Things to Do in Nevada

The Hoover Dam (originally known as Boulder Dam) is an inspiring symbol of American engineering, built during America’s Great Depression as the then-largest dam construction project in the world. Travelers have flocked here for decades to see picturesque views of Lake Mead and the Colorado River, and today, the dam receives more than 1 million annual visitors.

The tiny Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum tells the story behind the development of Boulder City amid the hostile desert and the monumental undertaking of the construction of the Hoover Dam during the Great Depression. Located on the second floor of the historic white brick Boulder Dam Hotel itself created to house visiting VIPs—the museum is a popular stop for visitors from Las Vegas en route to the dam.

An experiential museum with a focus on people – the Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum is filled with dioramas, diary pages, documents and oral histories that tell the tales of the intrepid workers who traveled from all over the United States with their families to build what was then the world’s largest dam. Soundscapes of construction and era video immerse visitors in the experience of dam construction. Around 21,000 people helped to build the dam and the amount of concrete poured during its construction could pave a transcontinental highway from New York to LA.

Visitors to the museum will also appreciate that the dam wasn’t the worker’s only feat. First they transformed Ragtown—a slew of tent dwellings inhabited by wishful workers along the Colorado River—into the town of Boulder City, Nevada. The community, planned with federal oversight, was designed to be a temporary model town, but it continues to thrive today.

The grand dame of the Strip, the Bellagio still seems new compared to the vintage hotels of downtown Las Vegas. The hotel and casino has been one of the city's top resorts since 1998, when it was the most expensive hotel ever built. Named after the Italian town on Lake Como, Bellagio is known for luxury in a city where over-the-top is the norm.

The 195,819-acre (79,245-hectare) Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada comprises a network of narrow canyons, seasonal waterfalls, rock art sites, and surreal rock formations with ample opportunity for hiking, biking, rock climbing, and desert wildlife watching, all a short drive from Las Vegas.

Rhyolite was once a booming gold rush town in Nevada, but today it's a ghost town – and, consequently, a tourist attraction.

The town grew almost overnight to be one of the largest settlements after gold was discovered nearby in 1904. By 1911, that mine was closed, and in 1916 when power was shut off in the town some of the buildings were moved or simply torn down. What remains has become an incredibly popular ghost town for tourists to visit and photograph.

All but one of the buildings in Rhyolite are in a serious state of disrepair – the exception was a house renovated in 1925 as a movie set. Buildings that are left include a schoolhouse, a jail, a train station, a barn, and a train caboose that used to be a gas station.

Centrally located on the Las Vegas Strip, the LINQ Hotel and Casino provides all the requisite offerings—shows, bars, restaurants, shops, and even a comedy club—but what sets it apart are the Fly LINQ zipline and the High Roller, a 550 foot (168 meter) observation wheel opened as the world’s tallest in 2014 which offers on-board happy hour, yoga, and more.

The Grand Canyon is a humbling testament to nature’s power. Carved by the mighty Colorado River, this northwestern Arizona wonder is 277 miles (444 kilometers) long and more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) deep. It’s no wonder Grand Canyon National Park is one of America’s most popular attractions, with over 6 million annual visitors.

The 550-foot rotating observation tower at the heart of LINQ in Las Vegas is far from your normal carnival Ferris wheel. Climb aboard the glass-enclosed pods—home to music and video displays, as well as thousands of LED lights—and admire the view from one of the world’s largest observation wheels as it completes a full 30-minute rotation.

The Grand Canyon’s West Rim, located just outside Grand Canyon National Park, is home to the vast Hualapai Indian Reservation and includes 108 miles (173 kilometers) of picturesque canyon views. The closest section of the canyon to Las Vegas, the West Rim is famous for the lofty Grand Canyon Skywalk, Guano Point, and Eagle Point.

Lined with Sin City’s top hotels and largest casinos, the glittering 4.2-mile (6.8-kilometer) Las Vegas Strip is the United States’ biggest adult playground. Look out for over-the-top architecture, revel in trendy nightclubs, take in dazzling shows and avant-garde performances, and sink forks into five-star dinners. Hotel highlights include iconic complexes such as Treasure Island, the Venetian, MGM Grand, Bellagio, and Caesars Palace.