VEGAS SIDE TRIPS
 

I am driving to vegas from east coast in janurary..I plan to be in vegas for 7 or 8 days..Can anyone suggest some side trips..IVE done hoover dam, lake meade. would an escorted bus trip to the grand canyon be advisable,or should i drive there myself? What else do you recommend that i see ,and do while iam there?

you could drive to palm springs for a couple of days if that interests you.

Red Rock Canyon is a beautiful place as well as Valley of Fire. They are both very close to Vegas.

Drive to Zion National Park. I think it's maybe a 3 hour drive from Vegas. Really neat park; interesting scenery, hikes of all different lengths & difficulty. Nice lodging in Springdale; I recommend Flannigan's. Never been to Grand Canyon, but I understand it's MUCH less crowded in January, so that would be the time to see it...

Since you are driving from the east coast to Las Vegas, why not make the Grand Canyon on of your stops going to Las Vegas or driving home. The Grand Canyon is a 560 mile round trip and it will take ALL day driving there and back with only a few hours at the rim. <BR><BR>Other place you might stop on the way to or from the east coast would be Arches National Park, Captiol Reef National Park, Bryce National Park and Zion National Park. All the parks are open year round but it will be cold in January. <BR><BR>Valley of Fire and Red Rock Canyon National Conservations area are both scenic. A round trip to Zion is about 360 miles round trip and if you can't stop on the way coming or going this is worth a day trip.<BR><BR>Utahtea

Death Valley...we've gone over from the South and taken the 'drive yourself tour' in a day, and also have stayed at Furnace Creek Ranch so we could see more of DV. We've also gone in from the north to take the tour of Scotty's Castle...(very well worth the stop) and then driven south.

Keep in mind that the North Rim of the Grand Canyon will not be open in January.