11 Popular Day Trips from Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas isn't the only place worth visiting in Nevada. This massive state is blessed with stunning landscapes and an incredible history, offering fantastic opportunities to explore and discover natural attractions within easy day-tripping distance of Las Vegas. You can even pop into neighboring California.

Head west to the colorful Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area or northwest to the magnificent landscape of Death Valley National Park. A day trip east or north of Las Vegas can take you to Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Valley of Fire State Park, and even to Zion National Park in Utah. For more ideas of places to visit nearby, see our list of the best day trips from Las Vegas.

Grand Canyon

If you are only going to do one day trip from Las Vegas, a trip to the Grand Canyon is a must-do, especially if you have never seen this natural wonder. You can choose between two different access points. One is a shorter drive, the other has more to offer once you get there.

Eagle Point

The closest area to visit if you are driving is the West Rim, which is where you'll find the Grand Canyon Skywalk at Eagle Point. The drive time is less than 2.5 hours from Las Vegas. You've likely seen pictures of this horseshoe-shaped walkway jutting out over the canyon. This is not part of Grand Canyon National Park but does offer a stunning view and is a much shorter drive from Las Vegas.

South Rim

The more famous area is the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, a little over four hours away. Here, you'll find the main national park visitor center, a beautiful drive and walkway along the rim of the canyon, multiple lookouts, a geological museum, hiking trails, and several key attractions. This is where you'll also find Grand Canyon Village, with a variety of services and accommodations.

From March 1 until November 30, a free shuttle bus provides transport to the viewpoints along runs along Hermit Road, which runs along the canyon rim from the visitor center at the South Rim. You can park your car and hop on the shuttle for sightseeing so you do not have to spend your entire day driving.

If you don't want to do this road trip on your own, you can also take a tour from Las Vegas. Many options exist, from driving tours to a helicopter trip over the Grand Canyon.

Read More: From Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon: Best Ways to Get There

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam is one of the easiest day trips from Las Vegas and only takes 45 minutes by car from the center of Las Vegas on I-11/Highway 93.

A marvel of modern engineering, Hoover Dam was built during the Great Depression partly as a way to put unemployed men back to work. More than 100 of those men died during the construction of the 726-foot-high dam.

The dam contains Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. Today, the dam provides hydroelectric power to much of Nevada, Arizona, and California.

How to See Hoover Dam

As you approach the dam and before you reach any of the parking or the visitor center is a security check. Once you are through here, the first parking area is the Boulder Dam Bridge Parking. You can park here and walk up onto the Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge for the best view over the dam. This pedestrian bridge runs along the side of Highway 93/I-11. If you are driving over the bridge you can't see the dam, you can only see it if you are walking in the pedestrian area of the bridge.

If you continue on the road from this parking area you will come to the visitor center, where you can see displays and enjoy views from an observation deck and then walk onto the dam. At the time of writing the center and the observation deck were closed for renovations (opening in winter of 2025). More than one million tourists visit every year.

Lake Mead Option

On the return trip to Las Vegas, if you want a little more scenery, you can take a slight detour for views over Lake Mead, stop at the Lake Mead Visitor Center, or hike along the Historic Railroad Hiking Trail.

When you leave Hoover Dam, take Business Route 93 rather than getting back on the main highway. About 10 minutes from Hoover Dam is the Lake Mead Visitor Center and just below this is the hiking trail. Afterwards, you can continue along this section of Highway 93, which will join back up with I-11 and take you back to Las Vegas.

• Read More: From Las Vegas to Hoover Dam: Best Ways to Get There

Death Valley National Park

Although Death Valley is in California, you can easily visit the park on a day trip from Las Vegas. You can reach the park in two to three hours but you'll need a full day to sightsee and enjoy the drive.

Death Valley is one of the most unique parks in the Southwest. Below sea level yet surrounded by snow-capped peaks, Death Valley is far from dead. This wildly diverse landscape ranges from dunes and fields of wildflowers to lakes that come and go with the rain. It is the largest national park in the United States outside of Alaska and has also been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve.

The Sights

The sights in Death Valley are mostly set along the roadside and don't require anything more than a short walk to see. Some of the highlights are Badwater Basin, the moving rocks at the Race Track (high-clearance vehicle or 4WD required) the rolling hills at Zabriskie Point, the vista over the valley from Dante's View, and the sand dunes at Stovepipe Wells. See our complete article on the Top Attractions in Death Valley for ideas on what to see.

As you make your way to the various attractions, you may see wildlife. Death Valley is home to jackrabbits, desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, and roadrunners, to name just a few of the local inhabitants. What you are also likely to see are invasive burros. They're not well-liked by the park because they cause damage to the ecosystems, but they are, nonetheless, quite cute.

Getting There

You have a few options when it comes to how to get there and routes through the park. For day trippers from Las Vegas, a good choice is to leave Las Vegas on I-95 and enter the park at Death Valley Junction (Highway 190). Some of the key highlights of the park are found along this strip as you make your way to Furnace Creek, the main service center in the park.

From here, it's worth popping down to see Badwater Basin to the south, and the backtracking north to make your way to see the dunes at Stovepipe Wells and sights along the way. Leave the park by heading east on 374 and make a stop at the old ghost town of Rhyolite, just before you reach the town of Beatty and head back down Highway 95. At Rhyolite, in addition to some abandoned buildings, you can also see some ghostly sculptures and other interesting art.

Driving time for the above is just under six hours, but with photo stops and lunch, you can expect an additional two or three hours at least.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

On the western edge of Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon offers the quickest nature escape from the city and some of the best hiking trails in the Las Vegas area. You can see the red rock hills butting up against the mountains as you approach the park.

A one-way, 13-mile scenic drive loops through the park, with numerous areas to stop along the way. You can find some incredible hiking trails off this road, ranging from short family-friendly hikes to longer day hikes. You can hike to peaks, into box canyons, and through the red rock landscape to experience some spectacular desert scenery and beautiful vistas.

This is a particularly stunning area in the spring, when the desert turns green and the wildflowers come into bloom.

Valley of Fire State Park

Hikers who want to explore some incredible scenery should put Valley of Fire on their itinerary. Hiking trails here are generally short but land you in some exceptional scenery. If you aren't a hiker, you can still appreciate the views from a drive through the park.

The park covers more than 42,000 acres of haunting sandstone formations created from sand dunes that settled and solidified here during the time of the dinosaurs. Human occupation of the valley dates back to approximately 3,000 year ago.

Highlights include the incredible red rock formations, petroglyphs, canyons (including a slot canyon), and opportunities to see wildlife. The park also offers camping, with campsites set at the base of the stone formations. To reach Valley of Fire, take Interstate 15 north from Las Vegas. The drive time is about one hour.

Zion National Park

Visiting Zion National Park from Las Vegas makes for a long day, but it's well worth it if you've never been to this park. Zion is known for its incredible cliff walls, unique rock landscape, scenic lookouts, and outstanding hiking trails.

From March until November, a free shuttle bus transports visitors through the most popular area of the park, along the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. This is perfect for day trippers. You can simply park your car and be shuttled to the stops, where you can see the sights or tackle some of the hiking trails.

Alternatively, you can drive along the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, which will take up high above the canyon floor and over to a different region of the park.

For a look at how to spend your time at Zion, see our article on Things to Do in Zion National Park.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a scenic spot and offers a nice break from the city. On a hot day, you can come down here and set up a lawn chair on the shore or go for a swim. Boulder Beach is a popular place for swimming and hanging out on the lake. The water is shallow and a good option for kids. The beach is not sand, it's gravel and rocks, but kids and dogs never seem to mind.

If the temperature is a little cooler, take in some of the scenery on the Lake Mead Historic Railroad Trail, a popular hike with historic tunnels. You can get more information and begin the hike from near the Lake Mead Visitor Center near Boulder City.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area is also one of the best places to camp around Las Vegas. Depending on where you go within the recreation area, the drive time is about 30 to 45 minutes from Las Vegas.

You can combine a trip to this area of Lake Mead with a stop at Hoover Dam if you haven't yet seen it. It's just a 10-minute drive away from the Lake Mead Visitor Center.

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is approximately 3.5 hours from Las Vegas but it is impressive enough that it is worth making the trip. Ideally, visitors should plan on an overnight trip, since there are so many things to see and do here. Mountains and rock formations provide the stunning backdrop to the Joshua trees.

Like a scene from a fairy tale, this park is unique and never disappoints visitors. The drive through the park is beautiful, and you can take your time to do short or long hikes and stop to see some of the most famous stone formations.

If you are so entranced you want to stay another day, you can either camp in the national park or a stay at one of the many hotels in Twentynine Palms nearby.

Mount Charleston & Lee Valley Ski Resort

Downhill skiing in the desert near Las Vegas? Yes indeed! Las Vegas is known for an assortment of wacky pursuits, and this is no exception. Under an hour's drive from the Las Vegas Strip is Mount Charleston and the Lee Canyon Ski Resort.

Owing to the 7,504-foot elevation, snow falls here and stays from mid-November through until the end of February or longer. Two quad chairs and a triple chair service 26 runs.

If you don't know how to ski, tubing is available. And if you just want to see some snow and enjoy a bit of winter, this is a great place to come and relax.

Official site: https://www.leecanyonlv.com/

Drive the Extraterrestrial Highway

If Las Vegas wasn't wacky enough for you, perhaps a trip along the Extraterrestrial Highway might do the trick. This 2.5-hour drive between Hiko and Warm Springs is an exercise in observing oddities.

Along the way, you'll see aliens painted on walls, a giant alien beckoning you in to spend your hard-earned Earth dollars buying some kind of weird souvenir, and even an alien-themed hotel. You may even come across a broken down spaceship being towed to the local garage.

All this outer space research is hard work, and you'll definitely work up an appetite for an Alien Burger (the contents of which have not been scientifically verified!).

Seven Magic Mountains

The desert surrounding Las Vegas can generously be described by some as beautiful and scenic; however, most folks look out the endless stretches of sand and scrub with disdain, preferring to think of the bright lights of Las Vegas ahead. One artist has done his best to alter the bad rap the desert gets by placing seven towers of day-glo colored rocks just off Interstate 15.

This three-million-dollar public art display was created over five years by dynamiting rocks in a nearby quarry and then picking the best 33 of the lot, stacking them, and then painting them in eye-bleeding colors.

Admission is free.

Map of Day Trips from Las Vegas, NV

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