Las Vegas Area Travel Guide, Part 3

The Las Vegas Area Travel Guide is a resource for Las Vegas visitors who wish to sample the Southwest's great scenery and outdoor recreation. All destinations within the guide are no more than five hours' drive from Las Vegas. Included are sites close to Las Vegas, such as Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and Red Rock Canyon as well as locales in Arizona (including Grand Canyon, Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, and Painted Desert), Utah (Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park), and California (Death Valley National Park, Mojave National Preserve). Details include descriptions, links to many references, and suggested visit times. Also, review our recommended travel itineraries.   NEW! Grand Canyon Skywalk   For easiest use, scroll map to top.

Using the Interactive Map

Place your mouse pointer on any item number (in purple) on the map. A brief description will appear. Click on the number for a link to detailed information below. Detailed Highway Map of Nevada in separate window

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Las Vegas Area Destinations

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Map Items 11-16 Below      <Map Items 1-5>   |   <Map Items 6-10>   |   Travel Itineraries

(15) Death Valley National Park -

Death Valley National Park offers perhaps the most spectacular, colorful, and surreal desert scenery in all of the Southwest. Death Valley is renowned as America's hottest, driest, and lowest place. There are few places hotter or drier in the world. In a place of great contrasts, the lowest point, Badwater, at 282 feet below sea level, is towered over by Telescope Peak, 11,049 feet above sea level. The park also features sand dunes, salt flats, colorful canyons, even a volcanic crater. There are miles of paved and dirt roads for auto touring, as well as many opportunities for four-wheel driving. One of most amazing sights in Death Valley is Scotty's Castle, a 1920's mansion built as a rich man's retreat. The building and its beautiful furnishings are well-preserved and accessible by guided tour.

The park's center of activity is at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center (on Ca-190, about 20 miles west of Death Valley Junction). Lodging, campgrounds, and food are available. Lodging varies from rustic, to motel rooms at Furnace Creek Ranch, to luxurious accommodations at the Furnace Creek Inn. The park is extremely popular during the winter, and reservations are strongly advised. Access from Las Vegas is US-95, then NV-373 or NV-374; or NV-160, then county-210. Visit time: at least two or three days. For more details, see Trip VII in the travel itinerary section.

• Death Valley National Park (National Park Service)
• Furnace Creek Resort (Accommodations)
• Death Valley
• Death Valley II
• American Southwest: Death Valley National Park

(16) Mojave National Preserve -

One of the newer national park units, Mojave National Preserve offers more remote and less crowded recreation. Rose-colored sand dunes, volcanic cinder cones, Joshua tree forests, and mile-high mountains are found along the preserve's scenic roadways. There are numerous paved roads for easy auto touring as well as many four-wheel drive routes, including the historic Mojave Road. There is an interpretive center in the town of Kelso and campgrounds at cooler, higher elevations. California's Providence Mountains State Recreation Area is adjacent. It features hiking, camping and popular tours of Mitchell Caverns. Tour reservations are suggested for weekends or holiday periods. The preserve is accessed from I-15, an easy drive from Las Vegas (67 miles to Cima Road or 93 miles to Baker, then south). Visit time: at least a day trip, more to experience the area. A good scenic drive starting and ending at I-15: Drive to Baker, then south to Kelso (stop at visitor center), north to Cima, then north back to the interstate. Print a copy of the Park Map.

• Mojave National Preserve (National Park Service)
• Providence Mountains State Recreation Area
• American Southwest: Mojave National Preserve

(14) Rhyolite Ghost Town -

Another interesting stop on the way to Death Valley, Rhyolite is one of Nevada's best ghost towns. A gold boomtown built to last, Rhyolite had about 10,000 residents at its peak in 1907, with many blocks of stone and brick buildings. By 1920, only 14 residents remained. Today, only a few buildings remain out in the barren desert. These include the unique Bottle House which was built with 30,000 (mostly beer) bottles. Inside is a small museum with artifacts from the town. There are a few caretakers and volunteer guides who interpret the site for visitors. The site is about two hours from Las Vegas. Take US-95 to Beatty, then Nevada-374 a few miles west. The east entrance to Death Valley National Park is a few miles west on NV-374. Visit time: a couple of hours.

• Ghost Town of Rhyolite (Rhyolite Preservation Society)
• Rhyolite - Ghost City of Golden Dreams

(13) Armagosa Opera House -

One of the strangest experiences of the remote Mojave Desert, Marta Becket's Armagosa Opera House is the backdrop for live theater performances on Saturdays, October through May. The one-person show features dance and mime by Ms. Becket who also spent years painstakingly restoring a decrepit 1920s building into a theater. She also personally hand-painted the spectacular murals which cover the interior walls. The adjacent Armagosa Hotel offers rustic lodging and is also decorated with Becket's unique art. The complex is in Death Valley Junction (Ca-127 and Ca-190), en route to Death Valley. The town is also less than ten miles from Ash Meadows (Item 12 above) via county-210. Visit time: overnight if you want to attend the show; otherwise it's a drive through.

• Armagosa Opera House and Hotel

(12) Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge -

An interesting side trip en route to Death Valley, Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge protects a desert oasis pockmocked with springs, marshes, and small reservoirs. The refuge provides habitat for at least 24 plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. This is the greatest concentration of species of any local area in the country. An interpretive kiosk and boardwalk nature trail are available. Activities include wildlife observation, picnicking, and hunting. The refuge is 90 miles from Las Vegas, west on Nevada-160, then west on county-210. Visit time: a couple of hours; possible lunch stop.

• Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (U.S. Fish - Wildlife)
• American Southwest: Ash Meadows

(11) Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs -

Only ten miles north of Las Vegas (US-95, then Tule Springs Road), Floyd Lamb is one of the easiest places for visitors to enjoy a taste of the outdoors. The park was once the site of a working ranch and later a guest ranch. The springs were thought to have been used by native people up to 10,000 years ago. Presently there are tree-shaded groves with picnic areas, adjacent to four small fishing lakes. There is also a walking and bicycle path as well as natural desert areas. Visit time: a good spot for lunch.

• Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs (City of Las Vegas)

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