No one who lives in Las Vegas would ever knock air conditioning. But after a long spring and summer of breathing air conditioned air, there is something quite liberating about fresh outdoor air.
Make the most of this small indulgence at some of these fun activities near Las Vegas, including:
Visit the Gilcrease Orchard and revel in the thrill of selecting and picking your own fruits and vegetables. The orchard, located on 60 acres on the north side of town, offers a full array of vegetables, including beets, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, kale and sweet potatoes (which, yes, the United States Department of Agriculture still classifies as a vegetable). The orchard offers items that are unmistakably fruits, such as apples, as well as those from the gourd family – pumpkins and squash – that may invite a second look. If pumpkins aren’t enough to lure little ones to the orchard, they should find caramel apples, homemade donuts, kettle corn and a tractor driven tour around the orchard more to their liking.
It would be fair to cal lions “loafers.” They’re known for lounging around, spending between 16 and 20 hours a day resting and sleeping. But with any luck, they’ll be wide awake and ready to look you straight in the eye during your visit to the Lion Habitat Ranch. Located just minutes from the Strip, the ranch also features giraffes, as well as some other tall-order attractions. One of the most popular: “feast with the beasts,” where you can eat at a private table in a glass enclosure that is surrounded by lions watching your every move. By the time you're finished, you might fall prey to the ranch mission statement to make visitors “fall in love” with lions.
Spring Mountains National Recreation Area
You don’t have to be the outdoorsy type to enjoy a trip to the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, but then, why would you want to wait in the car while everyone else in your party partakes in hiking, horseback riding, mountain bike riding or picnicking? If a scenic drive is more to your liking, you can enjoy a drive up Kyle Canyon, across the Deer Creek Highway and down Lee Canyon. The route boasts spectacular mountain scenery, a variety of ecosystems and opportunities to observe wildlife. And if you can’t get enough of that mountain air, you can camp in the Mt. Charleston area, too.
You might hear people say that they’re “really in the thick of it” at the Moapa Valley Corn Maze. But this a good thing at this one-of-a-kind attraction – a corn maze/pumpkin patch by day and a haunted corn field at night. The corn maze, in nearby Moapa Valley, features some changes from last year. Most notably, the maze is located on the opposite side of the fittingly named Muddy River. And new activities include pedal carts, pig races and pumpkin bowling. The latter should probably be expected; the operators planted an abundance of pumpkin seeds for this season – so that every visitor can see how it feels to be in the “the thick of it,” too.
Take full advantage of the few weeks of fall we experience, by visiting any of these fun activities near Las Vegas. Do you have a favorite fall activity that’s not listed? Let us know in the comments below!
