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Originally built in 1843 as a stopover for the wagon trains going to California down the Old Spanish Trail, Bonnie Springs has been used as a tourist attraction since 1952. Now this replicated old American West mining town includes gunfights in the street, hangings, an 1880 melodrama, miniature train, US Post Office, blacksmith display, wax museum and Boot Hill Cemetery. |
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Nearby in Utah is the equally beautiful Bryce Canyon, once home to both Native Americans and cowboys of the Old West. Both Zion and Bryce offer hiking, biking, horse riding, rock climbing and bird watching and in winter, snow shoeing. |
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West of Las Vegas in eastern California, this is the hottest place on earth, with average summer temperatures of 45¦C/113¦F. Here you will see miles of sand that has been hardened into a sea-like landscape by the heat of the sun, extinct volcanoes and wind-carved rock formations. |
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A 98ml/158km stretch of road on Route 375, a few miles north of the notorious Area 51 and the super-secret Groom Lake Air Force Base, this is where the American Air Force is believed to have tested the Stealth and U-2 aircraft and where numerous American TV shows have claimed aliens from outer space have undergone examinations at the top-secret Department of Defense site. |
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If you're planning to go on a bit of a tour, then you're bound to want to see the Grand Canyon close up and for real. But it is also possible to take plane and helicopter rides to this, the most spectacular canyon on earth - even landing on the canyon floor and having a spot of lunch on the banks of the Colorado. |
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This amazing construction - it's 726ft/221m high and l , 244ft/379m long - is filled with enough concrete to build a 2-lane highway from San Francisco to New York, and it literally changed the face of America's West. Blocking the Colorado River at the Black Canyon, which spans Nevada and Arizona, the dam put an end to centuries of droughts and floods caused by the mighty Colorado. |
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The dazzling-blue Lake Mead, created by the construction of the Hoover Dam, is about 25mls/40km south of Las Vegas. It is 110mls/177km long and has 550mls/ 885km of freshwater shoreline. It is the Las Vegas outdoor retreat of choice and many permanent residents have boats here. |
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Set in the lush Toiyabe National Forest, Mount Charleston looms nearly 12,000ft/ 3,658m above sea level. One of the most beautiful areas in the Las Vegas Valley, Lee Canyon Road, the Kyle Canyon section of Charleston Park Road and Deer Creek Road have all been designated Scenic Byways because of their extraordinary scenery and panoramic views. |
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Just north of Red Rock is Nevada's only vineyard and it regularly produces award-winning Chardonnay, Cabernet and Burgundy. In 2009, it released Nevada's first ever commercial red - a 2005 Zinfandel called Nevada Ridge. Free tours offered most days at 11.30am, 1.30pm, and 3.30pm; call to check schedule. |
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Founded in the old mining town, this has much historical memorabilia and is worth dropping into to soak up some old- Americana atmosphere. Sitting on top of the US Army Cannon Stove, once used to warm people up on cold winter nights, is a piece of melted aluminium from the aeroplane in which film star Carole Lombard died. |
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Red Rock Canyon is part of the Red Rock Canyon Conservancy Area and encompasses a large part of the Mojave Desert, the unearthly landscape where Steven Spielberg's sci-fi classic was filmed. Red Rock Canyon also includes the Spring Mountain Range, home of Mount Charleston and Bonnie Springs Old Nevada. |
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The many springs in these mountains once provided water for Paiute Indians and later brought mountain men and early settlers to the area. This 520acre/21 Oha oasis was developed into a combination working ranch and luxurious retreat by a string of owners who have given the area a long and colourful history. |
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The park - the oldest in Nevada - gets its name from the red sandstone formations that were formed from great, shifting desert sand dunes during the age of the dinosaurs 150 million years ago. Complex geological movements and extensive erosion have created the spectacular wind carvings in the colourful rock formations. |
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North of Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon in southern Utah is the majestic Zion National Park with its beautiful waterfalls cascading down red rocks, and its hanging gardens. Once home to the ancient Anasazi, its history and majesty are presented in an adventure film at the Zion Canyon Giant Screen Theatre (435 772 2466, zioncanyontheatre.com) along with Hollywood movies, some in 3D. |
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