental car and drove to both parks overselves but you can also take a tour from Vegas.
My quick recommendation: I found Valley of Fire to be much more dramatic in fiery red scenery, with better hikes, stunning scenic drives, and a lot more to explore. Red Rock Canyon was a bit underwhelming, with only the initial Calico Hills area having red rock formations. Between the two, hands down, I would choose Valley of Fire!
In a hurry, and looking for tour recommendations from Vegas?
➡Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive Tour – 4-hour morning tour to explore the Red Rock Canyon scenic drive and stops.
➡ Valley of Fire Hiking Tour from Las Vegas – Half-day small group tour that includes a guide-led hike that is tailored to the group’s needs.
Here’s the lowdown on both of these parks and our experience visiting them.
Our Visit to Valley of Fire State Park
- Distance from Las Vegas: around 50 miles
- Travel time from Las Vegas: around an hour each way
- Entry Reservations needed: No
- Entry fee: $10 per car for Nevada vehicles, $15 for out-of-state cars
- Time Needed: around 3 hours, more for longer hikes
- Top things to do: Mouse’s Tank scenic drive, Fire Wave Trail, Elephant Rock
- Facilities: Visitor Center, Restrooms, Picnic areas, Camping
- Best Valley of Fire tour from Vegas: Valley of Fire hiking tour
Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada blew me away with its beauty! It’s about an hour’s drive from Vegas, but it was so worth it. We had a rental car on this trip and started after lunch. We spent around 3 hours in the park and left around sunset.
The park is massive, and driving down the Valley of Fire Road and Mouse’s Tank Road is like cruising through another planet. Maybe this is what Mars looks like?
The red rock formations are everywhere, and they’re stunning. I mean, the colors and shapes are something you’ve got to see for yourself.
My favorite attractions here were the Elephant Rock, the Beehive formations, and driving down the scenic Mouse’s Tank Road.
We explored the Fire Wave trail, which is also the most popular hike in the park. It wasn’t too long at 1.5 miles round trip but was packed with incredible views and amazing red and white swirl patterns on the rocks.
My kids love the Fire Wave hike, and I think it is one of the best kid-friendly things to do in Las Vegas.
The whole park is vast, and even though there were other folks around, it never felt crowded. There were parking lots, picnic tables, and restrooms at each attraction.
The entire Valley of Fire visit, from the scenic drive and attractions to the hike, was breathtaking, other-worldly, and just really cool.
Our Visit to Red Rock Canyon
- Distance from Las Vegas: around 17 miles
- Travel time from Las Vegas: around 20 minutes each way
- Entry Reservations needed: Yes, between October and May
- Entry fee: We paid $22 for the online timed entry reservation
- Time Needed: around 2 hours for the scenic drive, more for longer hikes
- Top things to do: Red Rock Canyon scenic drive, Calico Tanks hike, vista points
- Facilities: Visitor Center, Restrooms, Picnic areas, camping
- Best Red Rock Canyon Tour from Vegas: Red Rock Canyon hiking tour
A couple of days later, we visited Red Rock Canyon National Conversation Area from Vegas on a sunny morning. Red Rock Canyon is super close to Vegas, just about 20 minutes away.
As we visited in January, we had to make an online reservation that gave us a one-hour window to enter the one-way Red Rock Canyon scenic drive.
Once you enter, you can stay as long as you like but if you exit, you cannot go back in as your one hour entry window will probably expire. It took us around 2 hours to complete the scenic drive, and we stopped at most attractions along the way.
The Red Rock Canyon Scenic drive is the main attraction in the park and is a 13 mile one way drive. All the attractions, vista points, and hikes are on this one-way drive.
There are parking lots at each attraction to pull over for photos or hiking. Most parking lots also have restrooms and picnic tables.
My favorite attractions were the Calico Hills area and the Vista points – High Point Overlook and Red Rock Overlook.
Even though the park is called Red Rock Canyon, the red rock formations were only in the initial Calico Hills area. The rest of the park had cream and grey-colored hills. After seeing the stunning red everywhere in Valley of Fire, Red Rock Canyon seemed a bit less interesting.
The Red Rock scenic drive is nice but not as dramatic as the Mouse’s Tank Road scenic drive in Valley of Fire.
To be fair, we didn’t explore any hikes in Red Rock as it was extremely windy the day we visited and not favorable for hiking. But the hikes at Red Rock did seem to be more difficult than the short hikes at Valley of Fire. For avid hikers, Red Rock Canyon might be more appealing.
To be honest, Red Rock Canyon felt a little underwhelming after seeing Valley of Fire first. Being closer to Vegas, it’s great for a quick trip, and the scenery’s nice, especially if you’re short on time. But it didn’t quite have that wild, out-there feeling I got from Valley of Fire.
Red Rock Canyon Vs Valley of Fire: Which is better?
If you’ve got half a day to spare in Vegas and want to see something truly mind-blowing and a really red Mars-like landscape, Valley of Fire is the place to visit.
The Mouse’s Tank scenic drive, the Fire Wave Trail, and those red rock formations are unforgettable. It’s big, it’s fiery red, and it’s beautiful. It is also better for families with shorter hikes.
Red Rock Canyon is also cool, especially with the scenic drive and the Calico Hills area. It’s a good pick if you’re looking for something quick and easy to get to from Vegas.
Red Rock also has more strenuous hikes if you are an avid hiker. Just remember you need to plan ahead with a reservation if visiting between October and May.
Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire are popular Las Vegas excursions. If you have time to visit both parks like us, then definitely visit both. But maybe visit Red Rock Canyon first so that you do not get underwhelmed like us.
If we had visited Red Rock first, maybe we would have liked it better. Valley of Fire would have been a dramatic finish to our red rock explorations.
Will I visit Red Rock Canyon or Valley of Fire again? Given a chance, I would definitely go back to Valley of Fire, but not Red Rock Canyon. I think visiting Valley of Fire is one of the best things to do in Las Vegas!
Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire Tours
We had a rental car and drove to both parks. But if you are not planning to rent a car, then taking a tour from Vegas is the best way to see these parks.
Tours pick up from select Vegas hotels and sometimes include water and snacks. The tours also take care of any entry reservations needed at Red Rock.
Red Rock Canyon has more activity tours like horseback riding, scooter, and electric bike tours as compared to Valley of Fire.
Below are the best Red Rock Canyon tours from Vegas:
- Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive Tour
- Red Rock Canyon Hiking Tour
- Red Rock Canyon Sunset Horseback Ride and Barbeque
- Red Rock Canyon scooter tour
Below are the best Valley of Fire tours from Vegas:
