It can be easy to forgo fitness while traveling, especially if your destination is Las Vegas. Sin City, as it's called, offers ample temptation to forget about exercise, kick back and just relax. However, if you travel away from the Las Vegas Strip, where the city's major casino-hotels are located, you'll find active, fun opportunities that will allow you to work out while enjoying your vacation. Head to Lake Mead for some boating, hike one of many trails at Red Rock Canyon, go for a dip in a public pool, play a few games at a city park or walk through acres of parkland to view wildlife.
Boating
Lake Mead is the largest manmade lake in the United States at more than 550 square miles. If you're in Las Vegas during the summer, head to the lake—which is located about 30 miles east of downtown Vegas—to get a break from the often-intense desert heat. You can rent boats and personal watercraft at Lake Mead's docks, and boaters will find opportunities for water sports, such as skiing, wake boarding and tubing, as well as swimming and fishing.
Hiking
Red Rock Canyon is home to a variety of desert plants and wildlife, as well as more than 50 miles of hiking trails. Red Rock, located about 30 miles west of downtown Las Vegas, has 19 hiking trails that the Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association has ranked from easy to strenuous. The bulk of the trails are considered moderate, such as the 6-mile La Madre Spring Loop, which will take you through the Red Rock to La Madre Spring, one of the few water features in the area.
Wildlife Viewing
The Las Vegas Zoo, also known as the Southern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park, is located about a 15-minute drive northwest of the Las Vegas Strip. The zoo offers more than 150 species of plants and animals, and you'll have ample opportunity to get in some exercise while walking through the three-acre park. You'll find more animals at Red Rock Canyon, located about 30 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip. Walk Red Rock's trails and be on the lookout for animals, such as the desert tortoise, roadrunner, jackrabbit and gila monster.
Parks
Las Vegas has city parks that offer a variety of fitness-related outdoor activities. Paradise Park & Center is located north of the Las Vegas Strip, about 2.5 miles east of McCarran International Airport, and features tennis and basketball courts, a swimming pool, a walking course, a fitness course, wide-open fields for soccer, football, Frisbee and picnicking and a children's playground. Less than 3 miles south of Paradise Park is Sunset Park, which has ballfields, tennis and basketball courts, two enclosed dog runs, a disc golf course, volleyball courts and a playground.
Swimming
Get in some swimming off the Las Vegas Strip by checking out the city's public swimming pools. Las Vegas is home to seven public pools, with two more located in the city of North Las Vegas. You won't have to travel far from the main strip to find a pool, either; Baker Pool, a six-lane, 25-yard outdoor pool, is less than 2 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, and Las Vegas Municipal Pool, a 50-meter by 25-yard indoor pool with two diving boards, is located about 5 miles north of the strip.
Member Comments