Margo Bartlett Pesek writes about day trips from Las Vegas and information about the surrounding areas. Her column appears Sunday in Travel/Living.
Fort Verde State Historical Park in central Arizona protects the best preserved of a string of U.S. Army forts that guarded settlers and travelers during the turbulent period after the Civil War, especially during the Indian Wars of the 1870s and ’80s.
Death Valley offers more miles of roads for exploring than any other national park. About 1,000 miles of paved and unpaved roads reach into most parts of the far-flung desert and mountain preserve.
One of the smallest parcels within the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service domain, the Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a little-known oasis about an hour’s drive from Las Vegas.
Beautiful views of rugged mountains across the Colorado River welcome visitors to Willow Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The popular destination on the Arizona side of the river attracts boaters, rafters, anglers, campers and sightseers. Its proximity to Boulder City and Las Vegas makes Willow Beach ideal for short outings and quick access to the river.
Side roads exploring Southern Utah offer a lot of scenery, history and recreation potential without the crowds typically found at the area’s major attractions.
SUNDAY TRAVEL/OUTDOOR SECTION – for Jan. 9, 2011
Trip of the Week – Lake Havasu City
Copyright 2010 by Margo Bartlett Pesek
Designated a scenic route along much of its length, U.S. 395 skirts the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Range west of the Nevada border, providing year-round access to outdoor adventures and unparalleled scenery. It runs through historic towns, paces tumbling streams, overlooks lakes, traverses ranch lands and climbs foothill summits. Alpine resorts, winter sports areas, fishing areas, campgrounds and trailheads lie along a network of connecting side roads.
The Death Valley 49ers Days annually ushers in the peak visitation season in Death Valley National Park. Winding up today, this early November celebration draws hundreds of visitors, filing campgrounds, restaurants, park hostelries and accommodations in surrounding communities. As scores of recreational vehicles and other transportation depart following the festivities, regular visitors find park facilities back to normal and far less crowded.
