What to do outside of vegas?

Sorry if this is the wrong sub...but was not sure where to ask the question..

My wife is not a real big gambler...so I am wanting to take a day to do something outside of vegas with her. We have thought about Grand Canyon or going to Disneyland...Are there any other "secret" spots that we may not be thinking of?

Also...at Grand Canyon...other than looking at it and walking down into it...is there anything around it to go and do?

 

There are a couple that are closer. Zion National Park is about 3 hours north.and an easier drive than Southern
Cal or Arizona. Red Rock and the Valley of fire are both close and worth seeing. There are several attractions in Vegas that are worth your time.Mob museum downtown and the Atomic Testing Museum.

 

Black Canyon rafting on the Colorado below the damn dam is a good way to spend half a day


Pink Jeep tour of Red Rock...get the one with the off road option.

 

We did kayaking, through Blazzin' Paddles, which was quite nice. (I am a novice kayaker.) The people were super nice and pick up/drop off was easy.

 

We flew to the Grand Canyon south rim, and also did the Hoover Dam tour. IMO, Both were worth the time and money. Same for the Mob Museum.

 

You should dig into the archives. There is a treasure trove of ideas on this subject.

On a quick note, day trips: The dam, kayaking, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, Mob and atomic museums.

Overnight trips: St. George, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon and Flagstaff

 

I just saw a kayaking post and sent him the info.. He is renting a car and planning on driving to the south rim and doing the Hoover Dam tour. He's running the race Sunday evening. Time is a factor seeingas he's flying in either Fri or Sat and leaving Wed. I will probably over load him with places and ideas for his trip.

 

+1 on the Hoover Dam tour. Awesomeness!

If you are interested there are awesome ziplines in the hills outside Boulder City (about 30 minutes from Las Vegas). Pickup and drop off is easy. We have done these ziplines several times since 2011. For me it's an amazing adrenaline rush - almost as good as the rush I get from skydiving.

Warning: These ziplines are not appropriate for people who are afraid of heights or cannot climb stairs (there is some light hiking and one moderate stair climb between ziplines and to/from the bus that takes you to and from the hills of Bootleg Canyon).

http://www.flightlinezbootleg.com/

 

For those that did the Hoover Dam tour can you tell me which tour company you would recommend? I am interested in just the Dam not the Lake Mead cruise.

Thanks

 

Mount Charleston, Zion, and Red Rock, and Valley Of Fire (in that order below) are incredibly scenic. Mt Charleston may be a bit iffy this time of the season however.

 

Hoover Dam of course. Red Rock. Valley of Fire. Death Valley (did the Rhyolite ghost town driving to DV). And you can mix it up a bit. We did ATV's around Valley of Fire. Scooters around Red Rock. Very fun.

Grand Canyon... you can hike down (and up) which is a chore but fun,. You can also mule trip down and up. Stay overnight at the bottom. Very cool. Otherwise a day is enough if you just want to see it. Several vantage points you can drive to. I wouldn't do it in a day though. I'd stay overnight somewhere. We did a trip last year where we started and ended in Vegas and went to Grand Canyon/Flagstaff/Sedona in between. Sedona is awesome.

 

Red Rock scenic drive and the informational exhibits at the center coming in is a slow, very well spent afternoon. The stops along the drive give you a feel of how large it all is with small figures walking around in the distance. I would not recommend a drive to the south rim of the Grand Canyon in one day at all. You will be worn out by the time you get back but the drive is very scenic ( but very long), We started 8:30 am, stopped at Hoover Dam for 30 minutes just to look (no tour) and then to the Canyon. We got back after 8:30 pm and were done. Best time to see the Canyon is early mornings and late evenings when the light is changing

 

We drove a rental car from our casino resort on Strip to the Hoover Dam parking garage (the drive was easy, about 35-40 minutes). We took the Hoover "Dam tour" as described on the Bureau of Reclamation website. It is the longer, more detailed tour and we loved it. We opted for this approach as we did not want to be trapped on a bus or other group tour thing.

https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/DamTour.html

 

Unless you catch a miracle, staying overnight at the bottom requires advance planning, and it still takes a miracle.

 

Very true, months in advance, even a year in advance.

I would definitely do the longer of the 2 Hoover Dam tours. But that one you can't book in advance and it can sell out. The regular shorter tour you can book in advance.

 

The bunk lodging at Phantom Ranch is easier to get, but the private cabins open up something like one year to the date. We've tried dialing in several times at the exact second and still haven't nailed one down.

 

Red Rock is good to do we did the Pink Jeep tour had a good mix of walking and traveling in the Jeep at the park. They have a few options and destinations. we also did a Kayak trip I think it was about two hours may have been three. Evolution Expeditions is the one that we used. Wife and I are active but maybe a bit overweight I recommend not doing the double if you are a bit on the heavy side, the kayak rides a bit lower in the water and makes it harder to maneuver the thing,

Both tour companies will pick you up at or near your hotel.

 

+1. We arrived at the Visitor center about 3:00pm on Friday, October 29. The parking garage was pretty full but the tours may have been less crowded as it was later in the day. We were able to get tickets for the Dam tour that started about 20-30 minutes after our arrival.