Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
A little bit of Las Vegas goes a long way. But you don't have to go a long way to put Vegas in its natural perspective.
With every other hotel on the Strip featuring some manner of aqua-technics (the Bellagio's fountains, the Venetian's faux canals, the Mirage's fiery water volcano), it's easy to forget that Las Vegas is located in the desert between real-life landmarks Death Valley and the Grand Canyon.
The Strip is lined with businesses offering helicopter rides to the Grand Canyon and bus tours, but if time is short, you can find the great outdoors with little effort.
In one get-away-from-the-glitz day in early March, we made snowballs in the mountains in the morning and sat on a man-made beach in the afternoon.
The Spring Mountain range is literally in Vegas' back yard. Mount Charleston, a popular skiing and hiking destination, is less than 30 minutes from the Strip. On one side of the mountain is the Desert View Trail, from which locals and visitors alike would watch atomic mushroom clouds during A-bomb tests in the 1950s.
Equally as dramatic, and just as easy to get to, is Hoover Dam, about 45 minutes southeast of Las Vegas. It's big, it's made of concrete and it provides electricity and water to millions of people, making Hoover Dam the All-American tourist attraction.
And because it was paid for with U.S. tax dollars, it's free (except for the tours, the trinkets and the parking).
The real star of the show, however, is massive Lake Mead, which was formed by the dam. The water is brilliant blue and friendly to boaters (boats may be rented), anglers and swimmers.
For really picturesque hiking, don't miss Red Rock Canyon, about 25 minutes west of town. There's even a children's "discovery trail," less than a mile long and suitable for short legs.