From Neon to Nature: Outdoor Adventure Awaits in Southern Nevada

Beyond the neon lights of Las Vegas, a diverse landscape that offers both adventure and social distancing awaits. From hiking in picturesque canyons and kayaking down rivers to zooming though the desert in an ATV, the options – and excitement – are endless.

Water Fun for Everyone

An easy day trip from Las Vegas, watersports abound at Lake Mead, Lake Las Vegas and the Colorado River.

The first and largest national recreation area in the United States, Lake Mead National Recreation Area offers boating, jet skiing, and rafting. Vegas Water Sports at Lake Mead specializes in watersport activities and rentals, including wakeboarding, water skiing and tubing.

Boaters and jet skiers on Lake Mead will get a glimpse of the world-renowned Hoover Dam. Named one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, the dam generates about 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power each year for use in Nevada, Arizona and California.

Lake Las Vegas provides family fun with a 40,000-square-foot floating Aqua Park. The lake’s water sports complex also offers standup paddle boarding, flyboard experiences and kayaking.

For those looking for an adventure on the river, Laughlin is nestled along the banks of the Colorado River and offers an ideal location to experience a wide variety of water activities, and  Vegas Glass Kayaks gives three guided tours of the Black Canyon including half day, full day and nighttime tours.

Hit the (Dirt) Road

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area offers something for every outdoor enthusiast. With 2,000 climbing routes, Red Rock Canyon is known as one of the premier climbing destinations in the United States. This natural conservation area also offers a 13-mile scenic drive, picnic areas, cycling, hiking and 26 different hikes and trails.

More than 60 miles of maintained trails wind through Mount Charleston in the scenic Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest just north of Las Vegas. Most trails start at over 6,000 ft. in elevation, with some culminating at the 11,916 ft. Charleston Peak.

Spanning 40,000 acres, Valley of Fire State Park is world-renowned for its bright red Aztec sandstone and petrified trees and petroglyphs dating back more than 2,000 years. Hikers visiting Nevada’s first state park can choose from 11 trails that range in length and difficulty, but all offer spectacular views.

Find excitement – and a little Wild West history – underground. The Eldorado Canyon Mine Tour is a guided adventure into the Techatticup Mine, which operated from 1861 to 1942 and is the richest and oldest gold mine in Southern Nevada.

For visitors looking to experience the great outdoors from the comfort of a vehicle, Pink Jeep Tours allow passengers to experience an off-road adventure to a variety of destinations, including Valley of Fire, Grand Canyon, Death Valley and Hoover Dam.

With a large fleet of custom off-road vehicles including dune buggies, ATVs and UTVs, Sun Buggy Fun Rentals offers guided and non-guided tour options, as well as a high-speed chases spanning more than 15,000 acres of desert landscape.

Just minutes from the Strip, a different kind of playground awaits. Dig This Las Vegas is a full-size bulldozer and excavator site that allows customers to take control of heavy equipment and move mountains of dirt, stack monster rocks, dig huge holes, crush cars, and much more.

The Instagrammable Outdoors

A creative expression of human presence in the desert, Seven Magic Mountains  punctuates the Mojave with a poetic burst of form and color. Located just ten miles south of Las Vegas off of Interstate 15, Seven Magic Mountains is a public art installation comprised of seven towers of colorful, stacked boulders standing more than thirty feet high

From the road to the rails, Rail Explorers in Boulder City offers three exciting tours – a 4-mile daytime ride, a sunset tour, and an evening lantern ride – that combines pedal-powered explorers and a ride on an historic train. 

Go “Fore” It

Get into the swing of things and hit the green at any (or all) of these unique Vegas golf courses.

Originally built in 2005 on the footprint of the historic Desert Inn Hotel course, the Tom Fazio-designed Wynn Golf Club was renovated and reopened in fall 2019 with eight new and 10 revamped holes. Redesigned amenities also include a new 6,500-square-foot practice putting green and netted full-swing warm-up area.   

For golfers looking for dramatic elevation changes, and stunning views of desert landscape, the renowned Wolf Creek Golf Club in Mesquite is a bucket list experience. An hour and a half north of Las Vegas, this challenging 18-hole course offers unique viewpoints of green fairways meandering through red rock canyons.

The Sky’s the Limit

Take to the skies and get a bird’s eye view of Southern Nevada from a helicopter or zipline.

Maverick Helicopters, Sundance Helicopters and Papillon offer high-flying adventure featuring breathtaking views of the Strip, the Grand Canyon, Red Rock and Hoover Dam. Tours span from 15-minute flights over the Las Vegas Strip, to half and full-day adventures to the scenic landmarks of the Southwest.

Those looking for an outdoor adventure along the Strip can strap into a harness and go ziplining. Located 12 stories above the LINQ Promenade + Experience, Fly LINQ Zipline gives guests the option of taking off from a seated, lie-flat or backwards experience. Adding even more fun, up to 10 people can fly at the same time.  For a uniquely Downtown Las Vegas experience, thrill seekers can experience Slotzilla – the high-flying zipline and zoomline experience – with views of Fremont Street below and the largest video screen in the world, Viva Vision, playing overhead. 

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