10 Things to do in Las Vegas (besides gamble)
Last month we ended our two week family trip with a stay in Las Vegas!! We all had been to Las Vegas before, but this time around we spent a WHOLE WEEK there! While I think for me personally, I’ll never need to spend another whole week in Las Vegas, I’d definitely enjoy returning there for a long weekend with friends and/or family sometime! There were a LOT of places that we wanted to eat at/things to see that we just didn’t end up doing this time around, we stayed pretty busy. Vegas can definitely be expensive, so plan accordingly and do your research before hand!! Having a plan is always my #1 travel tip, because then you are prepared and you make enough time to do the things you REALLY REALLY want to do while you’re on your vacation, rather than spending valuable vacation time deciding what to do/where to eat.
If you’re planning a trip to Las Vegas but don’t really plan on doing a lot of gambling, this is the blog post for you!! We played the slots a few times (WHEEL OF FORTUNE!!!!) but that was definitely not the highlight of our time in Vegas! We had so much fun eating our way through town, and doing so much more than gamble!
Check out my list of
10 Things to do in Las Vegas
(besides gambling)
1) Sight See on the Strip/Fremont Street
There are SO many amazing things to see on the Strip and on Fremont Street! From the fountain show in front of the Bellagio, to the many different styles of hotels'/casinos, to street performers and live music, to zip lining, and on and on and on!! I personally LOVED Fremont Street, I thought it was a little less crowded, a little more classic, and laid back. However, I also really loved walking the strip at night, and during the day walking through the casinos/hotels and seeing all the amazing designs inside them! One of my favorite things was the chandelier in the Cosmopolitan. We went to see it several times because I was absolutely mesmerized by it’s beauty and the sheer size of that thing!
2) Ride the High Roller
The High Roller is essentially a huge ferris wheel located near the Linq and the Flamingo. The Highroller takes about 30 minutes to ride all the way around, and you get to ride in large pod-like thing that has music, seats, and 360* views. You can even arrange to be in a pod that has a BAR!! My advice: go right after it gets dark (early evening-ish). We only had to share our pod with 4 other adults and 1 child, which meant we were free to roam around and check out aaaalllll the views all the way around! *We got night tickets $5 off on Groupon!
3) Visit Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Red Rock Canyon, which is located only 30 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, is a beauty! You can hike, take a 13 mile scenic drive, check out the desert wildlife and plants, and even camp if that’s your thing! Being there in September it was incredibly hot, so we only did the scenic drive and checked out the visitor center (*you can get TWO National Park Passport stamps here!*) But we loved the park and would definitely come back to hike if we were around in more hike-able weather.
4) Shop and Eat at the Container Park
The Container Park is a shopping/dining/hang out area out of shipping containers!!! It is really neat to see, and has some really cute shops and restaurants there. There is even a stage (which was pretty large, but did not have anything going on while we were there) and a large play area for children (also made from shipping containers) The Container Park is also really close to Fremont Street. You really have to see it in person to appreciate how neat the whole concept is!
5) Play Pinball at the Pinball Hall of Fame
Credit for this one goes all to my Momma! My Step-Dad LOVES Pinball, so when she saw the Pinball Hall of Fame online she knew we had to take him here as a surprise. My Step-Dad (as well as the rest of us) had a blast playing the rows and rows or pinball machines, old and new! There were also some other arcade games available to play. The machines take quarters, which you can get there at the museum’s change machines. Just remember to be respectful and play the games with care, they are all on loan by collectors/contributors to the museum. *the sign outside indicating where the building is actually says “Pinball Museum”
6) Tour the Neon Light Museum
The Neon Light Museum has been growing in popularity, and any visitor to the museum can tell you why. This museum was really incredible to see, and I’m so glad we went at night! The museum is home to so much Vegas history, and our group really enjoyed doing the tour and learning about all the different signs and about old Vegas. I personally would recommend going at night so you get to see the signs lit up, but I have heard that the day time tours are cool too, plus you’d still get a great history lesson either way.
7) Rent a Cabana at a Cool Pool
We rented a cabana at our resort’s adult pool for my Mom’s actual birthday, and I’m so glad we did! The cabana was a great way to get everyone together at the pool (even the non-pool people like Joel) and provided a nice shady spot to rest, regroup, make more drinks, and keep all of our things without having to worry about someone taking your chairs or rifling through our belongings. While our cabana wasn’t the coolest out there, and definitely not at the most “hip” pool in town, we’re pretty low-key, laid back people so that worked well for us. If you and your group are celebrating a special occasion and are partiers, I think it’d be so cool to get a cabana at one of the pools along the strip! A cabana is such a “Vegas” thing to do too, I feel like, so it was a fun little splurge to spoil my mom with. We decorated our cabana a little, too (:
8) Day Trip to Death Valley National Park
Death Valley Nation Park is located in California, about a 2 hour drive from the Vegas Strip. Part of our group took a day to explore Death Valley, and it just so happened to be on a day that was over 100* So needless to say, we did very little hiking, but still were very please with our visit. Death Valley really has some incredible landscapes to see, including salt flats, mountains, and sand dunes. Death Valley is the largest National Park outside of Alaska at 3.4 million acres!!! Would definitely recommend a 4-Wheel Drive vehicle on some of the “roads” here! *Don’t forget your National Park Passport to get your stamp!
9) See a Vegas Show
I’ve been to Vegas several times, but this was the first time I’d ever gotten to see a really Vegas show and it was incredible! We saw Cris Angel’s show at the Luxor and it really was something to see (even though it was a little strange…) And there are SO many shows in Vegas, you’re bound to find something that tickles your fancy. Joel and I both agreed that we would never go to Vegas again without seeing a show. *
10) Explore Valley of Fire State Park
Do you see a theme here with the parks in this area?? As the name indicates, the temperatures at this park were also ridiculously high, but we really enjoyed our time at the Valley of Fire Nevada State Park! We stopped at Valley of Fire on our way from Utah to Vegas, the park is located about 1.5 hrs from the Strip! We mostly did some driving and a little exploring (not too far from the car though) at some of the pull offs/parking areas. This is definitely a park I want to return to one day to do some hiking. The rock formation here were really neat and the views were absolutely incredible.
