Las Vegas attractions

Downtown Las Vegas thrived as the city’s gambling district until the 1980s when new resorts and casinos pulled the crowds away from the area toward the Strip, the city’s main thoroughfare today. After a period of neglect, Downtown has seen revitalization over the past few years, transforming it into a Las Vegas cultural and entertainment hub in its own right.

The Grand Canyon Skywalk—a horseshoe-shaped, glass-bottomed bridge that juts out 70 feet (20 meters) above one of America’s most scenic sites—is not for the faint-hearted. Situated 4,000 feet (1,220 meters) above the Grand Canyon, the panoramic West Rim and Colorado River views are undeniably fantastic though.

The South Rim is the most popular area of Grand Canyon National Park, boasting easy access to the canyon, the bulk of available amenities and services, and the panoramic vistas for which the natural wonder is famous. One of the most famous attractions in the American Southwest, the area offers breathtaking views over the Colorado River and the chance to immerse yourself in Native American culture.

It’s hard to believe that Sin City is only a few hours away from Lake Mead National Recreation Area, with dramatic and often surreal scenery of sharp craggy mountains, deep canyons, and desert basins. Coboldmprising the areas around Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, this recreation area attracts water sports enthusiasts, boaters, and nonboaters alike.

The 550-foot rotating observation tower at the heart of LINQ in Las Vegas is far from your normal carnival Ferris wheel. Climb aboard the glass-enclosed pods—home to music and video displays, as well as thousands of LED lights—and admire the view from one of the world’s largest observation wheels as it completes a full 30-minute rotation.

The Colorado River is a spectacular sight to see, meandering for 1,447 miles (2,330 kilometers) with red rocks and canyons framing it on both sides, leading up to the Hoover Dam. The Colorado River is one of the major water sources for California and Nevada, and, not surprisingly, it's a major recreational destination—activities on the river include hiking, biking, rafting, and boating.

The Venetian Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip recreates the romantic experience of a gondola ride down the Grand Canal of Venice, Italy. Travelers can glide down the replica canals under graceful bridges, passing striking architectural structures as well as the hotel's Grand Canal Shoppes in the duplicated Venetian streetscape.

Carved over time by the Virgin River, Zion National Park is a remarkable 148,000-acre (59,893-hectare) stretch of white, pink, and red rock formations in southern Utah's canyon country. The state's first national park draws hikers, birders, and nature lovers with its cliffs and mesas, waterfalls and wildflowers, and varied wildlife from jackrabbits to condors.

Centrally located on the Las Vegas Strip, the LINQ Hotel and Casino provides all the requisite offerings—shows, bars, restaurants, shops, and even a comedy club—but what sets it apart are the Fly LINQ zipline and the High Roller, a 550 foot (168 meter) observation wheel opened as the world’s tallest in 2014 which offers on-board happy hour, yoga, and more.

Bryce Canyon National Park showcases the red rock canyons and rugged horizon-stretching vistas that make Utah famous. With a variety of otherworldly geological formations, Bryce Canyon is an active traveler's playground, crammed full of pinnacles, steeples, spires, and hoodoos, which are thin eroded rock formations that reveal sedimentary layers of red, orange, and white.