Day Trip Ideas

We are looking for some day trip ideas for our upcoming trip in June. We have been to Vegas about 30 times, so we have seen all the usual sight seeing things around Vegas. We will have a car and are looking for something different to do or see this year.
Any ideas, suggestions???

Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire for beautiful desert scenery.

If the temp has started to soar when you get there grab sandwiches and bottled water from a deli (use a coupon) and head up Mt Charleston. In forty-five minutes from the Strip you at 8000 ft elevation and thirty degrees cooler. Enjoy a picnic in absolute silence, a great break from Vegas noise.

The Big 4 obvious ones in proximity to Vegas are the three mentioned above and Hoover Dam. One thing that very few here do or probably know about is to take a kayak or canoe excursion below the dam through Black Canyon. I guess some might suggest Jean or Primm but there ain't nothing in Jean or Primm you can't find for better in Vegas ... unless you're going to golf at Primm Valley. Ditto Laughlin.

You can burn a long day doing a grand loop of the desert, heading out toward Death Valley, down to Baker and around the Mojave National Preserve and routing back to Vegas one of two ways. If interested send me a PM and I'll suggest a route and stops.

I'd also suggest St. George, UT, if you've never been up that way. You'll burn two hours each way, but there's some cool stuff in/around town and it's the gateway to Red Rock Country Supreme (those paint-blotch monoliths near Vegas will absolutely pale, and in reality they are quite stellar ). Here's something I wrote about St. George for the L.A. Times a few years back. Zion's not far from St. George but even a scratch-the-surface look-see would mandate an overnight.

About 2.5 hours away is the West Rim of the Grand Canyon where the Hualapai Tribe has the Skywalk over the Canyon. It's a great day trip and if you can squeeze it in, Oatman Arizona is on the way. It's an old mining town where the hotel that Clark Gable and Carol Lombard honeymooned is located. It was a frequent getaway location for Gable who used to play cards with the miners in the evening. The town is populated by burros who walk the street during the day. Bring some carrots to feed them.

When we visit Valley of Fire from Vegas, we make a day of it driving up I-15 to Valley of Fire, but departing the back way which takes you by Lake Mead. If you follow this road toward the Dam, it takes you to Lake Las Vegas where you can stop before heading back to Las Vegas.

Larry from Las Vegas, NV

would highly recommend a drive to laughlin-----some 90 miles south of vegas-----there are 11 casinos that sit on the colorado river across from bullhead city az----low-key,lowlimits,easy comps---and---should you desire to stay over the nite, the rooms can be had for a very reasonable price, like $29 midweek if you don't get comped

it is a nice drive thru the desert on a 4 lane highway----speed limit 70 mph-----pit stops along the way would be the towns of searchlite and cal-nev-ari both of which have tiny casino-restaurants----

took a day trip there some 15 years ago----now stay over 2 nites out of my semi-annual 6 day trip to vegas

We visit Laughlin every year - favourite resort is the Aquarius.

I signed up for groupon.com a few months ago, and it seems like a couple of times a week I get an e-mail for 1/2 or 3/4 off something in Vegas that I had never heard of and another couple of time a week, something I 'have" heard of.

for example, one day its half off bus tour to the grand canyon, the next day it a 3 hour ATV tour thru Red Rock Canyon.

Just by signing up for groupon (free) you might get some other interesting ideas

good luck weggie!

We made a trip to Oatman one year and that was fun. We took our time and saw several things along the way. We drove to Kingman, AZ first and went to the Route 66 museum (which wasn't much), then we traveled old route 66 on our way to Oatman, which was cool. Saw a few things along the way like an old gas station from back in the heyday of Route 66 that was renovated. Plus traveling on Route 66 itself was quite interesting!! So we get to Oatman and spend some time there. Donkeys roam the streets and there was a "gun fight" in the middle of the town. Cute little town and fun to see. From there we hit the road again and go to Laughlin where we spend a little time gambling and then we came back to Vegas. It was a great side trip!!

If you are a movie buff--there is a website that list all the places in the area where movies have been shot.