Day trips away from vegas

Hey, I am going to be in Vegas for a few days in December and I am thinking about renting a car for a day and doing a sightseeing daytrip somewhere outside the city.

Any ideas or advice?

Thanks.

Day trips away from vegas

Let%26#39;s see here;

Laughlin

Lake Havasu

Hoover Dam

Mesquite

Mt. Charleston

Red Rock

Valley of Fire

Those ideas will get you started.

Day trips away from vegas

Going to the Valley of Fire in a rented convertible would be fun.

Definitely go to Hoover Dam/Lake Mead/Valley of Fire. VOF has sandstone formations that are simply stunning. They will take your breath away. You can just drive from formation to formation but to really apprecaite its beauty you should hike on some of the trails- some of them are short. Just bring plenty of water and wear closed shoes. You can bring food and eat in its picnic area. To me this is a ';must see'; day trip out of Vegas.

http://parks.nv.gov/vf.htm

Red Rock Canyon is another nice place but not nearly as great as VOF. It has a 13 mile loop you can drive on with pull off points so you can get out of the car. It also has hiking trails. It is a favorite with rock climbers. But after VOF- RRC will be a disappointment. I would defnitely suggest VOF first.

Mt. Charleston is nice but it is usually about 20/30 degrees colder than Vegas. It is great in the summer but you taking a risk of running into a snowstorm in the winter. You might even need chains of 4 wheel drive to get all the to the top.In fact-there is a skiing and snowboarding resort up there in the winter. I don%26#39;t know about you but I don%26#39;t go to Vegas to see snow- more like to get away from snow- especially after yesterday%26#39;s snow in Jersey!

';Let%26#39;s see here;

Laughlin - Nothing but casinos and a small outlet mall, save your time, do that isn Vegas.

Lake Havasu - Only worth seeing during Spring Break

Hoover Dam - Well worth the time, best seen at night. Drive on into AZ about 20 miles and then down the dirt road to Willow Beach and you can dip your toes into the Colorado River.

Mesquite - Same as Laughlin without the outlet mall. Heaven if you%26#39;re a golfer.

Mt. Charleston - Very nice after a snowfall.

Red Rock - Lots of red rock formations, on a good day you%26#39;ll see wild horses.

Valley of Fire - Better than Red Rock.

Those ideas will get you started.';

Zion Nat%26#39;l Park in Southern Utah. Well worth the 3 hour drive from Las Vegas. Park in Sprindale and take the tram into the park.

Take a drive around Lake Mead%26#39;s shore, try to figure out what creatures are being kept off the road by the 1 foot tall fence that borders the road.

You can also do Death Valley if you want to do a full day.

I agree with VOF we went there last month and the formations are spectacular.

We stopped off for a picnic in one for the areas and was soon greeted by lots of friends. See the picture below

…photobucket.com/albums/…LasVegas2007139.jpg

I have done all of those trips. My first choice would be Valley of Fire and Hoover Dam. They can be done on the same trip. Second choice would be Death Valley. Don%26#39;t try to do the Grand Canyon in one day, particularly in December when the hours of sunlight are the shortest.