Getting out & about in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a great place to use as your home base and do some hub & spoke touring. This concept is simple- you depart then return to the same location daily. A major benefit of hub & spoke touring is that you unpack once but still venture out from your hub to enjoy the region. Many cities like Boston MA or Richmond/Williamsburg VA make wonderful hubs. Get a map out and let your creative juices flow.

Once you’ve pulled yourself away from the table games and the traffic of the Strip you’ll find the roads well developed and marked. Navigation with a good map is fairly easy.

I enjoy the driving tours that weave you through scenic desert and mountainous landscapes. There is a nice 13 mile drive through Red Rock Canyon that offers plenty of great views, vistas and overlooks. Located just 15 miles west of town Red Rock Canyon is great place to pull off the road and scan nature wonders. Better yet pack a picnic lunch and enjoy!

Many of these scenic opportunities are within a 1/2 to 1 hour drive from the Strip but plan on a full day to drive down to the Colorado River or Utah’s Zion National Park.

Located about 160 mile north of from Vegas Zion National Park offers colorful sandstone canyons, hot rocky deserts and cool forested plateaus. Zion Canyon is the largest and most visited canyon in the park. Here, the Virgin River has carved a spectacular forge into the red and white sandstone. The 2,000 to 3,000-foot canyon walls loom high above the river and the tree and grass-covered canyon floor.
So you say you are not the driving trip type then there are plenty of preformed tours that will take you out into the countryside.

For the more adventurous traveler there are plenty of hiking and biking trails to be explored once you reach your destination.

Plenty of great ideas and side trips can be obtained from your local travel agent or on-line at the official Las Vegas Visitors Center web site at http://www.visitlasvegas.com.