I know, I know - you see me and my Instagram feed of beer and fried food and certainly don't peg me as an outdoors man. I get it. But man was I on a serious outdoorsy kick on my last trip to Vegas.
Sure, the incredibly detailed hotels are wonderful. The lights of the strip are a site to be seen. There's museums about mobsters and acrobatic shows over pools of water and old dudes giving you flyers for prostitutes at every corner. But, Vegas has so much more to offer. Red Rock should be at the top of your list when visiting Vegas - no question about it.
It's about 17 miles away from Vegas - a super quick drive. It's a 13-mile scenic drive and also boasts more than 30 miles of hiking trails! The drive is pretty incredible and has stops all along the way to snap photos, hop on trails or enjoy a picnic.
Realistically, you can spend all day here. Plan for at the VERY LEAST 3 hours.
The first stop was the most packed. There's some great hiking and photo ops at this stop... I wish we had ventured deeper (read:higher) into the trail to get some other vantage points. It was a little crazy with kids running around everywhere, so we decided it was best to hop back in the car and continue the drive.
It's hard to put into words how incredible this place is. I've admitted in the past I am easily impressed by mountains - you know, growing up in Florida and all - but this place really is spectacular. For $7 per car this is easily the BEST value in all of Vegas.
On the very last stop we took the trail down and spotted some burros! There were two fairly near to us - and another three chilling on a nearby hill. They looked like they were pets - so well taken care of with groomed hair! They obviously aren't pets (note: These are wild animals, so beware) but you just wanted to reach out and pet them!
Didn't see any turtles, but there were signs for them! Maybe next visit!