4 Best Sights in West Side, Las Vegas

Those who love hi-tech art served with a Burning Man or Electric Daisy Carnival vibe—and with the addition of air-conditioning—will gravitate to this indoor amusement park inside a giant warehouse next to Interstate 15 (the name is a play on both the highway and the mysterious Area 51). The very fluorescent interior (the black-light averse may feel like they are trapped in a giant Spencer Gifts) even features big Burning Man–style art installations indoors and out, such as a giant skull covered in video graphics, which greets you in the main building.

While admission to the facility is technically free—though advance reservations can get you in faster on busy nights—almost all of the attractions require you to pay a separate admission: Omega Mart is an otherworldly convenience store, which leads into a walk-through funhouse full of immersive art from the Santa Fe–based arts collective Meow Wolf (it's also the most expensive individual experience); Wink World is full of art and tech surprises courtesy of Chris Wink, a co-founder and original member of the Blue Man Group; Museum Fiasco is an immersive, disorienting clublike bombardment of light and sound. Peripheral attractions include axe-throwing, golf and racing simulators, and rides on ski-lift chairs suspended from a ceiling track. You can also simply chill out with a cocktail under a canopy in The Sanctuary lounge or beneath a luminescent tree in the Oddwood Bar in the center of it all. Food choices include burgers at The Beast or sushi at Kaia. If you are just looking to visit Omega Mart, you can avoid the more expensive "Experience" tickets by buying a general admission ticket on the Meow Wolf site ( meowwolf.com).

The original building is joined by other attractions just to the west, the latest being an interactive experience themed after the John Wick movie franchise. The Illuminarium offers a Rolling Stone magazine-branded history of rock and pop music called Amplified, including a montage of every single Rolling Stone cover on a projection surface that is 20 feet tall.

And that's all just in the main, original building. AREA15 was so instantly popular that a massive 20-acre expansion to the north was set to begin unveiling new attractions by the end of 2025. The anchor will be Universal Horror Unleashed, centered around four themed haunted houses (the classic Universal monsters, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scarecrow: The Reaping, and The Exorcist: Believer) from the folks behind the Halloween attractions at Universal Studios. New retail and a non-gaming hotel will be part of the expansion.   Admission to the building is free, but online reservations let you skip lines out front and may be required on busy nights.

Formerly known as Pole Position, this electric miniature race car track is now part of a chain with locations all over the country. If it's no longer a uniquely Las Vegas experience, it's still likely the only location next door to a casino (The Palms). And the appeal of souped-up carts that reach up to 45 mph is undeniable on a hot summer day. You and up to 12 competitors zip around the ¼-mile indoor track full of twists and turns. Computers track your overall performance from race to race, and over multiple visits. You'll get a score sheet giving a detailed score breakdown to compare with your friends. There's a pizza lounge with beer and wine for spectators.

Swanky nightclub meets gun range in this only-in-Vegas addition to the scene. In an industrial neighborhood just west of the Interstate, "MGV" (as it's known) offers 10 indoor shooting lanes, including two in a VIP area (It's Vegas), as well as a number of outdoor lanes. Visitors have dozens of firearms to choose from, and you can be part of "Seal Team 6" or a "Femme Fatale" with pink weaponry. Package deals all include multiple guns and supervised instruction. 

"Fat Mike" Burkett of NOFX is behind this two-story, 12,000 square-foot tribute and repository of in-your-face rock. The displays are organized by geography and eras—such as "1970s Los Angeles" or "1980s San Francisco Bay Area," complete with QR codes linking to relevant playlists. Along with the expected array of photos, stage get-ups, guitars, T-shirts and hand-written set lists (London Calling by The Clash), you'll find surprises such as monster masks, a partial bottle of Jack Daniels waiting for the late "Lemmy" of Motorhead, and even a . . . melodica? Yes, it was played onstage by Big D & The Kids Table. Something else you might not expect: it's pretty quiet. Because the music changes from room to room, nothing rattles the walls. The museum occasionally hosts stand-up comics, and guided tours are offered several times a month by veteran rockers. The full-service museum even hosts weddings and a tattoo studio. An indoor/outdoor bar called The Triple Down is a spin-off of the punk-enough Double Down near the UNLV campus.