Las Vegas, that glittering city oasis in the middle of the desert, has no shortage of exciting activities for visitors to partake in. While the majority of visitors coming to Las Vegas spend time casino hopping, taking in A-list shows, and hitting up the Strip, many often miss out on experiencing the natural wonders that lie beyond the city limits. From hikes through spectacular fiery red rock formations, to ATV rides in the dessert, an even an opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon, there are plenty not-to-miss amazing day trips to add to your Las Vegas itinerary.
Having been to Las Vegas on previous occasions and checking off the “must see” highlights located along the Strip, Freemont Experience and the historic Old Town, it was time to explore locations within a few hours drive of the neon mecca. After narrowing down the many choices for outdoor adventure and/or visiting a few national treasures, I decided a day trip to the Grand Canyon, with a few extra bonus stops along the way, was the perfect Las Vegas day trip for me and the hubs to see the best of everything.
There were two options to debate: 1. do a self-drive tour and rent a car for the day or, 2. book an organized tour. While a self-drive tour had the benefit of doing things at our own pace, it also meant one of us would have to do the driving and miss out on the scenery. Booking an organized tour meant we could sit back and relax, but be on someone else’s schedule. Personally, I prefer the freedom of touring at my own pace, however, for this trip I opted to book a tour with Max Tours Las Vegas. Something I was absolutely glad I did.
Depending on what you want to see and how much time you have, there are several different tours with varying lengths of time. I ended up choosing Max Tours Las Vegas’ Grand Canyon West Rim tour that included bonus stops at the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign, an opportunity to visit “Seven Magic Mountains” a large scale dessert art oasis made famous on Instagram, and a stop at the Hoover Dam, one of the world’s greatest modern engineering marvels. This tour was going to check off several of my travel bucket list destinations all in one shot and make me a happy girl.
The tour started out at 6:45 am with a pick up at our hotel in a comfortable 15 passenger van. Our tour guide, Thomas, offered us a choice of morning snacks and beverages (snacks were unlimited during our tour – a nice bonus). After picking up a few more passengers and making formal introductions, we were officially on our way to stop number 1.
Stop 1: The “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign
Designed by Betty Willis in 1959, this iconic neon sign tends to be one of the most photographed landmarks in Las Vegas. While the sign sits closer to the “Strip”, it is located 4 miles south of Las Vegas’ official city limits. Fun fact: In 2013, the State of Nevada announced the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign had been added to the State Registry of Historic Places.
It was a good thing we were up at the crack of dawn and were one of the first groups to visit that morning. Within 15 minutes of our group arriving, the line to take a picture in front of the sign was steadily growing.
Stop 2: Seven Magic Mountains
The next stop of the day brought us to, the mystical “Seven Magic Mountains”, an open air public art installation designed by artist, Ugo Rondinone. Originally erected in 2016 and meant to be a short-lived exhibition, it quickly became an Instagram famous photo op location and is still adorning the dessert landscape with it’s towering colorful rock sculptures as of 2024. It’s hard to put into words how a few brightly painted boulders pop in contrast with the dessert landscape capturing a surreal beauty, but it does magically. Needless to say, this was a pit stop that pleasantly surprised me and I would definitely put this on your Vegas itinerary if you can.
Tip: Get here early so you can capture those perfect vacation photos without hordes of other visitors.
Stop 3: The Hoover Dam
This modern marvel and engineering wonder of the world is a landmark that draws an estimated 7 million tourists each year and I was thrilled to join this impressive number of guests.
When completed in 1935, it was the highest dam in the world. Sitting between Arizona and Nevada, the dam helped create not only a hydroelectric source of energy, but also formed the country’s largest manmade reservoir, Lake Mead.
While the Hoover Dam does offer visitors guided tours, our group was happy getting lost in the spectacular beauty of this massive structure. As you cross the pedestrian bridge, there will be a plaque marking the border between Nevada and Arizona.
Stop 4: Grand Canyon West Rim
After checking off one of my top bucket list “must see in my lifetime” places, it was on to the grand (no pun intended) finale of the trip and a dream of destination of mine for years — the Grand Canyon.
The scenic drive from Hoover Dam to the west rim of the Grand Canyon was worth taking this tour. Our tour guide, Thomas, kept our intimate group of 15 entertained with many stories about the history of the area and about the town of Dolan Springs we passed through. Apparently if you want to live off the grid, this is the place to do it. Between Dolan Springs and the Grand Canyon, the drive took us through fields of Joshua trees that dotted the landscape. The contrast between the harshness of the environment mixed with exquisite earthy colors of the terrain created an eerily serene and mesmerizing view.
After an hour or so drive, the van filled with the collective gasps of my fellow travelers, a sign we reached our destination. Seeing the enormity of the Grand Canyon for the first time rendered our group speechless. The layers of multi-colored rusty canyon walls and birds of prey diving and then soaring back up to the sky, brought a blanket of peace to our surroundings. We were all excited to get out and explore on our own.
Our visit to the Grand Canyon had two stops on the itinerary: Guano Point and Eagle Point both located on the Hualapai Native American Tribal land. Luckily for our group, Max Tours is one of the only tour companies whose guests do not have to go through the visitor’s center and take shuttle buses. It felt like we were VIPs having special access.
At Guano Point there are restroom facilities, a food stand, an old bat mine, and rock formation to climb on — if you are not too afraid of heights.
After spending about an hour (and the time flew), we boarded our van and made our way to Eagle Point and the famed glass bottom Skywalk. The location gets its name from the unique rock formation that looks like an eagle with wings spread wide about to soar over the deep expanse of the canyon. Once again, we were blown away and left breathless from the sheer magnitude of how vast the Grand Canyon is.
Do note, that if you want to do the Skywalk as part of the tour, it requires an additional charge and you won’t be able to take any selfies — they have a strict policy and your phone and cameras get locked up. You do have the option of paying for a souvenir picture. We choose not to and to just live in the moment.
There are restroom facilities, a cute gift shop, and a restaurant with views that make it hard to concentrate on eating — again, no cameras allowed in the restaurant.
After you take in the gorgeous views from the Skywalk and the surrounding viewing areas, make sure you leave time to explore the the Native American Tribal Structures trail. This short looping walk showcases the different types of historic Native American building styles.
We had approximately a 90 minute stop at Eagle Point before our return journey back to Las Vegas.
What made our day trip even more enjoyable than a self-drive tour was getting to know the friendly group of other travelers with us. Our diverse group came from the United Kingdom, Canada, and other parts of the U.S. “DJ Mick” from England was quite the character and kept us thoroughly entertained. Our tour guide, Thomas, made sure there were pit stops to pick up lunch and for restroom breaks. While I was originally hesitant about doing a structured tour, I enjoyed Thomas’ lively personality and commentary learning about the history of the places we visited. Also I loved that I could sit back an enjoy the journey. Would I recommend this day trip — absolutely. It encompasses the best “must see” landmarks without the large crowds of a larger tour bus. At the end of the tour, we were dropped off back at our hotel with so many memories in tow.
For full disclosure, I had booked this tour after doing much research and did not receive promotional compensation (however, we would not be opposed to future work with this top notch company) and wanted to give an honest account of our experience because I was personally blown away by it. If you are interested in this day trip from Las Vegas, please reach out to maxtour.co.
Be sure to “Like”, “Share”, “Pin” this post if you are looking for an adventure beyond the Vegas Strip. We would like to know what places we visited that you loved or are planning to see. Drop a comment below.
