Top Destinations Around Las Vegas: Las Vegas is more than just casinos, shows, and clubs. Around this “sin city,” there are beautiful dancing fountains and a rumbling volcano. A flashlight in the shape of a pyramid, and much more. So, are you ready for a trip that will let you see something different from what you usually do? Then you have nothing to worry about because most tourists in Las Vegas love to go to the top 10 places around the city and don’t even like to go back to Strip.
To reach the vibrant Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, travel west. Or head northwest to Death Valley National Park’s breathtaking scenery. You may visit Lake Mead National Recreation Area on a day trip from Las Vegas, either to the east or the north. even Utah’s Zion National Park, and Valley of Fire State Park See our list of the top day trips from Las Vegas for more suggestions on neighboring destinations to explore.
Top 7 Destinations Around Las Vegas
See our list of the top day trips from Las Vegas for more suggestions on neighboring destinations to explore.
1. Valley of Fire State Park
How about going to Nevada’s oldest state park, which is northeast of the Vegas Strip and about an hour away? Nope, it’s not. When you see the red Aztec sandstone outcroppings that make up the 40,000 acres, it’s easy to see where the place got its name. You might find that the rocks here are just one of many interesting things to see. The area around them is an open space from 1935 that is full of trees and petroglyphs that are thought to be about 2,000 years old.
2. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Red Rock Canyon is a great place to rock climb, mountain bike, hike, look for pictographs, identify plants, watch wildlife, and do bouldering. It is a large piece of land owned by the Bureau of Land Management that is west of Las Vegas and close to Summerlin. Here, visitors can get to most trailheads from the 13-mile scenic driving loop. In the first few miles, you can stop at the visitor center to learn more about the park. Also, there are only a few campsites and don’t forget to enjoy the Cowboy Trail Rides, which start just outside the park and end on an east-facing vista inside the park. Everyone of any age will enjoy the rides.
3. The Seven Magic Mountains
The Seven Magic Mountains installation is in the Mojave Desert, about 15 minutes south of Las Vegas. The seven rock towers, which look like rainbow-colored totems, rise out of the dull landscape. The Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone had this part of Las Vegas in mind when he thought about what it would be like to live in the desert. Each tower is made of boulders from the area, and each is more than 30 feet tall. You can see them from the I-15, and getting to them is a bit harder but full of adventure.
4. A Mysterious Ghost Town
No, I’m not talking about spooktober, but this place, Nipton, has only 16 people, so it’s not your typical ghost town. So, the main industries in this town are mining and ranching, which were pulled out years ago. And you might find the ruins of run-down buildings from times when the area was busier. Eslinger runs the only store in town, which is the Nipton Trading Post. The only places for non-residents to stay are the Hotel Nipton and its eco-cabins. American Green Inc., a marijuana-focused technology and growing company bought the whole town in early August and plans to turn it into a “cannabis-friendly hospitality destination.”
5. Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
This place, which became a National Park Service site in 2014, is called Tule (say it “too-lee”) and lets you see the past as if it were the present. It is currently 30 minutes northwest of Las Vegas. The area is full of Ice Age fossils, including those of mammoths, lions, and camels, to name a few. The story of Pleistocene paleontology, in which scientists used radiocarbon dating for the first time in the United States at this site, is another reason why this place is well-known. You can walk around the site and meet the non-profit Protectors of Tule Springs, who can tell you everything you need to know about it.
6. Hoover Dam
You can’t talk about Las Vegas without mentioning the Hoover Dam. It is well-known not only for its beauty but also for another reason that suggests that every casino in Las Vegas gets its power from the dam. The dam is about 30 minutes southeast of Las Vegas. It crosses the Colorado River’s Black Canyon and ends at the southern end of Lake Mead. It is also called an arch-gravity dam because it is curved in a way that makes it stronger when water presses on it. For only $30, you can take a tour of this place.
7. National Park of the Spring Mountains
Have you ever imagined that it would snow in the Las Vegas Valley? Then you should go to the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, which is about an hour north of downtown. Locals call this place Mount Charleston, and it’s usually about 20 degrees cooler in the park than on the Valley floor. You should go to this place in the summer to get away from the 115-degree heat. In the winter, it has snow-covered peaks and serves as a ski resort. Also, the Spring Mountains ecosystem is known for its bristlecone pines, which are some of the oldest living things on Earth.
