Curious Parents Places to Go

Destinations

Visit the Other Vegas
Family-Friendly, Historic Sites the Kids will Love
By Carol Reed

Despite Las Vegas’s hype as an “adult playground,” I was amazed at the large number of families who visit the city with young children. 

I teach and my husband is a photographer. We used Vegas as a “base camp” and found that within a 60-mile radius you can view some of the most picturesque, fascinating places in the country. Both children and adults will love them. If you have a rental car, take the family on one or more day-trips out to the desert or to Hoover Dam.

Hoover Dam & Lake Mead

Thirty miles southeast of Vegas is the amazing, art-deco architecture of the Hoover Dam. Towering 727 feet into the air, this 1935 behemoth structure harnesses the immense power of the waters of the Colorado River to provide electricity and water to the Southwest.

No trip to the dam would be complete without traveling across it and gazing out towards the now tamed river that for millions of years ran wild and carved out the Grand Canyon. Families can venture inside the dam on a “Discovery Tour” where guides and exhibits explain the inner workings of this man-made wonder. You’ll descend 504 feet into it and walk inside of the canyon, seeing the generators that create thousands of kilowatts of electricity. Stand on the observation deck and get an amazing view of the dam, Lake Mead, and the Colorado River. 

While you’re there, sail off on a river adventure, which starts at the base of the dam and raft on a guided, smooth-water journey along 12 miles of the Colorado River. Bring the camera as you pass by the walls of majestic Black Canyon. Native wildlife such as Big Horn Sheep, osprey, and Blue Herons can be seen. You can even take a dip into the river, but you might want to wait a half-hour as lunch is provided. Visit www.blackcanyonadventures.com  for more info.

Below the Hoover Dam, where rock walls rise 800 feet above the Colorado River, the water forms Lake Meade, a National Recreation Area protected by the U.S. Park Service.  It covers 1.4 million acres with elevations that rise to 6,990 feet above sea level. Stop at the Lake Meade Visitors’ Center right outside of Hoover Dam, and your children can become Junior Rangers while learning about the recreation area and participating in fun activities.

Valley of Fire State Park

The rough floor, stone arches, and jagged, eroded walls of the park contain brilliant formations of sandstone and sand dunes more than 150 million years old. Dedicated in 1935, this monument to time in the Mojave Desert is Nevada’s oldest State Park and is 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. These terracotta red rock upheavals appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun’s rays. It is an easy drive, with an entrance fee of $6 per car. 

The park can be seen by car, or through various hikes. Native American petroglyphs (4,000 year-old rock carvings) can be easily seen at “atlatl” rock. Maybe you can even catch a glimpse of a roadrunner speeding by at 17 mile per hour, so if you have a camera, and you should, you better be as fast as the real life animal made famous in his battles with Wily. E. Coyote in cartoons. Another great animal to see is the tiny antelope ground squirrel that will run out to get a drink when you stop at a campsite where there is a fountain. Valley of Fire is a mystical and wild place that will help children to understand how the Native Americans found this land so spiritual. It is also hot and desolate, and causes us to marvel at how the early settlers could survive such a hostile environment.  

Red Rock Canyon State Park

Red Rock Canyon State Park is a short 19 miles from Las Vegas, featuring cliffs that’ll take your breath away, buttes, rock formations, and roaming wild burros. If you recognize the park, which is located where the southernmost tip of the Sierra Nevada converges with the El Paso Range, it’s not déjà vu, the area has been the backdrop for various movies and commercials. An easy, one-way 13 mile loop drive offers scenic stops along the way. Hiking trails are marked with levels of difficulty. And just like with the Valley of Fire State Park, petroglyphs and pictographs are carved in the rocks. You can make a game with the kids trying to decipher what they mean.

But remember, when you venture into the desert on day-trips, be aware of the conditions. There are virtually no road services, so have a full tank of gas. Bring plenty of drinking water and USE it often. Make sure children stay hydrated. You may be on a two-lane road along a wilderness for some time.

Carol Reed is a middle school teacher & freelance journalist who specializes in travel writing. Carol’s journeys have taken her as close to home as the New Jersey Pines & as far as the islands in the Caribbean, New Zealand & Australia.