Good question. We recommend both.
According to a recent Las Vegas Visitor Profile Survey, roughly six million of more than 37 million annual visitors get out of town. Of those, two million go to Hoover Dam, 1.2 million to Laughlin, and another 1.2 million to Red Rock Canyon, which is less than 15 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. These statistics certainly confirm the strength of the central Las Vegas magnet -- given that within an hour's drive of it are some of the American Southwest's most spectacular natural attractions.
Red Rock Canyon, for example, is so close that you can see it from the tops of the tall buildings along Las Vegas Boulevard. The Spring Mountains are the mighty and rugged range west of the city and smack in the center of them is Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area -- 197,000 acres of outdoor splendor, as dramatic a contrast to the electrified cityscape as you can imagine.
Head out on W. Charleston Blvd. and 12 miles from downtown you take a right into the entrance to Red Rock, the Bureau of Land Management's southern Nevada showcase. The semi-circular scenery is not only gorgeous, it's enormous, swallowing crowds and dwarfing climbers. The colors of the sandstone are stunning -- yellow, orange, pink, red, purple -- tempered by the grays of the older limestone. Narrow steep-walled canyons line up along the 13-mile scenic loop road, providing a wonderland for hiking, bouldering, and rock climbing. (Our books Hiking Las Vegas and Hiking Southern Nevada describe plenty of great opportunities for exploring the park.) Factor in the cooperative year-round climate, proximity to the city, and the excellent visitors center and you've got a must-do excursion. If you've got a little extra time, you can continue another few miles west on NV 159 to Spring Mountain Ranch State Park (see QoD 11/28/05).
Valley of Fire State Park, the oldest in the state (established 1936), is even more spectacular and immense. Like Red Rock, this valley, six miles long and up to four miles wide, is another example of the Navajo Formation, a continuum of Mesozoic sandstone that stretches from southern Colorado through New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. Taken together, Valley of Fire's arches, walls, geologic engravings, and human etchings -- all in brilliant colors -- form an unforgettable archetype of the landscape of the great American Southwest.
Unlike Red Rock, where uplift forced the older limestone over the sandstone, at Valley of Fire, the sandstone remains exactly as it was stratified, and the red rock provides an incomparable lesson in erosion. One of the best and most photographed examples is along the park road just beyond the eastern entrance, at Elephant Rock. Farther along, the Petroglyph Trail Visitors Center has a fabulous setting, nestled at the foot of a mountain of fire. Be sure to check out the Cabins, Petroglyph Canyon Trail, Mouse's Tank, Rainbow Vista, Silica Dome, the Seven Sisters, the Beehives, and Atlatl Rock. The back campsites at the two campgrounds are some of the most appealing in the state.
You can make an afternoon loop of it by driving north on I-15 to exit 45B, then heading out NV 147 (E. Lake Mead Blvd.) a ways into the desert. You'll come to a T-intersection where NV 147 ends at NV 167; take a left and continue along the north shore of Lake Mead, passing Callville Bay, Echo Bay, and Overton Beach. You'll see signs for NV 169 and Valley of Fire. Take 169 through the park and out to I-15; from there, go south back into the city.
