Las Vegas Travel Forum

Team,

Wife, 9yo daughter and I will be landing in Las Vegas at 11am on a Tuesday in Spetember.

On this day, we plan to do Hoover Dam after we are "set free" from airport.

Where else can we visit that does not take very long and arrive back in Las Vegas before 5pm?

BoyFromOZZ

Red Rock Canyon is worth a visit and is a very nice change from The Strip.

John

Red rock canyon is a good choice as is the Valley of Fire state park. But 5 hours to do the Dam and one other is pushing it a bit including driving times.

I agree, don't plan on anything other than the dam. The airport is pretty slow on getting bags to you and the traffic on the road to the dam can be backed up due to the bypass they are building to route traffic off the dam and to a new bridge below it.

If you are going to Hoover Dam and do the tour, no one in your party should be claustrophobic. A long decent on the elevator ride and long walk in tunnel and then back into the tunnel and the ascent up could cause anxiety. After the Dam tour make sure you have fun having one leg in Nevada and the other in Arizona. oN your way back to Las Vegas, stop off at Lake Las Vegas with the lake, may have boat ride if at right time, stroll the imitation Italian streets, get a gelato (Italian ice cream) or even in the small casino restaurant a great bowl of pasta e fagioli soup (pasta fazool/spaghetti & bean soup. See their website for ideas. www.lakelasvegas.com

I forgot all about Lake Las Vegas on the way back. Check their www site as during the "cooler" months they do fireworks and free concerts on a floating barge on the lake. I think they might start them up again in September, but not sure. There is a great Irish Pub on the square in the heart of the main village.

If you get to Red Rock Canyon, you can try the Bonnie Springs Ranch. Good fun on our visit a few years ago.

http://www.bonniesprings.com/ranch.html

Unless I am mistaken Red Rock and Valley of Fire aren't exactly "on the way" to or from Hoover Dam. Seems VOF is northeast of Las Vegas and Red Rock is west; so it does not appear those would be doable with a trip to the dam in the time frame you want. I would stick with the dam and then if you have time on the way back stop off at Lake Las Vegas.

But if you have to be back in LV by 5:00 PM I would stick with just doing the dam.

Ah, but a nice gelato and sitting down on a bench looking at the Lake at Lake Las Vegas is a nice relaxed time after touring Hoover Dam. It is so very close to the strip, time wise, within 20 minutes.

Last time I tried that it was August and it melted before I got out the door. The beer at the pub stayed colder longer or maybe it was the six refills that made it seem so.

The Hoover Dam can take a lot of time to fully enjoy! I have pictures posted under personal album.

Good point about being claustrophobic. If anyone is, don't take the tours. You will go through tunnels, elevators, etc. I recommend the tours as I took them and had a blast! I rented a car and drove out myself. Once there, I took the Hoover Dam tours. I would not recommend taking a bus tour to the Dam as it takes so much time. It's faster to rent a car.