Nature/Parks Side trips from Vegas

[calena]

Trying to plan some side trips from our time in Vegas. I'd like to see some natural scenery etc we don't see this side of the continent. Ideas? Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, Death Valley, Zion. We just want to do something that is a day trip... Grand Canyon is too far I think. Opinions, comments? I'm traveling with DH, DD 11, DS 9, DS6. Thanks all. Deb

 

[jemilah]

Zion is a bit too far for a day trip I think, Red Rock, Mt Charleston , Lake Mead are all close and very pretty . Mt Charleston is about 20 degrees cooler then Vegas , the lake is not great for swimming but there is a marina where you can feed the fish and hoover dam has tours too. Red Rock has the senic loop you can drive through and Bonnie Springs is there with an old wesern town and petting zoo.

 

[PattiPB]

So you wanna see why we all moved here, huh...

We have a huge lake, mountains and desert canyons. If you only have one day, I suggest you pick the thing you DON'T have at home...probably the desert part!!

Red Rock Canyon is about a half hour from the Strip, and as jemilah said, has a nice scenic loop, visitor center, and a few easy hikes.

My personal favorite is Valley of Fire. It is just over 1 hour North (towards UT) of Vegas. It also has a nice visitor center, scenic drives, and hikes from easy to moderate to difficult. There are awesome petroglyphs for you to see, and the area is steeped in Old West/Indian culture.

BRING A LUNCH/WATER TO BOTH LOCATIONS!!! No restaurants at either place.

 

[mecllap]

Definitely Valley of Fire -- and altho it's not natural --it's worth the trip to see Boulder Dam and the surrounding area.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I never heard of Valley of Fire - it sounds interesting.

 

[tracys2cents]

A trip out around Valley of Fire, then along the northern side of Lake Mead, around to Boulder City and back to Vegas makes for a beautiful drive. Red Rock Canyon is a great morning trip. Zion National Park is 2.5 hours each way but well-worth the trip on certain times of year. Snowy winter, maybe not.

 

[calena]

Update - Valley of Fire was just great. We love our pictures from there. We actually did very little else... in terms of nature in the area. Just saw the strip, lounged at the pool etc. We had been in California as well so spent a few days on the beach which was fun. Deb

 

[travelgirl06]

Red Rock can be done in half a day (longer if you want to hike a lot), I think is about a half hour drive from the Strip.

Lake Mead is about an hour away, we went to the Hoover Dam and drove around Lake Mead and were back in Vegas by mid-afternoon.

Grand Canyon and Zion are amazing, but I would allow yourself more than a day for either of these.