Did you know that there are LOTS of national parks and beautiful natural areas that are easily accessible from Las Vegas, Nevada? When we set our goal to go to all 50 states we started looking strategically at how we could go to multiple states in one trip. Las Vegas is very close to the borders of California, Utah and Arizona. It's also relatively inexpensive to fly to Las Vegas from just about anywhere in the US.
My husband and I lived in Las Vegas when we were first married and enjoyed going downtown to shows and restaurants. So, when I found cheap flights for spring break, he was not hard to convince. We began planning our trip and decided to make Las Vegas our "home base" to explore the surrounding areas.
We did spend some time in Las Vegas (I will add my thoughts at the bottom of this post), however, we mostly used this trip to visit nearby areas that were on our bucket list.
Day 1 - Explore Red Rock Canyon & Las Vegas
We utilized timeshare points to stay at Club 36. It was perfect for our purposes because of its location to the airport, distance from the strip and nearness to the highway. It had a nice indoor pool area that the kids enjoyed during downtime.
We explored Red Rock Canyon (at the time of our visit, you did need a timed entry reservation).
That evening, we went to the strip and had dinner at Mon Ami Gabi. This is one of our favorite restaurants and the patio has a good view of the Bellagio fountains. We then walked to the Bellagio to look at the fountains and conservatory and saw the Cirque du Soleil show, "O"
Day 2 - Day trip to Death Valley
It is around 2 hours from Las Vegas to Death Valley and we started exploring at Badwater Basin (the lowest point in the USA) and then worked our way back to the Furnace Creek Visitors Center stopping at the Natural Bridge Trail, the Artists Palate and Zabriski Point.
We took a picnic lunch and ended up eating in the cars because it was SO HOT. Take LOTS of water, it is hot but also extremely dry. This East Coast girl's hair was looking nice, but my skin was dying without any humidity.
On the way back to Las Vegas, we stopped and ate at In-N-Out burger. We spent the rest of that evening letting the kids play in the hotel pool and packing to head to Zion National Park in the morning.
Day 3 - Vegas to Zion National Park
On the way out of town we stopped to take our obligitory picture at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. They have a parking area out front of it now and early in the day there were plenty of spots and a very short line.
The drive between Las Vegas and Zion is around 3 hours and absolutly gorgeous. They are in different time zones, something to remember for hotel check-in or booking activites.
We stayed at the La Quinta in Springdale. This hotel was awesome because they had a family suite available with a set of bunk beds and separate bed room so everyone could get a good nights sleep. They also had a breakfast and coffee available in the mornings AND the best part is that it was within walking distance of the park entrance.
Zion has a shuttle system that runs throughout the park. Before you go, know what area you want to visit and what shuttle stop number you need to go to.
We walked to the entrance of the park and took the shuttle to stop #6. We hiked all three emerald pool hikes. It was a great moderate hike with views all the way up.
That night we had dinner at the Whiptail Grill. The Surf and Turf was the best thing we had, I still think about that steak.
Day 4 - Zion to Grand Canyon
The drive out of Zion via the Zion - Mt. Carmel Highway is one of the most beautiful drives in the country. We woke up early, taking advantange of that golden hour light and stopped to take tons of pictures and enjoy the views from the road and tunnel.
In Grand Canyon we visited the Desert View Watchtower area, and explored areas around the Grand Canyon Village. We ate lunch at the Yavapai Tavern. The Melted Elk burger was so good, we went back twice!
For sunset that night, we walked along the South Rim Trail and found a spot to watch the sunset. There are lookouts, but they were very crowded and there was almost no one along the trail at that time.
We stayed at the Yavapai Lodge. The cabins are really basic but clean, but the area surrounding it was lovely and quiet and there were animals everywhere. We saw deer, elk and wild horses right around the lodge.
Day 5 - Back to Vegas via The Hoover Dam
The sunset was so gorgeous, we decided to wake up and watch the sunrise as well. We also learned that there is a Starbucks just ten minutes from the trailhead (you're welcome), so we headed there for breakfast.
On our way back to Las Vegas we stopped to take in the Hoover Dam. The tours were done for the day, but we enjoyed walking around and standing in 2 places at once on the Arizona/ Nevada state line.
Day 6 - Las Vegas
On our last day of the trip we rested up and played in the pool. We also had been going back and forth about seeing a magic show and at the last minute decided to go for it! I'm so glad we did. We saw Mat Franco and it was an amazing show and SUPER family friendly.
After the show we did The High Roller, which is the largest observation wheel in North America, and right outside of The Linq, where the show was. The kids said this was their favorite part of the whole trip.
My thoughts on Las Vegas with Children
As I mentioned before, my husband and I lived in Las Vegas and really enjoyed a lot of what the area had to offer. I do think there are lots of amazing things to do, however, the strip is really not suitable for kids. There are many things that go on that we were trying to shield the kids from, even during the day.
There are "kid appropriate" things to do and see, and if you stay inside of the hotels and casinos, you are probably okay, however, once you leave the doors of the hotels, it is a whole new world. To be totally safe, I would drive to the hotel you want to visit, park there, and not walk on the strip at all. Otherwise, use extreme caution.
Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think or if you have any questions!
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