Las Vegas ... off the beaten path

Does anyone have some info in great places, off the beaten path around Vegas... like in Red Rock Canyon, etc, to venture to for some great photo opportunities?

Blacktop is not required....

bogleric wrote in post #18883266
Does anyone have some info in great places, off the beaten path around Vegas... like in Red Rock Canyon, etc, to venture to for some great photo opportunities?

Blacktop is not required....

Red Rock Canyon has plenty of places to hike off the paved roads. A short drive away (maybe 45 minutes?) is Valley of Fire. Unbelievable scenery! A Must see! About an hour away is Death Valley. I've been there two times and have still not seen everything. One day is not enough. So many different areas to explore and such varied landscape. All three have plenty of photo opportunities just on the vehicle roads. If you want to see unbelievable scenery you should see all three. The photo opportunities are endless.

+1 for Red Rock Canyon, it's a short drive just west of the city, definitely a lot of nice hiking trails and photo ops. I love getting there just before sunrise, I think the park opens at 6:00am. Yeah, it's Not as majestic as the Grand Canyon, or even Valley of Fire from what others have said, but still has some beautiful scenery. Depending on what else interests you and what you want to see, there is Hoover Dam, another short drive from the city. Amazing things to see and do and he scale of the whole thing is just amazing. Again I like getting there before sunrise to get some first-light photos of the dam and Lake Meade. A lot of walking, but well worth it.

There is also the Neon Museum just north of downtown, a huge collection of neon signs and other artifacts from Las Vegas' history. I also found the National Atomic Testing Museum very interesting as well, and it's right in town too. I generally end up going most places by myself as the rest of the family are not "morning people" and would prefer shopping and walking the strip and stopping at the various bars than seeing hills, dams, and other such places. Five of us took the Area 51 tour once, three were bored (no stores or bars I guess), but 2 of us found it incredibly interesting. It's a all-day trip, I liked it because you get to see things you don't normally get to see (we live in Michigan and I can shop, sit in a bar, and gamble right here.)

I haven't been to Valley of Fire yet, but that as well as Death Valley or my list next time we are out there.

Firemike wrote in post #18884425
+1 for Red Rock Canyon, it's a short drive just west of the city, definitely a lot of nice hiking trails and photo ops. I love getting there just before sunrise, I think the park opens at 6:00am. Yeah, it's Not as majestic as the Grand Canyon, or even Valley of Fire from what others have said, but still has some beautiful scenery. Depending on what else interests you and what you want to see, there is Hoover Dam, another short drive from the city. Amazing things to see and do and he scale of the whole thing is just amazing. Again I like getting there before sunrise to get some first-light photos of the dam and Lake Meade. A lot of walking, but well worth it.

There is also the Neon Museum just north of downtown, a huge collection of neon signs and other artifacts from Las Vegas' history. I also found the National Atomic Testing Museum very interesting as well, and it's right in town too. I generally end up going most places by myself as the rest of the family are not "morning people" and would prefer shopping and walking the strip and stopping at the various bars than seeing hills, dams, and other such places. Five of us took the Area 51 tour once, three were bored (no stores or bars I guess), but 2 of us found it incredibly interesting. It's a all-day trip, I liked it because you get to see things you don't normally get to see (we live in Michigan and I can shop, sit in a bar, and gamble right here.)

I haven't been to Valley of Fire yet, but that as well as Death Valley or my list next time we are out there.

What was the Area 51 tour?

I am definitely getting to Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon. I won't have enough time for Death Valley, unfortunately. Perhaps I will make it to Valley of Fire, just depends on the days after some other commitments. Thanks for the feedback, I'll let you know what I am able to get to. Just didn't know if this area had some.... this is where the tourists go, but this is really where to go / where the locals would go type of thing.

I guess I should have been a little clearer... You really don't get to tour Area 51 itself, but they take you right up to one of the "Gates" to Area 51,but you're still something like 16 miles from Area 51. It's a trip that was recommended buy a friend and offered through a local tour company. They picked us up at the hotel in an Excursion so it was a comfortable ride. It's an all-day trip, I believe it was about 3.5 hours driving time there and three and a half hours back with various stops along the way. They picked us up at 7:30 in the morning and we got back about 7:00 that night. We got lucky, our tour guide lived in Las Vegas all her life and knew the state like the back of her hand and was a fellow photographer so we skipped some of the usual tour stops like going out to the airport and seeing the "Janet Jets" and got to see some things/places they they usually don't take people to.

At Area 51 there's no gate, just a sign on the side of the road (see below) and the road changes from dirt to pavement. You can also see the "Men in black" sitting in their truck up on the hill. Our guide said they won't bother you until you do something stupid like cross the line, then they come down, detain you at gunpoint, and you sit there alongside the road until the local sheriff comes out to arrest you and take you to the local jail. She said the wait can sometimes be hours, you're just sitting there on he side of the road, handcuffed. They don't play games.

We also went to a dry lakebed where the air force does testing, saw some petroglyphs, stopped at Steve Medlin's (I think I got the name right) mailbox, the infamous black mailbox (that's now white) where the UFO watchers gather, and eat lunch at the Little Ale'Inn restaurant. We had 5 in our group. some thought it was too long of a ride and really didn't seem enjoy it, but I and a friend thought it was quite fascinating. But then they think sitting in a casino drinking and gambling is fascinating, but I find it totally boring so to each their own I guess.

Firemike wrote in post #18884930
I guess I should have been a little clearer... You really don't get to tour Area 51 itself, but they take you right up to one of the "Gates" to Area 51,but you're still something like 16 miles from Area 51. It's a trip that was recommended buy a friend and offered through a local tour company. They picked us up at the hotel in an Excursion so it was a comfortable ride. It's an all-day trip, I believe it was about 3.5 hours driving time there and three and a half hours back with various stops along the way. They picked us up at 7:30 in the morning and we got back about 7:00 that night. We got lucky, our tour guide lived in Las Vegas all her life and knew the state like the back of her hand and was a fellow photographer so we skipped some of the usual tour stops like going out to the airport and seeing the "Janet Jets" and got to see some things/places they they usually don't take people to.

At Area 51 there's no gate, just a sign on the side of the road (see below) and the road changes from dirt to pavement. You can also see the "Men in black" sitting in their truck up on the hill. Our guide said they won't bother you until you do something stupid like cross the line, then they come down, detain you at gunpoint, and you sit there alongside the road until the local sheriff comes out to arrest you and take you to the local jail. She said the wait can sometimes be hours, you're just sitting there on he side of the road, handcuffed. They don't play games.

We also went to a dry lakebed where the air force does testing, saw some petroglyphs, stopped at Steve Medlin's (I think I got the name right) mailbox, the infamous black mailbox (that's now white) where the UFO watchers gather, and eat lunch at the Little Ale'Inn restaurant. We had 5 in our group. some thought it was too long of a ride and really didn't seem enjoy it, but I and a friend thought it was quite fascinating. But then they think sitting in a casino drinking and gambling is fascinating, but I find it totally boring so to each their own I guess.

Hosted photo: posted by Firemike in
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forum: Urban Life & Travel

Hosted photo: posted by Firemike in
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forum: Urban Life & Travel

I was curious at what they offered. We've been to all those areas and also the road to the back gate which is down one of the roads near the Little Ale'Inn restaurant. Definitely fascinating.