Las Vegas is a city that never sleeps. And the glitz and glam of the Strip make for one action packed vacation. However, Las Vegas is also located in the quiet southwest. So if you’re looking to step away from the noise and lights of Vegas and just enjoy the natural beauty of the desert landscape around you, consider taking one of these Las Vegas day trips to experience the natural wonders of the area.
We’ve put together a list of all of our favorite Las Vegas day trips to help you plan your Vegas vacation. This list only includes destinations that we think you can travel to and explore all in one day. At the end of this post, we’ll also include destinations that are not Las Vegas day trips, as they take more than a day, but do make for great add on road trips from Las Vegas.
Several of these Las Vegas day trips are available to you as a tour, many of which will pick you up from your hotel on the Strip. However, we choose the self-drive option 99% of the time. And these Vegas day trips are no exception. We prefer the self paced action of driving ourselves. However, with several rental car companies located on or near the Vegas Strip, it is easy to pick up a car in the morning for your road trip and return it that evening.
We’ve also added entrance fees for each destination along with the time we think is needed to drive to/from the Strip and explore the destination. We’ve also linked to our guides for each destination in case you’d like to do further planning. Hopefully, this is everything you’ll need to plan a few Vegas day trips!
Las Vegas Day Trips
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Entrance: $15+/vehicle | Time: half day-full day
Located just a few miles from downtown Las Vegas, this is the easiest Vegas day trip on the list. In Red Rocks, you’ll drive the 13-mile scenic loop through the park and complete a few small hikes through the desert landscape. Read more about our half-day in Red Rock here.
Death Valley National Park
Entrance: $30 OR American the Beautiful Parks Pass | Time: full day
Death Valley National Park is the hottest, driest and lowest spot in the U.S. So your visit to the Las Vegas oasis can be made more extreme with a day trip to this unique environment. Check out salt flats, mountains and badlands all in one day in Death Valley. For a full list of things to do in Death Valley, check out our post here.
Seven Magic Mountains
Entrance: FREE | Time: 1 hour
Drive into the desert to see this colorful art installation: towering 35 foot painted boulders made famous by Instagram. Seven Magic Mountains is really just a quick stop and makes a great addition to a road trip to Red Rock Canyon or Death Valley National Park.
Valley of the Fire State Park
Entrance: $15/vehicle | Time: half day-full day
The Valley of Fire State Park is another easy Las Vegas day trip due to its close proximity to the city. Here you can explore some gorgeous red rock formations. This park, similar to Red Rock Canyon, also has several short hikes that can extend your time in the park.
Hoover Dam
Entrance: $30/person for the Dam tour | Time: half day
Visit this modern marvel of dam engineering, see the dam lake, take the dam tour, visit the dam gift shop and have a good dam visit. During your Las Vegas day trip to the Hoover Dam, you’ll have time to visit the Visitors Center and take a tour of the dam. If you’d like to stay for a full day, consider visiting the nearby Boulder City or taking a kayaking tour of the waterways nearby.
Lake Mead
Tour Cost: $35+/person | Time: half day
Lake Mead is one of the few Las Vegas day trips that we recommend doing a guided tour. And that is because the best way to explore Lake Mead is via the water. You can catch a tour leaving from Vegas or do a boat/kayak tour out of boulder city. You’ll have the option of exploring some cool nooks and crannies of this man made lake and the beautiful green water.
Grand Canyon National Park
Entrance: Grand Canyon West – $49+/person; South Rim -$35/vehicle OR America the Beautiful Parks Pass | Time: full day
Visit the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park or Grand Canyon West during a Vegas day trip. While we think that you should spend more than a day at the Grand Canyon because it is so cool, one day is better than none.
Visiting Grand Canyon West is the most popular Las Vegas day trip as it is closer. Here, you can walk out on the Grand Canyon Skywalk to see views of the canyon. The West Rim take two hours to get to.
However, we think there is more to do on the South Rim. For a list of things to do on the South Rim, check out our post here. Plus the South Rim has better views, in our opinion! However, the South Rim takes over 4 hours to drive to (map above). So this is a long day trip. However, there are plenty of buses that drive here from Vegas that make this option more appealing as a day trip. Or you could visit Grand Canyon West as a day trip and the South Rim as an overnight road trip.
Zion National Park
Entrance: $35/vehicle OR America the Beautiful National Parks Pass | Time: full day
Zion National Park is another park that is close enough to Las Vegas for a day trip. However, we love hiking and Zion has some amazing hiking. So while we prefer to stay for multiple days when visiting Zion, you can see some cool stuff in one day. You can drive to Zion in the morning and use the park shuttle to get to all the best viewpoints in the park. You’ll even have time to complete a short hike or two.
Add-On Road Trips to Your Las Vegas Vacation
Now that we’ve gone over the best Las Vegas day trips, we thought these other destinations were worth mentioning. They are close to Vegas and would make a good add on road trip but are not close enough to see in one day.
Los Angeles
Consider Visiting LA after you’ve visited Las Vegas. See the Hollywood sign and walk Rodeo Drive. Las Vegas and Los Angeles make for a perfect American big-city sandwich, especially if you put Death Valley in the middle.
Drive Time: 4 hours
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon is a great place to visit as an add-on to your Vegas Trip, especially if you’re already visiting Zion National Park. However, it is quite the drive. So if you want to visit more of Utah than just Zion National Park, consider spending a few nights in southwestern Utah to explore Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. While you could visit Bryce on a long day trip, since you’ll drive right past Zion to get there, it’s best if you visit on an overnight so that you can visit both parks.
Drive Time: 4 hours
Arches and Canyonlands National Parks
This duo of National Parks is located in southern Utah and Las Vegas is generally a good destination to start an Arches and Canyonlands vacation. Consider spending a few days in Las Vegas before heading to Moab, Utah for a weekend exploring these two National Parks.
Drive Time: 6.5 hours
More Time at the Grand Canyon
Like we said, we like the South Rim of the Grand Canyon best and think you should spend two days there. So we’ve included the Grand Canyon as a Vegas day trip and as an add-on road trip. Check out our itinerary here and consider adding it on to your Las Vegas vacation.
Drive Time: 4 hours
Sedona, Arizona
The opposite of Las Vegas in so many ways. While Sedona is a popular tourist destination, the tourism is all about exploring the land surrounding Sedona. Consider spending a few days in Sedona as a way to wind down from your Las Vegas vacation. Check out our list of things to do in Sedona here.
Drive Time: 4 hours
While Las Vegas is a great destination, it does get a bit boring for us. So we’ve spent a few trips creating these great Las Vegas day trips as a way to add variety to our vacations. We hope that these ideas help you to plan your own Las Vegas vacation, complete with the exploration of some other amazing southwest destinations.
