If you have been with us on our journey from the beginning, you know our west coast base is in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is an easy place to get reasonably priced flights any time of the year. We have been here several times and, like most tourists, get mesmerized by all that is “The Strip.” Those bright twinkly lights are amazing — but then, I am a sucker for Disney World too. However, bright lights fade, and this past visit has really given us an insight into a plethora of activities that don’t involve lights and slot machines.
So… think Vegas isn’t your thing? Read on and I’ll give you some options you might not be aware of.
Death Valley National Park
It is close. Only about a two-hour car ride away, Death Valley makes a full, but fun, day trip. At two hundred eighty-two feet below sea level, you can’t miss Badwater Basin. It is the lowest point in North America, confirmed with a sign way up on the mountain wall indicating the point of sea level.
You can walk on dunes and feel like you are in the Sahara Desert, have lunch in the historic Oasis Inn and view their art collection that includes Remington bronzes, drive through the aptly named Artist’s Drive and take in the beautiful colors displayed on the mountains. At The Ranch at Death Valley, there is a free, outdoor museum with stage coaches, mule team wagons, and equipment used in borax mining.
Make sure to stop at the visitor center and take a picture with the iconic temperature sign out front. Finish your day at the stunning Dante’s Peak for a spectacular sunset. It will cost twenty-five dollars to enter the National Park but your admission fee is good for seven days. Bring lots of water along as there are few opportunities to buy it. If aliens are your thing then make sure to take the highway 95 route to Death Valley and stop in Area 51 for “pictures with the Aliens.” All manner of alien souvenirs is available here.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Lake Mead provides so many outdoor opportunities that you could spend a week here and not do it all.
Hoover Dam
Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
Viewed from Hoover Dam
The most well-known attraction in the area is Hoover Dam and it’s only about thirty minutes away from Las Vegas. I won’t bore you with facts about the dam as there are countless PBS specials about what it took to build this engineering marvel. Even if you aren’t impressed by the engineering of Hoover Dam, there are still fabulous views, bronze sculptures, all sorts of Art Deco worthy of a monument to achievement. It is free to visit Hoover Dam, however, there is a parking fee on the Nevada side, free parking on the Arizona side. Tours are an additional cost. You may want to check that wind speeds are not too high on the day you would like to visit as they can knock you around a bit.
The Lake
Lake Mead Cruises offers daytime sightseeing tours, weekend brunch tours, and evening dinner cruises on a paddle wheeler. We chose to do a daytime cruise. The cost was thirty dollars per person and there are sandwiches, burgers, snacks and drinks available for purchase onboard. The cruise is narrated, takes about ninety minutes and they bring you as close to the dam as they can safely manage. The dam is remarkable from any angle but from the water it is especially nice. This tour is a great way to slow down and enjoy some relaxing sunshine and water.
Want to captain your own boat for the day and enjoy that beautiful blue lake? Several businesses on the lake rent anything from personal watercraft to houseboats. Check out Callville Bay Marina or Temple Bar Marina for more information and rates.
Colorado River
The Colorado River is what feeds the Lake Mead playground and the National Recreation area follows the river down to Laughlin, Nevada. Below the dam is a popular spot for kayak tours. No rapids are involved and there are opportunities to see wildlife, explore Emerald Cave and more. A half day trip will cost about one hundred to one hundred-fifty dollars. As the tour company will have to apply for a permit for each person booked, it is a good idea to try and arrange this one in advance. Check here for rates and adventures: Blazin Paddles; Evolution Expeditions; River Dogz.
If paddling a kayak isn’t your thing then there is still a way for you to get out on the river. Black Canyon River Adventures will do all the work while they take you down the river on a large comfortable raft. This trip includes lunch and a bus ride back to the origination point.
4×4 Trails
Do you drag around a Jeep behind your RV, never utilizing your four-wheel drive capabilities? Want to give it a try? Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a great place to “get your feet wet”. There are approved back country roads that will give a four-wheel owner the opportunity to see what most others don’t get to. Off roading is allowed on trails marked by a yellow arrow sign and black numbers on the arrow indicate the road number. Detailed maps are available for download at nps.gov.
Hiking Trails
Hiking trails abound in the recreation area and if you are a hiking enthusiast then you don’t need me to tell you how to go about it. But…you don’t have to be an athlete to look around. It is fascinating. There is even a trail that follows the old railroad bed and you get to go through the tunnels. Your puppy can go on these too. Just remember to wear sturdy walking shoes and bring along plenty of water. Go to nps.gov for more helpful tips about trails and hiking.
Desert Bighorn Sheep
Shy and camouflaged, desert bighorn sheep are hard critters to spot. Hemenway Park in Boulder City will give you the best opportunity to spot one or a few. Hemenway is a city park inside a neighborhood where the sheep roam around unmolested. The park closes at dusk and is a nice additional stop when going to or from the Hoover Dam.
Old fashioned Car Tour
Hiking, biking, 4×4 and tours sound like to much for you? Just get in your car and drive. A beautiful scenic drive awaits you after you enter the Lake Mead National Recreation Area from the Lake Las Vegas entrance or Lake Mead Parkway.
You will have to pay a twenty-five-dollar entrance fee per vehicle and your fee is good for seven days. The drive will give you a little sample of three of the four desert ecosystems found in the United States. This is where the Mojave Desert, the Great Basin Desert and the Sonoran Desert all meet. It is about a fifty-mile drive from Lake Las Vegas, around the northern side of Lake Mead, opposite the Hoover Dam or southern side and there are ample opportunities to pull over and take a few stunning photos. This is a great drive to combine with a visit to the Valley of Fire.
Camping
Numerous campgrounds are available in the recreation area. A couple have full-hookups available but most only provide a restroom, dump station, and potable water. There are plenty of opportunities for remote boondocking if that is your preference. Visit nps.gov for more camping information.
Valley of Fire State Park
The Valley of Fire is a unique area composed of Navaho Sandstone which gives the rock formations their brilliant red color. They almost appear to glow or be “on fire” when the sun is high overhead. Several movies have been filmed here, including Arnold’s Total Recall, due to the bizarre color and formation of the rocks. Several short hikes to notable rock formations are available along with picnic locations and a small visitor center. Ten dollars per vehicle is the entrance fee and is good for the entire day. This is another place that it pays to bring along plenty of water. We love this park combined with the Lake Mead drive. It makes a wonderful day trip to explore the Nevada desert. You can still enjoy this park if you don’t hike; there are plenty of stunning sights from your car window.
When you look at the map, there is a circular route from the National Recreation Area to Valley of Fire and out to Interstate 15, then back to downtown Las Vegas. I wouldn’t recommend this route as your day will be finished with little scenery and interstate traffic. Our recommendation would be to turn around go back the way you came. The scenic drive will look different from the opposite direction.
There is a campground available in the Valley of Fire.
Spring Mountains National Recreation Area
The Spring Mountains are one of the most delightful finds we have made and is only about a forty-five-minute drive from downtown Las Vegas. The Spring Mountains are part of the Sky Island ecosystem found in only a small region of the United States. There are species and terrain unique to these mountains, rising almost twelve thousand feet from the Mojave Desert. And there are trees, tons and tons of trees, which you might be desperate to see after a few days in the desert. Several opportunities to enjoy the recreation area are available.
Lee Canyon
Lee Canyon is a ski and snowboard resort that is operated in partnership with the United States Forest Service. During the winter season there is tubing, snowshoeing, snow play areas and ski/snowboard runs. Lessons and rentals are available and there is a small café in the lodge. Lift tickets are about seventy dollars and there is a five-dollar parking charge. There are ample opportunities to play in snow or view the wildlife – such as wild horses — on the way up to the lodge.
Summer activities include a scenic sky gondola ride and hiking.
Be aware that, in winter, you may be required to have snow chains. Also, an important note, you cannot use Uber or Lyft to get to Lee Canyon from Las Vegas. There is little to no cell phone coverage so no way to call for a return.
Mt. Charleston
Another significant location within the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area is Mt. Charleston. Mt. Charleston houses the park visitor center, campground, a couple of small restaurants and lodging. We enjoyed a pleasant lunch at the Mt. Charleston Lodge where the restaurant view is of the snow-covered mountains. Also, they provide cabins that have the same scenic view.
Highway 158 connects Mt. Charleston and Lee Canyon and is a scenic ten-mile drive. Various hikes and overlooks are available to stop at. Watch for wild horses throughout the area as they seem to like walking down the middle of the highway.
So, this is Las Vegas
Grand Canyon by helicopter, balloon tours, horseback riding through Red Rock Canyon, desert ATV rides, ghost towns and abandoned mines. There are a multitude of options. Check out Viator.com for tour ideas.
So, if you have been avoiding Las Vegas because “it’s not your thing”, maybe you should take another look. The best time of the year, as most places, is spring. The days are balmy and the nights cool, rain has the desert in full bloom, there is still snow in Lee Canyon. Spring just seems a little more pleasant to get outside and make memories. Always grateful.👫