Did you know that if you link all the neon tubes in Las Vegas the line will stretch 120,000km? Or that 170,000 people work in casinos and the average visitor’s daily betting budget is almost $800?
While the numbers paint a picture of life in Las Vegas, they don’t share secrets about Nevada which is a quiet achiever evolving into one of America’s most fascinating states.
There’s something to satisfy every travel whim – outdoor activities, charming towns, magnificent landscapes, ghost hunting, cowboy culture, pioneering history – in the destination that boasts 300 days of sunshine every year.
The best way to explore Nevada is on a self-drive adventure, with Excite Holidays producing a helpful handbook that has the good oil on five scenic routes with everything from essential experiences to hotel recommendations.
Each page focuses on three locations, from the far north to central Nevada and deep south, to explain why discovering the state should be on every curious traveller’s wish list.
Here are 10 hidden gems worth seeing on a road trip that puts the bright lights of Las Vegas in the rear-view mirror.
1. Carson City
Image: Chris Talbot/ TravelNevada
The Nevada state capital is a modern metropolis that’s maintained its old-world charm with the downtown boasting great restaurants, shops and museums.
2. Virginia City
Image: TravelNevada
This settlement popped up almost overnight when gold was discovered in 1859 and while it was one of America’s wealthiest locations it now provides insights into the old west.
3. Lake Tahoe
Image: Rick Gunn/ TravelNevada
A famous place for outdoor activities with skiing powder snow the favourite winter activity and swimming, fishing, mountain biking and hiking popular during the warm months.
4. Ely
Image: Sydney Martinez/ TravelNevada
A hamlet that started as a stage-coach stop boomed when copper was uncovered and today boasts an inventory of historic buildings and the Nevada Northern Railway Museum.
5. Elko
Image: Sydney Martinez/ TravelNevada
Cowboy culture rules in this “true western town” and visitors can enjoy the great outdoors hiking the trails around the neighbouring Ruby Mountains.
6. Beatty
Image: Sydney Martinez/ TravelNevada
This spot is known as the “Gateway to Death Valley” where travellers stock up before venturing into the national park or stay local to explore ghost towns on Beatty’s outskirts.
7. Boulder City
Image: Sydney Martinez/ TravelNevada
A community established during the Great Depression to house workers building the Hoover Dam where anti-gaming laws established in the 1930s continue today.
8. Laughlin
Image: Sydney Martinez/ TravelNevada
Occupying a plot in the Colorado River Valley – where Nevada, Arizona and California meet – makes Laughlin tops with those looking to survey a waterway flanked by desert.
9. Austin
Image: TravelNevada
Located in the heart of Nevada, and a stop on US Highway 50 which is called “The Loneliest Road in America”, this hamlet lets visitors step back in time to the silver-mining boom.
10. Tonopah
Image: TravelNevada
Geology buffs come to see the turquoise mine and Monte Christo’s Castle rock formations, astronomers gaze at the Milky Way, and the Tonopah Historic Mining Park draws historians.
Book with Excite Holidays and win …
Now is the time to make arrangements for customers to embark on a Nevada road-trip adventure with every paid booking made with Excite Holidays between October 8 and November 4 in the running to win 100,000 reward points.
The three agents with the most improved Nevada sales numbers during the incentive period will win reward points and 50,000 will go to first place, 30,000 for the runner-up, and third gets 20,000.
Agents will also receive double bonus reward points for every Nevada night booked and paid for between October 8 and 21.
For more information, visit: https://engage.exciteholidays.com/nevada
- READ: BORN IN THE USA: Experience the music that made America with Excite Holidays
- READ: Open your mind and get off the beaten track in Nevada
What’s YOUR best way to explore Nevada?
Written by Sarah Nicholson, KARRYON contributor
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