14 Best Sights in Nevada, USA

The flowers, trees, and other plants in Bellagio's soaring atrium are fresh and alive, many of them grown in a 5-acre greenhouse. The artistic floral arrangements and ornamental landscaping here is breathtaking and in some cases monumental in scale. Displays change each season, and the holiday displays in December (for Christmas) and January (for Chinese New Year) are particularly dramatic.

At least once during your visit you should stop in front of Bellagio to view its spectacular water ballet from start to finish. The dazzling fountains stream from more than 1,000 nozzles, accompanied by 4,500 lights, in 27 million gallons of water. Fountain jets shoot up to 460 feet in the air, tracing undulations you wouldn't have thought possible, in near-perfect time with music ranging from Bocelli and the Beatles to "Billie Jean" and tunes from Tiësto. Some of the best views are from the Eiffel Tower's observation deck, directly across the street (unless you've got a north-facing balcony room at The Cosmopolitan). Paris and Planet Hollywood have restaurants with patios on the Strip that also offer good views.

The acres taken up by the mega-resorts mean that open space is a premium on the Strip, which makes The Park a refreshing departure. Roughly situated between New York–New York and Park MGM, it reaches from the Strip itself west to T-Mobile Arena, home to the city's first professional sports franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team. Along the way, The Park offers natural touches such as desert vegetation and rock from local quarries. It also has features such as a water wall, shade structures made to look like trees, and a 40-foot-tall statue of a dancing naked woman named "Bliss Dance." Restaurants offer outdoor seating and games for patrons to play while they relax.

The "mountains" of Seven Magic Mountains aren't actually mountains at all; instead they're towers of multicolored stacked boulders standing more than 30 feet high. The art installation from renowned Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone is a commentary about human presence in the desert, and it stands tall about 10 miles south of the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard South and St. Rose Parkway, near Jean. Visitors to the site can walk right up and pose with the towers, making it a popular place for selfies. The exhibit opened in 2016 and was only scheduled to run until 2018, but due to public demand, it's been extended. Watch for signs on I–15 directing you to the parking area. 

This is an idyllic spot 7,350 feet above sea level in the pine and juniper forest of the big Schell Creek Range that borders Ely to the east. You can spend a day fishing for rainbow and brown trout in the reservoir and a night sleeping under the stars. Arrive early; it gets crowded. Access may be restricted in winter.

This picnic site, with tables, water, and restrooms (the latter two available during the summer), is a short walk from the visitor center. Summer hours are often extended beyond the standard 8 am–4:30 pm.

Tucked far away in the rugged backcountry, Lexington Arch is six stories high, looming over Lexington Creek. While most arches are made of sandstone, this arch is limestone, more often associated with caves. That leads some to believe it was once a passage in a cave system. The 5.4-mile (round-trip) hike to the arch is challenging, with little to no shade. Hiking boots, sunscreen, water, and snacks are essential. It’s the one and only trail in the park where pets are allowed (on a 6-foot leash). The arch is actually located south of Snake Creek, outside of the small town of Garrison, Utah. Only high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended on the dirt road leading to it.  Traveling to the arch can be dangerous, as the road becomes rougher the closer you get to the trailhead. Make sure to stop driving before you get in trouble and walk the rest of the way, which could be up to a mile.

Welcome to the land of the Egyptians—Vegas-style. This modern-world wonder is topped with a xenon light beam that burns brighter than any other in the world and can be seen from nearly anywhere in the Valley at night; it's supposedly visible even from space. The exterior is made with 13 acres of black glass, and you won't easily forget elevators; climbing the slanted walls of the Luxor pyramid requires four "inclinators" to reach guest rooms. Above the casino is the world's largest atrium—you get the full impact of the space from the second floor, where the 13 whole-body specimens and 260 organs and partial body specimens of Bodies ... The Exhibition offers a look at what makes us tick. Or take in Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, or Discovering King Tut's Tomb; if you're 21 and older, you can play around on the physical, memory, and puzzle games in the Play Playground bar. And you may be interested in the new e-sports arena HyperX (the only one currently in Las Vegas), which replaced the hotel's dance club and offers gaming opportunities when it's not in use for scheduled competitions. This also is the site of one of the city's remaining buffets. For something entirely unique, head outside the casino, walk past the porte cochere, and follow the sidewalk inside a replica of the Great Sphinx of Giza. Only in Vegas.

Mandalay Bay is famous for a few things: the House of Blues, which brings in some epic concerts throughout the year; the Shark Reef Aquarium, which boasts a 1.6-million-gallon saltwater tank and more than 2,000 animals; and an A-list series of restaurants. A pastiche of flavors is the attraction there, including StripSteak and the Mediterranean Orla from internationally acclaimed chef Michael Mina and the more casual Border Grill from Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of TV's Two Hot Tamales fame. Technically the complex hosts three separate hotel brands: Mandalay, W Las Vegas, and the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas. If you're into views, W's rooftop Rivea, from French culinary lion Alain Ducasse, Skyfall Panoramic Bar & Lounge, and House of Blues Foundation Room on the 64th floor can make you the equal of any bird.

Also worth noting: minus5° Ice Bar, which is located in the Mandalay Place shopping corridor that connects Mandalay Bay with Luxor; for the price of admission you get to borrow a parka, waltz into a sub-zero drinking establishment, and throw back vodka from a glass made of ice.

A regal bronze rendering of the roaring MGM lion mascot fronts the four emerald-green, fortress-like towers of the MGM Grand, one of the largest hotels in the world. Over the years, the property has become synonymous with big fights, most of which take place in the hotel's Grand Garden Arena, and big entertainment from the likes of David Copperfield and Papa Roach, plus Cirque du Soleil's Ka. In recent years, the property also has added Hakkasan, an upscale restaurant and nightclub; Topgolf Las Vegas, a state-of-the-art driving range; and Brad Garrett's Comedy Club, where the beloved comic from Everybody Loves Raymond performs regularly. The hotel also has its share of celebrity restaurants, from the elegance of the late Joel Robuchon to the innovation of Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto to the comforting Nellie's Southern Kitchen from the Jonas Brothers family.

The mini-Manhattan skyline that forms the facade of this hotel is one of our favorite parts of the Strip—there are third-size to half-size renderings of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and the Chrysler Building, as well as the New York Public Library, Grand Central Terminal, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Inside, portions of the casino floor have been made to look like neighborhoods of the real New York City. The Little Italy/Greenwich Village area is such an accurate replica that many New Yorkers reportedly get momentarily confused. Without question, the big attraction is the Big Apple Coaster. A close second: Hershey's Chocolate World. Then, of course, there's The Park, which sits just north of the back side of the hotel and stretches from the Strip all the way to T-Mobile Arena.

There is a handful of places here where you can sit down for a bite and a breather. A group picnic site requires advance reservations, but areas near the host site and amphitheater are first come, first served. Water is available.

In the quiet desert south of Ely, this row of six beehive-shaped, 30-foot-tall ovens used to process 35 cords of wood at once. From 1876 to 1879, the ovens turned vast forests of pinyon, juniper, and mountain mahogany into charcoal, which was used for refining local silver and copper ore. It's a well-preserved piece of unique mining history, and the park includes a campground, hiking trails, and a creek good for fishing.

This neon-and-incandescent sign in a median of Las Vegas Boulevard south of Mandalay Bay is one of Sin City's most enduring icons. The landmark dates back to 1959 and was approved for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. Young Electric Sign Company leases the sign to Clark County, but the design itself was never copyrighted and currently exists in the public domain. (This, of course, explains why you see so many likenesses all over town.) The parking lot in the median just south of the sign was expanded in 2015. If you prefer to go on foot, expect a 10-minute walk from Mandalay Bay, plus waiting time for photo ops.