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When you begin to think about touring the United States' national parks, you are probably envisioning a road trip of some sort. What makes national parks different than so many other types of entertainment is that they are created from natural spaces that exist in the country, being protected through governmental actions. They are not constructed the way a theme park would be, taking into consideration the patrons who would be ultimately visiting them. Instead, national parks are undeveloped spaces that may have a few conveniences built in like a paved road or maybe a bathroom in specific areas. Some spaces may also be equipped with safety features along developed paths and trails as well as informational signs that will provide some guidance. This will generally be the extent of the development, and visitors must understand that in order to maintain the natural state of the space, modern conveniences must be kept to a minimum. Another aspect of the national parks that many people do not realize is the remote nature of them. Quite simply, they are relatively far away from major cities, probably having a lot to do with the fact that the protections that they enjoy constrain the area surrounding as far as development. No matter how popular a national park is, there is going to be limited access to hotels and transportation around them, the law restricts creation of these types of things. Because they are far away from cities, you are going to have to travel by car to get there, and this is going to mean a drive from the nearest city or starting point through undeveloped areas. In the southwestern United States, we find several national parks within driving distance of Las Vegas, which is the logical starting point for most trips. Las Vegas

Were you aware that Las Vegas is a perfect starting point for numerous tours of southwestern national parks? This may come as a surprise to many people, but the fact that Las Vegas itself is positioned as the perfect place to begin the road trip to any number of southwestern national parks is something that eludes many people. You must realize that Las Vegas itself was created as a stopover for people traveling across the Mojave Desert from the east coast to California. Because the trip across the un-populated desert took so long through conditions that were less than favorable, there needed to be a place where people traveling could stop along the way in order to rest and restock their supplies. This became Las Vegas, an area where conditions were livable enough for a small amount of people to stay there and provide services for the travelers that were passing through. Over time, Las Vegas grew to be more of what we know it as today, a destination that people actually travel to, instead of simply passing through on the way to somewhere else. Now, this positioning puts Las Vegas into the discussion once again as a point to start at, specifically because the national parks of the southwestern United States are relatively remote, and must be driven to in most cases. The need for a starting point that can handle major airline traffic is necessary, and when you compare the driving distances from most other cities in the area, Las Vegas makes the most sense. In addition to this fact, Las Vegas also has more hotels and restaurants than almost everywhere on earth. So if you are traveling to Las Vegas and want to tour a national park or two, which ones are the best to try? That

You are getting ready for your trip to fabulous Las Vegas, and you are dreaming of all the gambling and food and shows that you will see. The glittering lights and the sights and sounds are a thing that you will probably never see again, but were you aware that by coming to Las Vegas you are actually in the position to see numerous other wonders, simply because of the placement of the city in the desert? Las Vegas itself was started as a stopover in the middle of the Mojave Desert, completely necessary when people traveling from the east coast to California in search of a better life hit the desert expanse. For the majority of the trip, there was development that would allow you to restock supplies and rest before moving on, however the Mojave Desert proved to be more inhospitable for daily life than most other places, and remained undeveloped. For this reason, a location was necessary around the half way point that would allow people to rest and restock their supplies. As a result, Las Vegas grew in popularity for anyone traveling by ground from one side of the desert to the other. Over time, it grew into a destination of it's own through the legalization of gambling, but this position in the desert has now become important again for people wishing to visit any one of numerous national parks in the southwestern United States. Las Vegas is located about 2 driving hours from Zion Canyon national park, and about 4 hours from Bryce, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon and the Grand Canyon. This close proximity to these national parks make it the perfect starting location for nature lovers who wish to see these areas in their lifetime. Las Vegas becomes the perfect starting point when you

If you are planning on coming to Las Vegas in the near future, you may want to consider taking a few days away from the city to also visit one of the most iconic and picturesque areas on the planet, which is located within a few hours drive. We are referring to The Grand Canyon, and the fact that Las Vegas is positioned as a perfect starting point for any road trip to see it. The Grand Canyon itself is located in Arizona, running many miles with numerous scenic view points. The area that most people want to visit however, is the south rim located just outside Page, AZ. This is the protected space that was designated as a national park by the US government and is not able to be developed within a specific number of miles around, essentially making it a remote area that you must pick a starting city to begin from if you are not from the area itself. The closest areas with major airline possibilities are Phoenix, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City and each of these locations is going to pose roughly a four hour trip by car to the national park area itself. While there recently has been the development of an additional area located on Navajo land at the west rim, this area is not as scenic and does not have the outdoor exploring and hiking opportunities that the south rim has. It is located closer to Las Vegas and for this reason many tourists will choose to visit it instead of the national park area, as well as the fact that they have installed a glass bridge known as the Grand Canyon Skywalk. For nature purists who want to witness unspoiled beauty instead of tourist attractions, the south rim trip is

The Grand Canyon tour from Las Vegas has been a popular product for many tour companies for many years. Traditionally, this involved driving from Las Vegas to the national park area of the Grand Canyon, which is roughly four hours travel time from downtown. The area is known as the "south rim" and it consists of viewing area, hiking trails, rafting and assorted other outdoor activities that can easily take up the majority of numerous days. While the distance to the area was slightly far, it was well worth it to those who wanted to experience the outdoor activities of one of the most iconic places on earth. Issues began a few years ago when a different area of the Grand Canyon was developed for tourism. This area is known as the "west rim" and is controlled by the Navajo Indian tribe.  The thought was to capitalize on the location's proximity to Las Vegas, being only two hours away, and outfit it with a tourist attraction that will give people enough of a reason to go within the limited time they may have of a single day. The "west rim" is essentially for people who plan only to visit the Grand Canyon Skywalk without being involved in any hiking or nature activities. The "west rim" is far less scenic and lush, and has almost none of the activities that the developed national park space has. While it is nice as a tourist attraction that is close to Las Vegas, it poses the issue that many people who do not research their tour enough may end up at a location that they did not expect. While this is still the Grand Canyon, it is not the national park area that you have seen in books and magazines. Always ask before booking

When many people vacation in Las Vegas, they plan on visiting the Grand Canyon while they are here. The Grand Canyon is located within a half day's drive of Las Vegas, but you must make sure that you are booking the tour that you expect when you make your arrangements. This is because the popularity of the Las Vegas starting point for Grand Canyon tours has created an issue that was not previously foreseen, and is leading to people being taken on tours that are actually not to the Grand Canyon National Park. The difference that is being discussed is between the "south rim" and the "west rim" of the Grand Canyon, and which tour is better. The "south rim" is the area that is traditionally toured, being positioned within the national park area that is protected by the United States government. Within this area you will find all of the traditional viewing points where most pictures of the area are produced, as well as some of America's best hiking and outdoor activities. The "west rim" is an area that is technically part of the Grand Canyon, but is not within the national park space. It is located on Navajo Indian land, and has never been as popular of an area to visit simply because it is less scenic and has less development as far as activities as the south rim does. Traditionally overlooked even though it is half the distance from Las Vegas to the viewing points, it was developed several years ago to feature a tourist attraction called the "Grand Canyon Skywalk," which is a glass bridge suspended from the canyon wall. While unique, it is not natural and has very little else to do surrounding it. As far as a tourist attraction for those who only have

Many people who are traveling to Las Vegas for a vacation also want to take the opportunity to see some sights outside of the city. For many people, they are coming thousands of miles to visit Las Vegas and realize that they might never make it back to this part of the country. One of the most beautiful aspects of Las Vegas is the proximity to so many of the national parks of the southwest, due to the fact that the city itself was established as a stopover for people traveling across the large stretches of desert. Before air travel was possible for most people, the Mojave Desert represented a serious challenge for anyone traveling to California. The sheer expanse made it quite difficult to cross from one populated area to the next, and as a result Las Vegas was born and positioned as the place to stop, restock and rest before continuing the journey.  Due to the remote nature of the majority of national parks in this vicinity, Las Vegas becomes the natural starting point for trips to almost all of them, which mostly must be made by ground. This boils down to many people deciding that their one chance to see the Grand Canyon or Zion Canyon may be during their trip to Las Vegas, using it as the natural starting point of the trip. Because of the obvious reasons to tour national parks starting in Las Vegas, many people will begin to search online for things like "what is the best national parks tour from Las Vegas" or "how far from Las Vegas is the Grand Canyon?" Let us start by saying that even though four hours might not seem like all that long of a drive, unless you are comfortable with desert driving you should probably

There is an issue about touring the Grand Canyon that has developed over the past few years, and it is increasingly becoming a problem for thousands of tourists. Visitors to Las Vegas will often book an excursion that will visit the Grand Canyon during their vacation, due to the fact that Las Vegas is within driving distance of the natural phenomenon. While this would seem to not pose any issue and the thousands of people who Google "Grand Canyon tours" every month (more than 14,000) would be presented with options from different tour companies going to the same place, instead what we find is that many tourists are accidentally booking tour that take them to a different area. While this is still technically the Grand Canyon, it is not the national park area that you have seen in books and magazines. Instead, it is a lesser developed area on Hualapai land about 2 hours from Las Vegas. It seems beneficial that the drive is only half the distance, and that there is a large glass bridge there known as the "Skywalk," but in reality many are disappointed. The area is far less developed and has less rich foliage and animals than the national park area, and ultimately presents visitors with little more to do there than take a few pictures and walk on the bridge. Many have actually complained that the large manmade structure spoils the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon, which is the purpose for touring the area in the first place. When booking your tour through any tour company that offers a trip to the Grand Canyon, it is important to verify where you are going, if you are going for the reason of hiking or sightseeing. If you end up at the wrong area, you will

Every year millions of visitors arrive in Las Vegas, and hundreds of thousands of them will take a few days out of their vacation to do something different, touring the Grand Canyon. There are more than 14,000 searches on Google every month for "Las Vegas to Grand Canyon tours" and many of these people will ultimately make a decision about which company to hire to transport them from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. The problem is that many of them will also be disappointed when they get to their destination and realize it is not the one they have seen in the books and magazines. This is because there are two different areas that you can tour that are both considered the "Grand Canyon" from Las Vegas. One area is the West Rim and the other is the South Rim, and they are vastly different. Lets start with tours of the West Rim. These tours have been around for a long time but never really caught on because the West Rim does not have a lot of activities or scenery besides the canyon walls. The West Rim is not part of the Grand Canyon National Park, and is actually controlled by The Hualapai Tribe. Even though it is technically the Grand Canyon, it is not the area that has been protected by the federal government and is not nearly as developed as the national park is. One of the complaints about the West Rim is that there is little to do there except take pictures of the canyon walls, and to add value to the trip the Hualapai Tribe recently constructed the "Skywalk" bridge. This glass manmade bridge is suspended from the canyon walls and allows visitors to walk over the floor, wearing booties over their shoes. It is