Las Vegas & Hoover Dam: a first-timer's road trip
Our first trip out west paired a few neon nights on the Strip with a desert drive to one of the great engineering wonders of the world. Here is how we would do it again.
This is the practical companion to our Las Vegas photo diary.
Walking the Strip
The Strip is best on foot and after dark, when the replica skylines and the fountains come alive. The very best part is that so much of it is free: the Bellagio fountains, the Mirage volcano, the Caesars Palace statuary, the Paris Las Vegas Eiffel Tower, and the Bellagio conservatory with its Chihuly glass ceiling. You can spend a wonderful evening without paying for a single attraction.
The day trip to Hoover Dam & Lake Mead
The drive southeast from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam takes well under an hour and crosses some classic Mojave scenery. The dam itself is genuinely staggering - 220 meters of 1930s concrete wedged into Black Canyon, holding back the deep blue Lake Mead. Go in the morning before the heat peaks, walk across the top, and look for the Art Deco details. The lake views on the way are worth a few stops of their own.
Getting around
On the Strip you walk (it is longer than it looks - the casinos are enormous). For Hoover Dam and Lake Mead you want a car; it is an easy, scenic drive and gives you the freedom to stop for the views.
What we'd do differently
Build in more daytime. The Strip is a night creature, but the desert and the dam are best in the morning light. We would also pace the walking - the distances between casinos are deceptive, and good shoes matter more than anything else you pack.
Just want the pictures? The full trip lives in our Las Vegas photo diary.