Vegas and ????

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Looking for some help on where to combine with a Vegas trip. Looking for a location within 3 hours drive of Vegas. We would like a place with outdoor stuff; hiking or mountain biking. And a place that we could probably spend 2 full days at. Looking to fly into Vegas on a Sat then drive someplace spend Sun & Mon in the location and back to Vegas on Tuesday.

We have already done Death Valley and Zion. And a little further out we've already done Grand Canyon, LA and San Diego. But we want someplace new. So far it's looking like Joshua Tree, flying into Palm Springs with a one-way car rental to Vegas to save 2 hours of drive time. But Joshua Tree doesn't seem overly exciting.

Looking for an option that we may not know of. Thanks!!!!

 

[lifesavacation]

It's further than you want, but we've done Vegas and then traveled on to Sedona.

 

[E&Cmom]

It's further than you want, but we've done Vegas and then traveled on to Sedona.

This was my first thought. I haven’t been but it is on my bucket list. I have friends that just went there and it looks so beautiful.

 

[lifesavacation]

This was my first thought. I haven’t been but it is on my bucket list. I have friends that just went there and it looks so beautiful.

Sedona is beautiful. There's tons of hiking and biking.

When we went, we flew into Vegas, drove to Sedona, and then flew out of Phoenix.

 

[Disney_Alli]

Sedona is stunning - definitely worth a further drive. Our first trip we did Vegas and Bryce Canyon which had some great hiking and gorgeous views!

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Sedona is beautiful. There's tons of hiking and biking.

When we went, we flew into Vegas, drove to Sedona, and then flew out of Phoenix.

Yep did that same route too. I agree Sedona is amazing

 

[neverlandsky]

Red Rock Canyon
Valley of Fire
Laughlin
Mesquite
Lake Havasu City

 

[MrsDuck]

Definitely Red Rock, Valley of Fire, and Mt. Charleston.

 

[cabanafrau]

General info you may or may not be interested in, Friday and Saturday night hotel rates in Vegas tend to be significantly higher.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Thanks again for everyone's help. Yeah done the Red Rock and Valley of Fire before, mainly day trips from Vegas. Might check out Mt Charleston.

General info you may or may not be interested in, Friday and Saturday night hotel rates in Vegas tend to be significantly higher.

Yep that is why we fly to Vegas on Sat then head out of town for the weekend then back Tues - Sat (fly home Sat) so we just have Fri night to deal with in Vegas. Not as much of the hotel rates but the slot machines suck on Friday and Sat nights!

 

[RC Fan]

I love Red Rock Canyon! In comparison Joshua Tree NP was underwhelming.

Lake Havasu looks interesting! Seems to be lots of good hiking and gorgeous sights in Arizona.

 

[kaytieeldr]

but the slot machines suck on Friday and Sat nights!

It may seem that way, but changing the payouts involves paperwork for each machine for each change. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ga...hat-casinos-can-change-slots-rtp-at-will/amp/
"How casinos change payout percentages depends upon the style of game. Payback for most land-based slot machines is determined by the EPROM chip located inside.

A gambling establishment can alter a machine’s RTP as long as they have the EPROM chip, which is sometimes the case. Theoretically, any casino that has these chips can change payback whenever they like.

The catch, though, is that many gambling jurisdictions require the casinos to report when they alter a game’s RTP. This process requires that a casino manager spends time filling out paperwork."

 

[Sand Wedge]

A few tourist attractions around Vegas include:

The Hoover Dam
Grand Canyon
Death Valley

All are accessible via the Pink Jeep Tours

 

[kdonnel]

We have combined Las Vegas and skiing at Brian Head, UT. It is right at the 3 hour limit. They would have lots of summer outdoor activities as well.

https://www.brianhead.com/

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I'd say given that you have done most everything else, Bryce Canyon National park is 4 hours from Las Vegas.

 

[design_mom]

Zion was my first thought, but I see you've already done that. Bryce Canyon is a little farther than you wanted to drive but it was very impressive. (A few summers ago, we did a loop starting/ending in Las Vegas that included the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion national parks. Great trip. Zion is my personal favorite, but the rest of the family liked Bryce best.)

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Last year we did a road trip and two of my favorite places were Oatman, AZ and Grapevine Canyon, NV. They are about two hours from Vegas and are a short way off of the route to/from Lake Havasu. Oatman is a revived ghost town where the donkeys from the mines were let go and are now protected. One of the locals told us Radiator Springs in Cars was based on the road into the town since there was a spring at the top of the mtn that people used to fill their radiators. Not sure how true that is but it was a good story. Grapevine canyon was a nice hike to see petroglyphs. I can post pictures if you want.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

It may seem that way, but changing the payouts involves paperwork for each machine for each change. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ga...hat-casinos-can-change-slots-rtp-at-will/amp/
"How casinos change payout percentages depends upon the style of game. Payback for most land-based slot machines is determined by the EPROM chip located inside.

A gambling establishment can alter a machine’s RTP as long as they have the EPROM chip, which is sometimes the case. Theoretically, any casino that has these chips can change payback whenever they like.

The catch, though, is that many gambling jurisdictions require the casinos to report when they alter a game’s RTP. This process requires that a casino manager spends time filling out paperwork."

Wow very interesting article. Thanks for sharing. I agree seems like quite a pain to change. Must just always be bad luck we’ve had on the weekends.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We have combined Las Vegas and skiing at Brian Head, UT. It is right at the 3 hour limit. They would have lots of summer outdoor activities as well.

https://www.brianhead.com/

That place looks really great for summer activities! Never heard of it before, thanks for sharing.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Last year we did a road trip and two of my favorite places were Oatman, AZ and Grapevine Canyon, NV. They are about two hours from Vegas and are a short way off of the route to/from Lake Havasu. Oatman is a revived ghost town where the donkeys from the mines were let go and are now protected. One of the locals told us Radiator Springs in Cars was based on the road into the town since there was a spring at the top of the mtn that people used to fill their radiators. Not sure how true that is but it was a good story. Grapevine canyon was a nice hike to see petroglyphs. I can post pictures if you want.

Thank you for the ideas and willing to share pics. I’ll check it out online and get pics from that, I know it can be a pain to upload here.