We skiers and snowboarders dwelling in Southern Nevada mostly haunt our beloved and handy Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort. But sometimes we want a change of slopes and scenery for just a few days. One of the best getaways for that purpose is the Arizona Snowbowl near Flagstaff. It’s not only close enough for easy access but also has the advantage of excellent nearby nightlife.
Temple Bar is only an hour and a half or so from Las Vegas, yet somehow has remained underutilized, if not undiscovered, by most of the city’s outdoor lovers. That reason alone would recommend it as an especially relaxing getaway destination, but there are plenty of other reasons.
Lake Havasu City, Ariz., makes a great weekend getaway this time of year. During February, you’ll get to choose from an abundance of outdoor activities, including some of the city’s most popular annual events. And you’ll enjoy temperatures a little warmer than in Las Vegas — pleasant for wintertime.
One way to beat the January blues is by taking a day trip to nearby Death Valley National Park, Calif. Depending on where you live in the Las Vegas Valley, you can be at the hub of the park, Furnace Creek, in 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Careful as you may be in choosing Christmas gifts for your children, it’s a rare gift that won’t eventually be broken, outgrown or worn out. But good memories can last a lifetime, and those few days after Christmas morning, but before school resumes, offer an unparalleled opportunity to build those memories along the trails of Southern Nevada
For some reason doubtless buried in our prehistoric past, most humans find volcanos interesting, as long as they’re not spewing molten rock and poison gas. If you’d like to visit one that has behaved itself for about 10,000 years but still shows the interesting geologic features acquired in its flaming youth, Amboy Crater makes a fine day trip this time of year. The temperature will be 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the same day in Las Vegas, and the route I suggest will take you through the Mojave National Preserve, an agreeable place in early winter.
Visitors flock from all over the world to see Bryce Canyon National Park’s natural amphitheaters filled with pinnacles, spires and the spooky limestone formations called hoodoos. They mostly come in the agreeable high-country summer, yet some claim winter is the best time. Though Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate with the gift of snowfall, when she does, it makes every detail of this colorful landscape seem to pop out of the white background like a watercolor by an expert artist.
Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, just south of the ranching community of Alamo, encompasses 5,382 acres of lakes, marshes, meadows, riparian areas and open desert. The three largest bodies of water in the refuge are Upper Lake, Middle Pond and Lower Lake, fed by thermal springs.
Longtime Southern Nevadans who love the Mojave Desert nevertheless often develop a desire to explore other arid landscapes. Typically, they dream of the Sonoran Desert, whose scenery may have inspired them to live in the Southwest. An excellent place to fulfill that desire is in and around Tucson, Ariz. There are dozens of places to take in the flora and fauna, but two places stand out: Saguaro National Park and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which has one of the world’s best zoos.
The monsoon season is over, the crowds have gone, and the daytime temperatures are ideal — perfect conditions for a fall trip to Lake Powell. The lake, which boasts more than 1,800 miles of shoreline, lies within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, on the border of Arizona and Utah. The lake was created when the Glen Canyon Dam was built. Although the dam was, and still is, a controversial topic for many, the lake it created has become an outdoor person’s paradise.
