Beyond the neon: 4 days, 4 ways to explore Southern Nevada
If you come to Las Vegas and don't venture outside the city limits, you're missing out. Leave the neon lights behind and you'll find a part of Nevada with a little bit of everything: river cities and rural retreats, snow-covered mountains and desert landscapes, craft breweries and sagebrush saloons, man-made art installations and picture-perfect natural settings—even a few hidden gems sprinkled among the former mining towns.
Here are four different directions to take a day trip from Las Vegas. We’ve even included an “extra mile” option if you want to turn your day trip into an overnight. So sneak away from the Strip and get a little bit out there.
Day 1 (Northwest)
First things first on any road trip: you need wheels. If you flew in and are renting a car, along with the usual suspects, you’ve got options like Vegas Jeep Rentals or Sling Shot Rentals. Or if you prefer an electric vehicle, you’re in luck as many of the places featured in this itinerary have charging stations so you can power up for the adventure. For your own fuel, Taste Buzz Food Tours takes foodies to find delicious dishes in Downtown Las Vegas, the Strip and Arts District, with options around lunch or dinner time, so plan accordingly.
Hop in your car and drive 17 miles from the Las Vegas Strip, where you’ll reach Red Rock Canyon, a National Conservation Area covering about 200,000 acres within the Mojave Desert. Stop and see the desert tortoises at the welcome center before you get your timed entry pass for the (one-way) 13-mile scenic drive. Park in one of the designated lots along the route, not just for photo opps, but also a chance to join a trailhead as well. In all, there are more than 20 different hiking trails in Red Rock Canyon, with the 2.2-mile Calico Tanks Trail being one of the most picturesque thanks to dramatic sandstone formations and a rewarding view at its peak.
It's not a mirage. Spring Mountain Ranch State Park really does have water flowing through it, which contributes to all the greenery found in this 538-acre land adjacent to Red Rock Canyon. The land’s history as a ranch started in 1876, and here you’ll still find some of the oldest buildings in Nevada, like the original sandstone cabin of the ranch owners with an intact 1860s blacksmith shop. Go hiking throughout the park and keep your eyes peeled for bighorn sheep and wild burros; birding is also popular here. Guided tours are available of the house and grounds if you don’t want to explore on your own.
From June–August, watch a live outdoor performance at Super Summer Theatre, a mainstay for 50 years. Just south of the park is the town of Blue Diamond, where you can pair desert views with American comfort food at Cottonwood Station Restaurant, the only eatery in Red Rock Canyon.
Extra Mile: Stretching 11,916 feet above the Mojave Desert, Mount Charleston is the highest mountain in the region. Part of the Spring Mountains, Mount Charleston offers hiking, horseback riding and camping under the stars. (Mount Charleston Lodge is also available for overnight stays.) Lee Canyon Ski Resort, with its base lodge elevation at 8,660 feet in the Spring Mountains, is the only ski resort in southern Nevada; ski season runs from December–March.
Stay: Surrounded by the Spring Mountains National Forest and nestled 6,700 feet high in Kyle Canyon, The Retreat on Charleston Peak welcomes visitors with mountain vistas and a lobby fireplace. Often a destination spot for weddings and other celebrations, the rustic lodge offers 62 rooms.
Day 2 (Southwest)
Take off at sunrise and soar above the Mojave Desert for a few hours with Vegas Balloon Rides. These hot air balloon rides take off about an hour west of the Strip and include a Champagne toast.
If you want to get up close to a free, Insta-worthy sight in the desert, then drive to Seven Magic Mountains, a rock art installation located near Jean Dry Lake (more on that shortly) and Interstate 15, about 10 miles south of the Strip. Designed by artist Ugo Rondinone in 2016, the colorful sculpture (think: orange, pink, blue, green, yellow) is a series of locally sourced limestone boulders piled on top of one another. Each of the seven stacks is between 3–6 rocks tall and reaches more than thirty feet high.
Speaking of rocks, if you’ve ever passed a construction site and been jealous of the heavy equipment workers get to use all day, then this attraction is for you. Dig This is a theme park for kids and adults that puts you in the seat of bulldozers and excavators. After a 30-minute training and orientation session, you’re set loose on the five-acre park to live out your construction dreams. No driver’s license is required and you’re connected via headset to an instructor at all times.
A few hundred folks still live in Goodsprings, once a bustling mining hub, but it’s often referred to as a ghost town. Many of its original buildings are gone, but the Pioneer Saloon is still open for business. Be sure to stop by for a drink in the oldest bar in Southern Nevada and look for the cigar burns on the bar; they’re from actor Clark Gable awaiting news of his wife, Carole Lombard, after a plane crash in 1942.
Named after the Pioneer Saloon builder’s wife, the nearby town of Jean offers a number of outdoor adventures. Explore the desert with Vegas Off-Road Tours; go hiking, camping or ATV riding on Jean Dry Lake Bed, an endorheic (meaning no outlet to the sea) lake; or take part in the annual RISE Sky Lantern Festival each October. While both towns have EV charging stations, Jean’s are located at Terrible’s Roadhouse, a 50,000-square-foot gas station with 96 pumps, a gambling area, airplanes and cars hanging from the ceilings, a huge Sasquatch model and 60 bathroom stalls.
Extra Mile: Primm offers visitors coming into (or out of) Nevada a reason to stop and spend a few hours (or the night). The Primm Valley Resort has gaming options, but also several curiosities. True crime lovers will love seeing Bonnie and Clyde’s bullet-ridden death car on display at the resort, while gamers might enjoy seeing the real version of the post-apocalyptic settlement featured in Fallout: New Vegas. Keeping with that theme, on your way back to downtown Vegas, you could stop at the 702 Range in Paradise. This indoor shooting range has 16 dedicated shooting lanes, where you can choose from a range of machine guns like AK-47s and MP5s.
Stay: Primm Valley Resort has 624 hotel rooms, plus a casino floor with more than 300 slot machines. Its Bonnie & Clyde Diner serves American fare from sun-up to sundown, while the Saloon is open 24/7.
Day 3 (Northeast)
About an hour away from the Strip is the 46,000-acre Valley of Fire State Park, which is full of dramatic red sandstone formations perfect for hiking. You can drive through the park for spectacular views or even go on a guided llama trek if you’d like a unique hiking companion.
The Fire Wave Trail takes you to an incredible striped rock formation that looks like a barista swirled a design on it. Mouse’s Tank Trail, named after a Southern Paiute Native American (Little Mouse) who hid here in the 1890s, is an easy trail for viewing petroglyphs. Rainbow Vista Trail is a family-friendly 1-mile loop that offers views of Fire Canyon below.
When the Colorado River was dammed to form Lake Mead in the 1930s, local prehistoric archaeological sites in the Moapa Valley were flooded. In response, the National Park Service created the Lost City Museum to preserve the artifacts. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum also hosts rotating artwork from local or regional artists as well as a Native American pit house and reconstructed pueblos. As dusk descends, look up: Moapa Valley’s low light pollution means it’s a great place for stargazing.
For an adrenaline rush in the desert, renting an ATV is popular activity. SunBuggy offers ATV, UTV and dune buggy rentals, either with guided tours or self-drive rentals. Las Vegas Outdoor Adventures is another option for ATVs, but also offers unique activities like shooting from a tank.
Extra Mile: Close to the Arizona border and located in the Virgin River Valley, Mesquite was originally settled by Mormon pioneers in the late 1800s. Today, this city with small-town charm draws retirees and visitors with its seven golf courses, four casinos and multiple EV charging stations. (Mesquite Outdoor Rentals also helps visitors explore off-road trails via ATV.)
Make a reservation and head to Camel Safari, a Zoological Association of America accredited, 176-acre attraction where you can ride on the back of a camel and take a tram tour to learn about other animals (think two-toed sloth, sand cats, zebra) on the property. Pay homage to the importance of the burro in the region by visiting the free Donkey History Museum, which features donkey memorabilia like figurines, artwork, vintage photographs and life-sized displays.
Stay: If you’re looking for a casino resort, Mesquite offers CasaBlanca, Virgin River or Eureka as options. CasaBlanca also has an 18-hole Cal Olson-designed golf course as well as a spa. Or if you’d prefer a deluxe camping experience, check out Aravada Springs Campground, where choices range from fully equipped cabins to petroglyph-themed tipis; you can also set up a tent or bring your own RV. Mesquite Trails RV Resort has room for 193 RVs and also has a pool and hot tub.
Day 4 (Southeast)
Formed by the Hoover Dam, the 150,000-acre Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a popular spot for outdoor adventures all year long and it's only about 30-minute drive from downtown Vegas. Keep your eyes peeled for native wildlife like coyotes, mountain lions and desert tortoises here.
While Lake Mead’s water levels are currently lower than when it was first filled in the 1930s, visitors can still take a riverboat cruise or rent sailboats and stand-up paddleboards. Evolution Expeditions leads kayaking tours of Lake Mead, including a sunset paddle that includes s’more around a campfire. Hoover Dam Rafting Adventures takes a motor-assisted inflatable raft through Black Canyon, the natural gorge of the Colorado River below the Hoover Dam. Camping is open year-round at Boulder Beach Campground. Kick adventure up a notch with Buck’N Bronco Off-Road Adventures, where you can pick a guided tour or drive yourself through numerous off-road trails.
Completed in 2010, the Hoover Dam Bypass, or Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, spans the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona. Rising 890 feet above the river, the bridge’s pedestrian walkway offers a bird’s-eye view of the area.
Another unique view is via the historic Railroad Tunnel Trail, one of the only remaining sections of the Hoover Dam Railroad system accessible to the public. Here, you can walk through five tunnels—each approximately 25 feet wide, 300 feet in length and 30 feet high—that trains ran 24 hours a day, carrying gravel and machinery to the construction site. The trail is wheelchair accessible.
Workers who built the Hoover Dam created Boulder City, and the town is a good base camp for your day trip. The Nevada State Railroad Museum offers two memorable ways to explore the area. Weekend train rides take guests in early 20th-century rail cars pulled by a diesel-electric locomotive on a 45-minute trip on the Boulder City Branch line. To provide the power yourself, book a rail bike tour where you'll pedal a rail bike along an 8-mile loop of historic railroad tracks.
If you'd like to go more off-the-beaten "track", head over to Bootleg Canyon, known as one of the best mountain biking spots in the country, with more than 36 miles of trails.
For a calmer experience, head to Hemenway Park, where you can see desert bighorn sheep come down from the mountains to graze and rest. Stop by for a bite to eat at historic Boulder Dam Hotel’s Hawaiian Restaurant 1933, where literally every menu item ends in 33 cents. For a bit of movie magic and for all horror fans, check out Tom Devlin's Monster Museum, where you can see the work this professional makeup artist has created for movies and television for nearly two decades.
For the spooky side of history, visit Techatticup Mine, once one of the richest gold mines in Nevada, which stopped operating in 1942. Book a tour with Awesome Adventures to get the full experience: ride an ATV through Eldorado Canyon, walk through the Nelson Ghost Town and tour the abandoned 1861 gold mine.
Extra Mile: Built on the Nevada side of the Colorado River about 90 minutes south of the Strip, Laughlin attracts millions of visitors each year. Before you get into town, stop at Grapevine Canyon to see centuries-old petroglyphs etched by an unknown culture and thought to depict a creation myth. You’ll find the largest concentration of glyphs at Christmas Tree Pass with about 700 etchings and rock shelters in total.
After getting your fill of ancient art, finish your drive to Laughlin, where you'll find little bit of everything. Eight casino resorts hug the riverbank here, offering options for gaming, entertainment and dining as well as very affordable room rates.
There are many ways to enjoy the river—by racing on a JetSki, paddling a kayak, floating on an inner tube or something more leisurely, like a stroll down the Riverwalk between the casinos. Line dance the night away at the Old Town Saloon or see what's on the bill at the Laughlin Event Center, which draws big names like Lainey Wilson and Matt Rife to perform at the 12,000-seat outdoor venue.
Stay: Go big or go home. Book one of the 1,906 rooms or suites at the Aquarius Casino Resort, the largest 24-hour gaming resort in town with a 69,750-square-foot casino featuring table games and slots. Toast to a good day of exploring Southern Nevada with a cocktail and small bites at the smoke-free The Cove Bar & Lounge overlooking the River.