Question of the Day - 18 June 2025

We conducted a poll on this very question in 2019 and here are the top 10 destinations from a total of nearly 3,000 votes: Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, Laughlin, Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead, Mt. Charleston, Boulder City, Death Valley, Zion National Park, and Grand Canyon South Rim.

We can dispense with Hoover Dam, Laughlin, and Boulder City as outside the parameters of this question ("natural wonders"), but of course, Red Rock Canyon is the best close daytrip from Las Vegas, a mere 20 miles west on W. Charleston from Las Vegas Blvd. South. It's a 64,000-acre BLM park that showcases some spectacularly colorful sandstone. From there, you can continue west on NV Rte. 159 (which W. Charleston turns into) to Spring Mountain State Park, which occupies a gorgeous valley below the sheer eastern escarpment of the mighty Spring Mountains that hem in Las Vegas Valley on the west. Both are within a half-hour's drive of the city. 

Valley of Fire State Park is a little farther, 45 minutes one way, and you can cruise along Lake Mead (again, not natural, but certainly a wonder in the desert) for part of the drive. It's no accident that VoF is the oldest of Nevada's state parks, established in 1936. Even more spectacular and immense than Red Rock, this valley stretches six miles long and up to four miles wide; its sandstone arches, walls, geologic engravings, and human etchings -- all in brilliant colors -- form an unforgettable archetype of the landscape of the great American Southwest. 

Death Valley, roughly two hours west of Vegas, is certainly a natural wonder -- the lowest, hottest, and driest national park in the U.S. Actually, it contains the lowest point in all of North America: 282 feet below sea level. It also holds the record for the highest temperature on the continent: 134 degrees Fahrenheit. It's the driest place too: an average of less than two inches of rain annually. Several notable geologic features include the "sailing stones," Funeral Mountains, Artist's Drive, and Zabriskie Point. 

in the other direction is Zion National Park, slightly less than two hours, renowned for its stunning canyon landscape, towering sandstone cliffs, and diverse ecosystems. The park's main attraction is Zion Canyon, a 15-mile-long 3,000-foot-deep canyon carved by the Virgin River.

Bryce Canyon National Park is three hours and 45 minutes. Bryce is famous for the world's largest collection of hoodoos, tall thin rock formations that line up like toy soldiers. It's also home to horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters, scenic vistas, and the some of the darkest night sky, studded with countless stars, you'll ever see. 

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is slightly more than a four-hour drive, close and certainly spectacular enough to qualify as a half-day driving trip. And it needs no description. But for our money, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is worth the extra half-hour from Vegas. Being so remote and open only between mid-May to mid-October, the crowds are sparse, especially compared to the circusy South Rim. Also, because the North Rim gets more precipitation than the South, its walls are more eroded and sloping, making for up close and personal views of the canyon. Finally, the Grand Canyon Lodge is the perfect historic (1928) gathering place for hardy and hungry travelers.

These are just the highlights. Plenty of other natural wonders of the west are within four to five hours of Las Vegas; you can include your own favorites in the comments.