Red Rock Canyon and other Las Vegas, NV Off The Beaten Path Tips

A half hour drive from Las Vegas Strip is a place that seems a world away. Forget the neons, the smoke, the gambling and enjoy the nature at its best in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. You will need a car to get there and the $5 entrance fee, but I believe it's worth seeing this place. The landscape is beautiful, with its grey limestone and the bright red sandstone rock formations (hence the name). A 13 mile one way scenic road loops around the area. You can enjoy some short hikes and good rock climbing. We were there on a weekday and there weren't many people around. I imagine this place is a lot more crowded on weekends.

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This beautiful state park is located about 60 miles (97 km) northeast of Las Vegas. To get there take highway I-15N and then the Valley of Fire exit. The name of the park comes from the red sandstone formations, which were formed over 150 million years ago from great shifting sand dunes. The landscape is simply spectacular. At different sites in the park you can see Indian petroglyphs (rock art) done by Anasazi Pueblo farmers, the ancient people who lived in this area. There are many hikes within the park, which brings me to another topic. We couldn't do any of the hikes, because we visited the park in August and it was incredibly hot. All we could think about was how to find the next shaded place. For this reason we decided not to go too far away from the car and we didn't do any hikes (well, we did only a short one, to see the Anasazi petroglyphs but that was all). I guess the best seasons for visiting Valley of Fire are spring and fall.

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Website: http://www.desertusa.com/nvval/

Zion National Park is located in the southwestern corner of Utah, about three hours drive from Las Vegas and not far from the Arizona and Nevada state lines. Southern Utah is home to many beautiful national parks; all of them offer incredible scenery and all of them are worth the visit. But the most impressive of them all is Zion National Park which covers 230 square miles of dramatic landscape of sculptured canyons and soaring cliffs. There is so much to see in Zion that entire books can be written about it (and probably already have). Most people who come here visit Zion Canyon, a scenic gorge carved by the Virgin River. Red sandstone cliffs tower above the canyon floor, some of them more than 2,000 feet above the river. Kolob Canyon is another popular place to see, with several hiking trails. There are so many walks, hikes, and climbs in this park, ranging from easy to very strenuous. You might want to budget two days for this trip or else it would make for a very long day trip.

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Death Valley National Park is located in east-central California, right on the border with Nevada about 2.5 hours drive from Las Vegas. It is one of the most interesting places to visit in California. No matter what direction you come from you'll be struck when you enter the valley as the landscape will change from High Sierras to desert and the view of the valley like a vast emptiness with the mountains in the background is just breathtaking. Death Valley holds a number of records like being the lowest (282 feet below sea level) and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere. The valley has a lot to offer and is a great place for photography. Think about it... Canyons, craters, bright colors, sand dunes, good looking ruins, grand views. For those seeking solitude, it is the perfect place. Even if some attraction points might seem a bit crowded, if you leave those behind within a few minutes you'll find yourself completely alone. If you visit this place in the summer be advised that Death Valley is called as such for a reason. It is very hot and very dry. You'll
need to carry plenty of water.

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