5 Best National Park Sites Near Las Vegas
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Get Outdoors Nevada has been promoting the state's national parks for 20 years. Las Vegas is a great place for outdoor adventures. Most of the land in Nevada is public land. The best national park sites near Las Las are listed here. They include hiking through otherworldly landscapes and driving through a century-old ghost town.
Valley of Fire State Park is Nevada's oldest and largest state park. It was established in 1935. The park is popular with movie buffs, as "Total Recall," "Casino," and "Austin Powers" were all filmed here.
Gold Butte National Monument is sacred to the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians and the Las Vegas Paiutes. Petroglyphs from more than 12,000 years ago are found there. The road that passes through Gold Bute is unpaved, so you need a high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicle to tackle the rough terrain.
Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area is a 48,438-acre preserve surrounded by mountains. It's easy to reach from Las Vegas, 30 minutes by car. The route can be challenging in some parts, but the reward is petroglyph gallery filled with more than 300 rock art panels and wildlife.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is one of the most popular national park sites in Nevada. The park offers a 13-mile driving loop with more than two dozen marked trails. Calico Basin Trail passes by a trio of natural springs that feed a grove of cottonwood, ash, oak, and honey mesquite trees.
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument was declared in 2014. It's relatively new and lacks a proper visitor center and defined trails. The interpretive kiosks are located at the intersections of North Durango Drive, Moccasin Road, Aliante Parkway and Moonlight Falls Avenue.
