Since you are on your way to Las Vegas for your vacation, have you considered also visiting the Grand Canyon while you are here? Some
There has been speculation fed by hints from the government that the fees associated with entrances to national parks in the United States are going to significantly increased next year in order to cover the shortfalls of the funding associated with maintenance and the money that is generated by gate admissions. For the most part, the national parks of the United States over the last hundred years have not been looked at as a business designed to make money, but instead as an experience that all citizens are allowed to enjoy, no matter their income level. The proposed changes will potentially increase the per car fees from 20 dollars to seventy-five dollars, which could impact the amount of people able to visit a national park each year. This would probably most effect families who live within driving distance to national parks, as they would be the ones looking for a low cost outing that can provide adventure for a family at a budget cost. Fr the national parks of the southwest, this fee change may have an impact on people traveling to Bryce, Zion, or the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas if they are residents, but would probably have little effect on the decisions made to visit by those who have traveled to Las Vegas from other areas. If you have gone as far as to spend money on airfare and car rentals for a time period, it is doubtful that an extra fifty dollars is going to impact the decision. Traveling to national parks of the southwest from Las Vegas is quite common. Being the vacation destination that it is, Las Vegas is one of the primary starting places for travel to the surrounding parks, which are generally within a half-day drive from your hotel room. Probably the furthest
There has been speculation fed by hints from the government that the fees associated with entrances to national parks in the United States are going
Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Zion Canyon National Park. Over the course of the past few years it has become one of the most popular open spaces to visit in the world, which is interesting considering that only a few years ago there was serious discussion about removing the funding of national parks due to the fact that they were not showing the kinds of tourism numbers that would support the funding allocations. Quite simply, national parks in the United States were suffering, due to the fact that there is a large amount of money necessary for their upkeep and staffing and not enough people were visiting them to justify spending these large amounts of money. Those who argued against federal funding of national parks wanted to see the land turned over to the individual states in which the parks were located, which would almost assure that the land would then be sold off to developers due to the fact that the states also did not have the money in their budgets to cover maintenance costs. In an effort to boost interest in national parks, a large scale advertising campaign was launched that would illustrate the beauty of each individual park, at the same time showing the neighboring parks. This campaign primarily advertised the parks located in the southwest, which are all within a short driving distance of one another. One of the main issues that was depressing visitation rates was the fact that the parks are difficult to get to, and ultimately are going to involve driving at least a few hours from the nearest major city. In the southwest, the cities of choice for beginning national parks trips are generally Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, either one providing the ability to fly in and
Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Zion Canyon National Park. Over the course of the past few years it has become one of
If you are traveling to Las Vegas (or if you live here) now is the time to visit Death Valley National Park. Most people know Death Valley for it's extreme heat, and the fact that it is recognized worldwide as one of the hottest places on the planet. As a matter of fact, the world record for hottest air temperature ever recorded happened at Furnace Creek. While the record has been challenged many times by other locations outside of the United States, nobody ever is not amazed at the heat in Death Valley. Every year thousands of tourists flock to the area just for the experience of being outside in over 120 degrees, but far more people come for the completely unique landscape and wildlife that have adapted to the area over time. While you may think that an area that shows this level of heat in the summertime and this little rainfall would be completely desolate, but nothing is further from the truth. Death Valley is teeming with life that has adapted over time to be able to not only survive in these harsh conditions, but actually thrive. At some points in the year seeds which lie dormant in the desert crust for years spring to life as wildflowers after only a small amount of rain. The area is completely unique, and because of it's unique characteristics visitors come in droves. The best time to visit Death Valley is not during the summer months when the heat that makes it famous is present. Instead, it is far better to visit in the fall around the months of October and November once the extreme heat has subsided but the area has yet to get cold and change to the winter landscape. During these months, you will still see what the
If you are traveling to Las Vegas (or if you live here) now is the time to visit Death Valley National Park. Most people know
Each year millions of tourists come from all over the world to Las Vegas. The city is one of the globally recognized places to travel to for fun, gambling and entertainment. Las Vegas is known for glittering lights and modern hotels and restaurants, and puts most visitors into the mindset of being submerged into a world of 24 hour modern living. A very large number of these tourists also choose to take at least one day out of their vacation to also do something completely different, changing the pace from ultra-modern and fast paced city to completely undeveloped and spectacular national parks. One of the hidden secrets of Las Vegas is that it is within close proximity to numerous national parks and protected spaces, and can be used as a starting point to visit areas like Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon. When tourists are planning trips to any of these national parks and are not from the southwestern region of the United States themselves, they are going to need to choose a starting point that will have an airport that can handle commercial airline traffic. That city of choice will serve as the starting point for the commute to the park, because the majority of national parks are a minimum of 2.5 hours and generally more like 4 hours drive from the nearest major city. Because there are only really 2 cities to choose from logically for any of these national parks trips, one being Las Vegas and the other being Salt Lake City, most people will opt for Las Vegas as the starting point. This is simply due to the fact that Las Vegas is more appropriately set up for tourism than Salt Lake City. Las Vegas has more restaurants, hotels and entertainment for all price ranges than
Each year millions of tourists come from all over the world to Las Vegas. The city is one of the globally recognized places to travel
Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park are two of the most visited areas of the United States, even though only a few years ago they were both struggling for visitation. There was a point where opponents of the parks system were making a valid argument for cutting federal funding for parks and turning them over to state control due to sagging tourism numbers. It was difficult to make an argument that the federal government should be supplying funding for parks that were not being visited at a high rate, and in response the parks department created an advertising campaign illustrating the features of several southwestern parks for the public. The campaign heavily marketed the parks using television and magazine ads, and created a huge amount of success at raising awareness and boosting tourism numbers. The majority of the parks that benefited the most were in close proximity to a major city like Las Vegas or Salt Lake City due to the fact that they were near areas that had support of airline traffic. With most parks being a minimum of four hours drive from a major hub, people needed to be able to fly into a city as a starting point, and this created a situation where the parks closest to the cities received the lion's share of the tourists. The park that benefited the most from the marketing that was done by the parks department was Zion Canyon, being the closest park to Las Vegas. Because Las Vegas is already such a large tourist draw, millions of visitors decide to take a break form the city lights and visit one of the nearby parks during their trip. This has gone as far as to create a situation where Zion is having traffic issues, and congestion at some
Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park are two of the most visited areas of the United States, even though only a few years
Las Vegas is a perfect city to begin your tour of several different national parks, essentially due to it's proximity and the fact that it is well established as a tourist location. Las Vegas has more hotel rooms and restaurants than any other city in the world, making the choices for almost any budget plentiful. It is also a tourist location in it's own right with millions of visitors arriving every year to enjoy the gambling, shows and entertainment. I addition to the obvious, Las Vegas is one of the nearest cities that can support major airline traffic to many of the southwestern national parks, making it an obvious choice for anyone who does not live within driving distance of the park they want to visit. Nearly every national park is around 4 hours drive from a major city at a minimum, making it necessary to pick a starting city for most tours. Las Vegas and Salt Lake City are the most obvious choices as they are the nearest cities to most parks that support commercial airline traffic. If you are planning a national parks tour from Las Vegas, the first thing you are going to need to decide is which park you want to go to. Las Vegas is only 2.5 hours from Zion, which makes it one of the most popular parks to visit for people who choose Las Vegas as a starting point. There are many visitors who will choose to visit Zion specifically because of the distance from Las Vegas, as it can be visited in a single day. A more popular choice is to drive from Las Vegas to Zion and then camp overnight before moving on to one of the other parks which are around 2 hours from Zion. These choices include Bryce, Monument
Las Vegas is a perfect city to begin your tour of several different national parks, essentially due to it’s proximity and the fact that it
Death Valley National Park is world renowned for being one of the most extreme places on earth. It consists of 5,262 square miles of area, protected in 1933 by the United States government under the Antiquities Act. This program establishes protected spaces within the United States which cannot be destroyed or developed in order to maintain their unspoiled nature. Death Valley was recognized as being worthy of protection due to it's completely unique climate, an area that receives little rainfall yearly while also showing some of the hottest temperatures on earth. While one might assume that an area this extreme would have no life whatsoever, the opposite is actually true. While there are certainly areas of Death Valley that have large expanses of land without vegetation or animals as far as the eye can see, there are also other areas that are teeming with life. The plants and animals in these areas have adapted to be able to survive with little water in extremely hot conditions. Death Valley holds many records for hot temperatures including the hottest air temperature ever recorded, however this record has been challenged by other parts of the world. The hot months in Death Valley are obviously in the North American summertime of July and August, when temperatures can reach a scorching 110 degrees plus for many consecutive days. While extreme, these types of conditions also attract visitors who want to not only experience this type of heat for themselves, but also to witness what the landscape would look like in such an area. While we do tour Death Valley year round, during the summer especially we limit the amount of exploration time that we allocate for guests. In the extreme heat of summer, it is simply too hot to stay outside for extended periods, making
Death Valley National Park is world renowned for being one of the most extreme places on earth. It consists of 5,262 square miles of area,
Death Valley National Park is a 5,262 square mile area in southern California that has been designated as a protected space under the Antiquities Act, and therefore is restricted from development by the federal government of the United States. Death Valley received this designation due to it's unique ecosystem and weather patterns, representing one of the harshest climates in the world. While it is up for debate as to the validity of the world's hottest air temperature being recorded at Furnace Creek in Death Valley due to other areas also claiming temperatures this high, there is a continual and ongoing setting of heat records every year within the space. While one might assume that such an extreme climate would make all life impossible, this is very much not the case. Tours of Death Valley show many areas teeming with life in the form of plants and animal species that have adapted to extreme heat and water scarcity. Other areas of Death Valley show large expanses of completely desolate terrain where no plants or animals can be found for miles, illustrating the different types of landscape all found within the region. Touring Death Valley is never disappointing, as for many people it represents a landscape that is otherworldly and has never been witnessed before. If you are planning a tour of Death Valley, it is best to allow it to a professional company like Bindlestiff Tours in order to assure not only your safety but also that you see all of the interesting areas that the space has to offer. For much of the year the Death Valley tours are considered too hot to actually do much extended exploring, so we consider this particular tour to be less of an adventure tour and more of a sightseeing tour. The summertime especially
Death Valley National Park is a 5,262 square mile area in southern California that has been designated as a protected space under the Antiquities Act,
The proximity of Las Vegas to Zion Canyon National Park is one of the main reasons that attendance and tourism numbers have gone up so dramatically over the course of the past few years. In the past, declining numbers of tourists have caused some to question federal funding that is allocated toward parks, calling instead for them to be turned over to state control or have areas sold to private industry. While the debate over who should be in control of public spaces will probably never end, the continually dropping tourist numbers was not only reversed through advertising, but has performed so well that there are now discussions on how to alleviate traffic to Zion. This is due to the fact that Zion Canyon is located only a short 2.5 hour drive from Las Vegas, making it one of the closest national parks to the city. For anyone who wants to visit the national parks of the southwest, if you do not live in either Nevada, Utah, California or Arizona you are probably going to have to fly into the city closest to the park of choice and then drive from there. In the case of Zion, Las Vegas is the obvious choice for a starting point as it is the closest city that supports airline traffic, and it is already set up as a tourist location itself. Las Vegas has more hotel and restaurant choices in every price range than almost any other city on earth, and it makes complete sense to start your Zion Canyon tour from here. One of the best ways to alleviate the congestion and traffic that has occurred traveling to Zion Canyon from Las Vegas is by joining a tour group like ours instead of driving yourself. By combining multiple people and groups into
The proximity of Las Vegas to Zion Canyon National Park is one of the main reasons that attendance and tourism numbers have gone up so