Nevada Travel Guide

Browse the Nevada Photo Gallery

Top Things to See

• Tour the Western Folklife Center in Elko. It is dedicated to the preservation of Western ranch culture and known for the Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

• Explore where the steep eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada rise up to contain Lake Tahoe (website: www.tahoe.com). Carson City is only 14.4km (9 miles) away, but is nearly 500m (1,500ft) below. The lake not only hangs over the state capital, but also the towns of Minden and Gardnerville, which are almost directly below it.

• Visit the Nevada Historical Society Museum (website: www.nevadaculture.org) in Reno, excellent for those wishing to learn about Nevada’s history.

• Experience the famous Death Valley National Park (website: www.nps.gov/deva), where visitors can witness unique geological features in the extremes of the desert.

• Discover one of Nevada’s own parks, the Berlin-Icthyosaur State Park (website: www.parks.nv.gov/bi.htm), home to the well-preserved and greatly detailed ghost town of Berlin.

• See the mining town of Goldfield (website: www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/goldfield.html). It was founded in 1902, and contains the beautiful Goldfield Hotel and the Esmeralda County Courthouse, as well as the old mining district.

• Enjoy the Fremont Street Experience (website: www.vegasexperience.com), a pedestrian mall in Las Vegas dominated by gaming with a spectacular light show every night.

• Visit the Liberace Museum (website: www.liberace.org), also in Las Vegas. The museum contains memorabilia from the world-famous pianist.

• Watch the stunning Fountains of Bellagio display of over 1,000 fountains, choreographed with light and sound at Las Vegas’ Bellagio Resort (website: www.bellagio.com).

• Spend time at Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. They are contained in the vast (600,000-hectare/1.5-million-acre) Lake Mead National Recreation Area (website: www.nps.gov/lame).

• See the fascinating landscape of naturally carved red sandstone in the Valley of Fire State Park (website: www.parks.nv.gov/vf.htm) at the north of Lake Mead.

• Delight in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (website: www.fws.gov/desertcomplex/desertrange) complex, incorporating the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge (website: www.fws.gov/desertcomplex/pahranagat), Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (website: www.fws.gov/desertcomplex/ashmeadows) and Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge (website: www.fws.gov/desertcomplex/moapavalley). It is the largest wildlife refuge in the USA. Moapa Valley was the site of Nevada’s first city.

• Stop first at the Hoover Dam’s (website: www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam) visitor center, where tourists can see right over the edge of the Black Canyon precipice. Hoover Dam itself was completed in 1935, and is the highest dam in the western hemisphere. The Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum (website: www.bcmha.org) houses historical artifacts relating to the workers, and construction of the dam and Boulder City.

Top Things to Do

• Gamble at one of the many casinos lined up along the Las Vegas Strip (website: www.visitlasvegas.com). The Strip is best seen at dusk when it is lit up in neon lights.

• Get married in Vegas. More than 45 wedding chapels operate throughout the metropolitan area, including some in major hotels in the city. The Little White Chapel (website: www.alittlewhitechapel.com), 1301 Las Vegas Boulevard South, where Joan Collins was married, has a 24-hour drive-through window.

• See where Reno was founded, where Myron Lake’s bridge crossed the Truckee River. A white-water park on the river is a popular attraction with kayakers and thrill seekers; the park also includes an amphitheater, picnic facilities and river access for boaters.

• Travel to Reno, self-proclaimed as ’The Biggest Little City in the World’. Many casinos are to be found downtown on Virginia Street including Harrah’s (website: www.harrahs.com), the Eldorado (website: www.eldoradoreno.com), the Golden Phoenix (website: www.goldenphoenixreno.com), Circus Circus (website: www.circusreno.com), Silver Legacy (website: www.silverlegacyreno.com), Fitzgerald’s (website: www.fitzgeralds.com), and the Sands Regency (website: www.sandsregency.com).

• Enjoy the outdoors at Lake Tahoe (website: www.tahoe.com), a top-class skiing resort with a vibrant nightlife, and home to the Shakespeare at Sand Harbor Festival, which takes place in the summer. The spectacular scenery can be seen from the lake’s excursion boats.

• Stop at Scotty’s Castle (website: www.nps.gov/deva/scottys1.htm), a popular, if slightly odd, century-old desert guest ranch.

• Discover Laughlin (website: www.visitlaughlin.com), the second most popular vacation destination in Nevada, owing largely to the reasonably priced accommodation and restaurants, and the fact that it has unusually sunny summers and mild winters considering its location. Laughlin Bay Marina (website: www.laughlinbaymarina.com) is the hub of entertainment in the Laughlin area.

• Ride the Canyon Blaster roller coaster at Adventuredome (website: www.adventuredome.com) in Circus Circus, Las Vegas. You can also see circus acts daily and experience other thrilling theme park rides.

• View the Las Vegas skyline from one of the observation decks of the Stratosphere Tower (website: www.stratospherehotel.com). At 350m (1,149ft) high, it is said to be America’s tallest freestanding tower. Be sure to try one of the world’s three highest thrill rides: Big Shot!, Insanity - the Ride, or X Scream.

• Go on a backcountry adventure in the Spring Mountains, while Mount Charleston (website: www.nevadawilderness.org/southern/charleston.htm) is good for winter sports and is home to the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort (website: www.skilasvegas.com).

• Take the Black Canyon River Raft Tour (website: www.grandcanyontourcompany.com/heloraft.htm) in Boulder City. The tour is a 19km (12-mile) rapid-free raft trip, beginning at Hoover Dam.

• Hike the River Mountain Hiking Trail, an 8km (5-mile) round-trip route with spectacular views of Lake Mead and Las Vegas Valley.