As we head into the cooler months, I’m reminded of just how pleasant sunny Las Vegas can be this time of year—that’s why I’m dropping the perfect weekend itinerary for you to escape the cold! With average daytime temperatures hovering around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, fall is the absolute best time to visit Las Vegas. So if you have a weekend to jet away, here’s how you can spend it.
One of the first and more difficult decisions I needed to make for my visit to Las Vegas was where to stay. Most visitors, and especially first-timer visitors to the city, stay on the Las Vegas Strip, the iconic 4-mile-long stretch of entertainment, casinos, and resorts. As a repeat visitor with only a weekend to spend there, I knew it would be more economical for me to stay on the Strip as well. But here’s what most people don’t realize: the Strip is deceptively long.
End-to-end, it takes about 1.5 hours to walk! Although public transportation connects certain properties along the Strip, you should be prepared to walk a bit; choosing a property in close proximity to the attractions you’re interested in can make a huge difference. I’ve written another post entirely on how to decide where to stay in Las Vegas along with recommended properties.
For this particular trip, I stayed at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the southern end of the Strip and cannot recommend it enough! I was able to use the free tram connecting Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur to access other parts of the Las Vegas Strip within a few minutes. And when I wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle, I was able to rejuvenate by their aquatic playground or in my luxurious room.
You will not need a car on the Las Vegas Strip. However, if you value the flexibility to explore attractions off the Strip at your own pace, I recommend renting one. When I was planning my trip, I noticed that tours to sights like Valley of Fire State Park, Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley National Park, and the Hoover Dam were a bit pricey—typically starting at $100 per person. So if you’re traveling with a larger group or children, I recommend renting a vehicle to cut costs; the surrounding parks charge a flat entrance fee of $15-30 per vehicle which is more reasonable.
Do you want to hear something kind of ironic? I don’t drink, smoke, or gamble—and I love Las Vegas! One thing I’ve come to realize is that there’s something for everyone in Vegas, whether you’re single, coupled, young, seasoned, or traveling as a family. My hope is that the below itinerary provides a sense of the diverse attractions Las Vegas has to offer and a baseline for tailoring your trip as desired.
Depending on the time that you’re touching down at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), I recommend exploring Valley of Fire State Park. Known for its vibrant red rock formations (Aztec sandstone), Valley of Fire is located about 50 miles outside of Las Vegas and allows you to make good use of your time before checking into your hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
Apart from its gorgeous landscape, what I love about Valley of Fire State Park is that it’s a manageable outdoor activity for most ages (6+), is budget-friendly if you decide to explore it on your own ($15 per vehicle for out-of-state visitors), and doesn’t require a full-day commitment to enjoy. I didn’t grow up in an outdoorsy family and I don’t count myself as a hiker at all, but I felt comfortable enough navigating Valley of Fire on my own! There are plenty of scenic drives and pull-off viewpoints if you prefer that over walking a trail as well. The park’s highlights like Fire Wave, The Beehive, Elephant Rock, and Mouse’s Tank Road can all be explored within 4 hours. Or, if you’re as awestruck as I am, about 6 hours!
I have written at length about exploring Valley of Fire if you’re interested further, but the last tidbit I’ll share is that this park is best visited around sunrise to mid-morning to catch the rich red of the sandstone or later in the afternoon near sunset. During the cooler months, particularly October through April, its safe and enjoyable to visit during the middle part of the day, too. I went in February and the weather was in the mid-70s!
A closer, alternative option to consider is Red Rock Canyon, a nature preserve located less than 20 miles west of Las Vegas. It is a one-way 13-mile scenic loop with pull-off viewpoints and hiking trails that can be explored in as little as 2-3 hours. There’s also a tortoise sanctuary at Red Rock Canyon’s visitor center which you can check out.
Finish a solid day of outdoor adventuring with dinner on the Strip. There are so many delectable options to choose from—it would be impossible to list them all here! One option I thoroughly enjoyed was Mon Ami Gabi, a French restaurant inside the famed Paris Hotel. I sat on the restaurant’s terrace for direct views of the Bellagio Fountain water show which occurs every half hour from noon to 7:30 PM and every 15 minutes from 8 PM to midnight.
A day trip to Death Valley National Park is an excellent way to make use of your Saturday. Considered the hottest place on earth, Death Valley is a 3.4 million acre national park that straddles California and Nevada. For context, that’s roughly the size of Connecticut! With rugged badlands, cracked salt flats, and sand dunes that seemingly appear straight out of The Martian or Star Wars, Death Valley is easily one of the most stunning places I have ever been to.
Death Valley is conveniently located 2-2.5 hours from Las Vegas. But unlike Valley of Fire State Park or Red Rock Canyon, this is one park I recommend booking a guided tour for. In a separate post on my trip to Death Valley, I review what led me to book this small-group tour along with the safety preparations I took to make the trip a success. In short, I was able to explore Death Valley’s highlights including Dante’s View, Badwater Basin, Zabriskie Point, and the Devil’s Golf Course with an extremely knowledgeable guide from the comfort of a 14-passenger van. My tour also included hotel pick-up/drop-off service, unlimited snacks, and stargazing at Harmony Borax Works within the park!
Finally, if you’re traveling with children, the tour I booked allows children ages 5+. However, navigating Death Valley’s terrain can be difficult and the tour is 11 hours long. For these reasons, I recommend this activity for children ages 12+.
A half-day tour of the Hoover Dam is a worthwhile way to spend your final day in Las Vegas. Personally, seeing one of America’s most important engineering feats was a bucket list item. As a child, I remember watching Clark Griswold haul his family on a Hoover Dam tour in Vegas Vacation (1997) and relished the time when I too could ask “where the hell is the damn dam tour?”
After some research, I settled on this tour by Comedy on Deck which included entry inside the Hoover Dam, walking photo stops along the Hoover Dam Bypass bridge (also known as the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge), lunch, and round trip service to and from my hotel. What’s unique about this tour is that it’s a comedy show and guided tour all wrapped into one! From the time we were picked up, my guide had our bus rolling with laughter. It felt like a full-circle moment complete with “dam” jokes. This experience is very family friendly, safe for small children aged 2 and older.
Alternatively, if you’d rather stick to Las Vegas’s main thoroughfare, I recommend catching a show at The Sphere. Fashioned with over 64,000 LED panels, the Las Vegas Sphere is the largest LED screen on earth. Inside, its 16K-resolution wraparound screen offers an unparalleled viewing experience for some of your favorite film classics and singers! In fact, when I was in town, the Backstreet Boys were performing there! Pricing varies widely, but expect to spend around a $100-$150 per person for a film viewing.