Hoover Dam

From 1931 to 1935, 5000 man continuously worked to build this technical master piece. The result is still worth a visit.

The Hoover Dam is one of the 7 American industrial wonders and after all these years it still is a “hotspot” to a lot of tourists. Halfway the Hoover Dam is the state border with Arizona. Las Vegas is located only 40 miles from the Hoover Dam.
 

Death Valley

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon National Park exists since 1909 and is considered to be one of the biggest natural wonders. The park has a surface of a little over 4900 square kilometres and lies in the state of Nevada. From different “viewing points” you can view this one and a half kilometre deep canyon. The Colorado River, rain, sun and snow have left their marks in the Grand Canyon during many millions of years. Eventually, this has led to beautiful scenery of vaults, ravines, steep cliffs and plateaus.

You can enter the park through the North Rim and South Rim. Note! the North Rim is depending on the weather, opened from may till half October. You can visit the park by car, boat, donkey, horse, on foot, train or from the air.

The park has different “viewing points” and “trails”; like Grandview Point, Hopi Point, Yavapai Point, Bright Angel Trail and North Kaibab Trail.
The park is more than 400 km from Las Vegas.


 

Zion

Zion National Park is about 600 km2 big and offers several fine colored and unusual formed rock formations. Zion Canyon lies in the middle of this park and has been formed by the powerful stream of the Virgin River and by influences of wind, rain and ice. On both sides of this chasm, walls of up to 600 meters arise. To get into this chasm, you will have to use the park transit busses in summer. During this trip, there will be regular stops to hike through the area.

Guided hiking trips leave from the visitors centre daily. Popular hiking trips are the Emerald pools trail and the Canyon Overlook trail.

Besides these trails, the park has sights like: "Great White Throne", Checkerboard Mesa", "Watchman", "Great Arch of Zion", "Weeping Rock" and of course the "Virgin River".
Zion lies about 280 kilometres from Las Vegas.

 

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon, named after the Mormon Ebenezer Bryce, is the land of the "Hoodoos" or rock pillars with the most fabulous forms and colors... The Hoodoos are colored red, orange, pink, white and (light) brown.
From several "Viewings Points" you can enjoy these beautiful Hoodoos. Of course, this park also has different hiking trails; the trail to the impressive "Amphitheater" is one of them. Be aware that the way back is the hardest part and bring enough water.
Personally I think Bryce Canyon is one of the most beautiful parks, which you just have to have seen, and this is because of the beautifully formed and colored Hoodoos.

Places of interest in Bryce are, among other things:
Fairland Point, Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Agua Canyon , Natural Bridge, Bryce Amphitheater, Rainbow Point.
Bryce lies about 440 kilometres from Las Vegas.

 

Antelope Canyon

According to many site visitors and especially photographers, Antelope Canyon is one of the most beautiful canyons in the World.
Antelope Canyon consists out of the upper and lower Antelope and lies a few kilometers from Page in the Navajo Nation Land. The finely formed, red colored and sometimes narrow Antelope canyon can only be visited with a guide. Take in account the reasonable high entrance fees. Your park pass will not be valid here!

While you’re in the neighborhood of Page, you should really visit this canyon as well. Depending on way the sunlight penetrates, the canyon changes color all the time. This canyon is really popular with photographers, so don’t be surprised to meet a few of them with all their equipment. But when you see their photo’s later on, you will see that this is really one of the most beautiful spots of nature in the world.

The canyon is opened throughout the year, but if it rains too much, or if the chance is there that this will happen, the canyon will be closed. In 1997 eleven people died in the lower Antelope Canyon because they were surprised by a flood, induced by a thunderstorm on a 5 kilometer distance.

I hope that this accident won’t keep you from visiting this canyon. I hope to visit this beautiful canyon on my next visit to Las Vegas.
The distance from Page (Antelope Canyon) to Las Vegas (via I15) is about 460 km.

 

Glen Canyon

Valley of Fire

The Valley of Fire State Park has been named after the red sandstones, which are present there and seem like they are burning because of the way the sun shines on them. This park with white and red sandstones lies on a 100 kilometer distance from Las Vegas. In this brilliantly red colored park, different scenes from Star Wars and Star Trek have been recorded.

Places of interest are, among others: Mouse Tank (Stone basins from which the Paiute Indians drank), The Beehives, Petrified Logs, The White Domes, Seven Sisters, Atlat Rock (you will find old native American rock drawings here) and Elephant Rock (see Photo on top).
 

Red Rock Canyon
National Conservation Area

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area can be found on a 20 kilometer distance from Las Vegas, in the middle of the Mojave Desert and it is visited yearly by more than 1 million visitors. During the car ride or different hiking routes in this area, you can enjoy the finely formed red rocks and hills.
Besides red colored rocks, you will also find a reasonable amount of green in the form of wild flowers in spring, Joshua trees and several bushes and cactus.

Besides that you can also find several different reptiles like: snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs and even scorpions.
You will also find several kinds of birds, rabbits, foxes, wild dogs and thick horn sheep. More information about the flora and fauna in this can be found at the “visitors’ center”.

Further places of interest are: Calico Hills, Lost Creek Canyon, Ice box canyon and Spring Mountain Ranch, which is also in this area.

Mount Charleston

This 3633 meter high mountain is about 70 kilometers from Las Vegas and besides coolness it also offers several hiking tracks. If you think hiking is too soft!, you can also choose to climb this mountain. In winter it is possible to go skiing here, or snowboarding.

 

(Gambling) Cities

Other (gambling) cities near Las Vegas are: Primm (69 km from Las Vegas) and Laughlin (152 km from Las Vegas). Laughlin, located at the Colorado River, has more than 5 million visitors yearly. These visitors enjoy the beautiful surroundings, several water sports on the Colorado River, top entertainment and cheap hotel rooms.

If you’re in Laughlin!, be sure to visit the Colorado Belle Hotel & Casino. De Colorado Belle is a replica of the 19th century Mississippi paddlewheel riverboat; it is over 600 feet long. The hotel has a little over 1170 rooms.

Other places in the neighborhood of Las Vegas are Henderson and Boulder City. In Henderson you can find the “Ethel M Chocolate factory and Cactus garden” which can be visited free of charge and the Clark Country Museum. Boulder City is a quiet town where you can’t gamble but where you will find a piece of history regarding the building of the Hoover Dam.