If you haven’t hit the jackpot in Vegas, don’t worry—just hit the road. The journey from the city to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is scattered with riches. You could tackle the trip in just under five hours, hightailing it past titillating turnoffs such as Lake Mead, Route 66, and the Grand Canyon West Skywalk. But life is too short for short trips. It’s much better to linger for at least two to four days, boating alongside bighorn sheep, poking around quirky museums, and going into nostalgic overdrive on America’s most famous highway.
About 30 minutes southeast of Vegas, you’ll roll into Boulder City, established in 1931 to house the workers who built the Hoover Dam. If you’re just breezing through town, allow enough time to fill up on a pork chili verde omelet at the Coffee Cup Cafe, mosey among Depression-era buildings downtown, and meet the bighorn sheep who often graze in Hemenway Park.
Alternatively, stay one or two nights, making Boulder City a hub for excursions that radiate out like bicycle spokes. Rent a mountain bike or e-bike from All Mountain Cyclery and pedal the paved, 34-mile River Mountains Loop Trail for expansive views of Lake Mead and the Mojave Desert. About 15 minutes northeast of Boulder City, rent a kayak, stand-up paddleboard, or boat at Lake Mead Marina and ply teal-colored water to the Boulder Islands to swim, search for shells, and spot great blue herons. Take a guided kayaking tour with Desert Adventures or Evolution Expeditions to bask in the bottle green Colorado River at the base of Hoover Dam, spy bighorn sheep on the cliffs, and photograph the enchanting, watery Emerald Cave.
About 15 minutes east of Boulder City, the 726-foot-high Hoover Dam hunkers in Black Canyon, blocking the Colorado River to create Lake Mead. You can visit the outside for free to photograph the colossal wall of concrete. Or allow about two hours for a guided tour, which leads you into the bowels of this engineering marvel to learn about the history of its construction and its impact on the region. At the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge by Hoover Dam, you’ll cross into Arizona, and from here, you can choose your own adventure.
If you’re short on time, beeline down Highway 93 to Kingman, about an hour and 15 minutes south. Alternatively, detour north to Grand Canyon West, which adds an extra two hours to your drive to Kingman, plus time for sightseeing. Grand Canyon West is located on the Hualapai Indian Reservation and is operated by the Hualapai Tribe separately from the national park. At its most famous site, the Skywalk, you can feel like you’re treading on air as you gaze through the horseshoe-shaped glass bridge to the bottom of the canyon, 4,000 feet below. Nearby, zipline 500 feet above a side canyon and learn about Hualapai culture and crafts from Hualapai ambassadors at the Walapai Trading Post.
Next, venture south to Kingman, a gateway to the country’s most iconic highway. At the Arizona Route 66 Museum, trace the history of the Mother Road from American Indian trade routes to Dust Bowl migrations to the road-tripping pop culture of the 1950s and the highway’s eventual decline. From Kingman, you could vamoose to Williams on Highway 40. Or get your kicks on Route 66, which adds about 20 minutes to the one hour and 45 minute drive to Williams, plus time for buying cheesy souvenirs and sipping chocolate malts.
Kick off in Kingman at Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner for that 1950s feel: jukebox tunes, checkerboard floor, turquoise and bubblegum-pink decor. Head to Hackberry General Store in Hackberry for nostalgic photo-ops and kitschy curios. Then cruise to Seligman, the town that inspired Pixar’s Cars, for a shake with a side of cheeky humor at Delgadillo’s Snow Cap.
Continue along I-40 to Williams and pop into the new, free Poozeum. Billing itself as “#1 for fossilized #2,” the museum boasts the world’s largest collection of coprolites, fossilized feces of dinosaurs and other creatures that reveal clues about ancient animals’ diets and environments. For a fresher take on wildlife, visit Bearizona to drive through a forest filled with bears, wolves, reindeer, and other animals (allow about an hour).
From Williams, you could zip up Highway 64 to the South Rim in just over an hour. Alternatively, veer about 35 minutes east to Flagstaff to soak up the outdoorsy vibe of this university town in the mountains. At the Museum of Northern Arizona, learn about the Native peoples, archaeology, and ecology of the Colorado Plateau, including the Grand Canyon. Soar up a mountain slope over pine and aspen forests on the Scenic Gondola at Snowbowl before tasting the new wave of foodie hotspots like Atria and Shift.
From Flag, motor about an hour and a half up Highways 180 and 64 to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Get an introduction to the area’s unique geology, flora, and fauna on a ranger-guided walk. Rent a bike from Bright Angel Bicycles to tool around rimside viewpoints and escape some of the crowds. Switchback into the gorgeous gorge on Bright Angel Trail (you can turn around at numerous destinations to shorten the hike). And savor Sonoran shrimp with prickly pear pads at historic El Tovar Hotel.
If you have a wealth of time on your hands, why head back the same way? Navigate a northern route—perhaps visiting the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, Page and Lake Powell, the fabulous rock formations in Utah near Kanab, and magnificent Zion National Park before rolling onto the Vegas Strip, flush with memories of fantastic adventures.