Best 1 Day Road trips from Las Vegas / Vegas on Wheels
What to do in Las Vegas?:
When it comes to Las Vegas, most of the time we only 2 things flash into our mind : Gambling in Casinos and roaming around the Las Vegas Strip. This time I decided to break the normal routine and started exploring nearby sightseeing places on my hot wheels. I picked up the Ford Mustang Convertible from Airport itself and was quite happy to receive my favorite color within few minutes, all the thanks to Avis Staff. I would suggest to book a convertible or sportster as its #VegasBaby
Day 0 : Las Vegas Strip:
You have to spent a day and night at Las Vegas Strip to enjoy the casinos, open bars or try your hands with your luck :)
One of casino which is getting attention now days is Venetian Casino resort, and it's for well know Venice theme.
I stayed at Hooters for few reasons apart from the beautiful waitress :), it had free Wifi, Free Parking and 25$ food voucher which can be used throughout the day.
Here are few of my memories from Las Vegas:
Day 1: Death Valley National Park
I read an interesting blog about 2 days road trip to death valley, which made me planned the same. I planned for 1 day as i already had my hotel booked in Vegas. Here are best moments from our drive :
I though of below plan itinerary to cover within a single day which looks quite possible:
We started around 8 AM in the morning which is little late considering you have to drive for almost 350 Miles (550 KM). We stopped on the way to click some moments :)
We spent almost 30 minutes to get relaxed and decided to skip the Rhyolite Ghost Town. After this stop we almost drove non stop to the 1st Stop which was Badwater Basin except for the 5 minutes iconic picture at the official entry point.
It took almost 3 hours from the Las Vegas with the best landscape all along the route. The parking is free at all stops in Death Valley which was a major relief. All the stops had the facility for a toilet too, but not the most hygienic one.
After spending almost 1 hour, we moved to the second stop : Devil's Golf Course which is around 30 minutes drive back on the same road. The road is little patchy as compared to smooth tarmac all around the national park. Not much to see at this particular stop, so we spend only 15 minutes for photos and videos shoot.
Due to ongoing government issues in USA , few of the connecting roads were closed so we were not able to drive till few points like Artist pallet but we stopped for a photograph :D
We had our 3rd stop at the Golden canyon, you need some serious amount of calories to explore the Grand canyon. It has walking trail of almost 2 KM with some colorful rocks formation and spooky locations.
We moved on to the next stop which has 15 minutes drive from the Golden canyon, Zabriskie point proved to be a window view to the amazing at work done by the nature. The different terrain and colors will make you fall in love with this place.
We spent 30 minutes to admire the nature beauty before we head back to the Las Vegas which was 2 hours drive away from the last stop.
Though we missed we places like Rhyloite Ghost Town, Artist Pallet, Dante view and San dunes, still we feel the accomplishment of driving through these vast lands of Death Valley.
Day 2: Mount Charleston
After a lazy morning coffee I marked the Mount Charleston as my next destination, though I was really confused about it. I was having second doubts if this place has enough to offer for 1 day road trip.
I was on the highway around 11 AM with few blockers initially as few roads were closed because of ongoing Highway work, I had to reroute and I was thrilled soon once my eyes witnessed the below view on the way to Mount Charleston. I had to stop for 1 minutes to make sure I capture the beautiful pairing created by the nature.
The chilly weather and hot exhausts are my best friends indeed :) The roads were keep getting better as i moved closer to the Mount Charleston.
I had first stop at the top of mount Charleston where the road finishes and take U turn, you will see Cathedral Rock Picnic area sign board. There is limited parking at the turn or you can take U turn to find a nearby parking spot.
After spending almost 30 minutes to capture enough videos and photos, I decided to drive back. The bonus part was i could fly my drone to capture some videos :) I had no idea whatsoever about near by sightseeing places so I drove with slow pace and found one area where lot of vehicles were parked and families were enjoying with snow.
It was a quick stop to take few photos and luckily I could spot a washroom which was need of urgency :) I moved on and decided to head back home, until I saw a diversion board with 'Lee canyon' written on it. Though I crossed that point before taking that diversion, but my wanderlust brain insisted me to take a U turn ahead and made me follow that path. After that I didn't regret my brain's call :)
There are lot of view points on the way to Lee canyon, so you have ample time to park and capture the natural beauty.
Once I reached lee canyon, there was no stepping back. I had time of my life enjoying the snow powder all over me :d.
The entry fee to the park is 5 USD per car for 1 day. You will find a lot of parking space near the main entrance of the park
One can rent the skiing cloths and equipment to enjoy those slopes. I made few friends who offered to pose with me as survivor to bring back home.
It was a day full of pleasure to all senses- sense of smelling the wind with floating snow, sense of seeing those mountains covered with white sheets of snow, or the sense of touching the fluffy snow melting in your hands. This was one of the best road trip of my life :)
Day 3: Seven Magic Mountain
I had few hours free so I decided to drive few miles to Seven Magic Mountains, which is an open art display in form of Colorful rocks stacked on top of each other in middle of no where. It's just a 30 minutes Drive from Las Vegas Strip and can be easily reached with help of Google Maps. Here is a brief video about my journey:
The place was filled with many tourists who were looking for Instagram worthy pictures like I did :)
The place offers free parking and drone fly zone so you can enjoy the colorful rocks with dessert in the background.
The place also have a small shop which offers drinks and snacks, you can use the portable bathroom by paying 2 USD to the shop owner.
I spent almost 1 hour to capture the rocks from different angels, sadly you wont be able to capture a click without human hugging around the rocks.
It's a quick getaway from the city for few hours for few colorful memories, you may not wanna miss them :)
Day 4: Snow Canyon Park
I had a day free as I didn't plan anything, so I thought of driving to a place away from the touristy crowd and rather to a place where I can find more local people or enjoy the nature.
I decided to drive to St George, which is a small town in Utah with a driving time of just 2 hours from Las Vegas. Here are main moments captured in my video:
I started around 10 AM in the morning after a yummy breakfast of Pancake Stack at the Hooters Casino Hotel.
The route to the destination was so breathtaking that I gave a pat on my back for taking this decision. I liked one particular section where the road was carved out of the mountains. Unfortunately I couldn't take any good photos/videos as my GoPro had trouble and there was no place to Stop on those curves.
I had a first stop in St George for a Coffee dose before exploring the first destination of the day: Snow Park Canyon. Its a state park, where families goes for trekking, hiking or just a relaxing walk. The entry cost per vehicle was 10 US Dollars, otherwise you can park the car at the main entry and freely walk inside the park. The park is spread in acres so you need one hell of stamina to walk through. I preferred to pay the 10 USD and was quite happy to drive from one end of the park to the other.
The park had quite a few visitors, so you wont feel alone for requesting a photograph :)
The most interesting part was few people doing the mountain climbing in chilly weather.
There are lot of parts in the park where you can park your car and have some memorable photos.
After spending almost 2 hours in the park, I head out to the second destination : GunLock Lake
Its a 30 minutes drive from the State Park and you will be happy to experience those curvy roads. I saw a parking fee board near the entry gate but no one was there that day, in fact this place was so off the grid. I would suggest to pack a picnic basket and enjoy family lunch there :)
I spent only 30 minutes as it was quite windy that day and the water body near by makes it so cold that i had to call off the day very quickly.
I head back to Vegas around 5 PM after a quick stop for refuel, i reached back to my Hotel around 7 PM. Overall it was a good drive destination with a offbeat place nearby Las vegas :)
Overall this trip seems to be my favorite as not only I could so many amazing places, but also captured those memories through my lens :) I wish you have a good time in Las Vegas too.
Disclaimer: I am not associated with any brand, its just my personal view without any intention to promote/demote any individual or brand Though it's only done to share my memories and not for monetary benefits, but please take permission for using any content (blog/images/videos)
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