So you are taking a vacation in Las Vegas, and are looking into what kinds of interesting things you can do outside of just the casinos and the shows. Of course you will be spending the majority of your time enjoying the aspects of Las Vegas that you have heard about, and the majority of your time will be spent on the strip and inside buildings. But you may also want to consider that Las Vegas started by being appropriately positioned in the middle of huge expanses of land in the Mojave desert. As a stopover in between long stretches of essentially undeveloped space, the city itself became popular by providing the things that people would need during a long trip, as well as entertainment as a reprieve from the drive. While this certainly bodes well for the city as there will probably never be another competing city that will interfere with its attraction in this space, the positioning of it also makes it a perfect candidate as a starting point for any national park tour in the southwestern portion of the US.
National parks are isolated spaces. They are protected from development and the area around them is also protected, assuring that there will not be a city springing up next to a national park. This also makes them quite difficult to get to, as you have to drive a long way from a starting city in order to get to the nearest park. With respect to Las Vegas those nearest parks are going to be Zion or Death Valley, depending on which direction you want to travel and what type of experience you want to have. Death Valley is a completely unique place, and is unlike the other types of national park because it has a landscape that was essentially created by the hottest and driest temperatures on earth. Due to this extreme type of weather, Death Valley may look desolate if you do not go to the correct places, but surprisingly will be full of life and plants if you go to others. The colors of these plants will depend on what times of year you visit, and the types of animals that you also might see will depend on the heat as well.
If you are interested in experiencing Death Valley national park, we highly suggest that you book one of our tour and come with a group, as Death Valley can be quite confusing and actually a little dangerous if you are not careful. Not all the roads are mapped by GPS, and it is not an uncommon occurrence to have visitors run out of gas or get lost without supplies in the area. While this is certainly the most extreme case, it also helps to have a little guidance as far as what are the best things to see and how do you get to them. Our professional guides are experts in the area, and will make sure that you have a great experience. Next time you are in Las Vegas, take a day or so to visit Death Valley.