A guide to Nevada’s unmatched natural experiences

Nevada’s landscapes are a mosaic of glimmering lakes, rugged mountain ranges, fiery canyons, and towering dunes. This diversity provides an astonishing array of easy, intermediate and challenging activities that you can spend a lifetime enjoying without repeating the same adventure twice. The best part? Nevada is home to more than 60 million acres of public land, and more than 80 percent of the state is open to recreational activities. Here’s just a taste. 

Explore the largest alpine lake in North America

It’s hard not to be captivated the first time you lay eyes on Lake Tahoe. With a surface area of 191 square miles, the water appears as vast as the turquoise sky. For the best views, rent a kayak from Sand Harbor State Park or Zephyr Cove Resort and head toward the center of the lake where the water is so clear you can see more than 70 feet below. Afterward, pull into a cove to sun yourself on the sand or relax on one of Lake Tahoe’s colossal smooth rocks.

Lake Tahoe is just as bewitching in the winter, when the snow-covered Sierra Nevada casts its reflection across the lake. The region becomes a wonderland for snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and skiing at resorts like Mount Rose Ski Tahoe or Diamond Peak Ski Resort. For an unforgettable winter hike, head to Chickadee Ridge. Although you’ll often need snowshoes after a fresh dump of powder or in icy conditions, the snow is often firm enough to trek through the forest in boots or waterproof shoes. The views of the lake at the summit are breathtaking, but the real stars of this hike are the mountain chickadees that frequent the area.

Sink into surreal scenescapes

Las Vegas is so famous for its neon lights and entertainment that it’s easy to forget the city is surrounded by dramatic desertscape. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is only a 20-minute drive away, but this kingdom of rust-red canyons, sandstone bluffs, and ancient petroglyphs might as well be in another universe. Designated trails are perfect for mountain bikers who want to get up close and personal with the spectacular scenery.

The Calico Hills offer some of the park’s most unique hikes including the Calico Tanks Trail, which winds its way up banded rock formations to a natural pool. The crags and canyons are a paradise for climbers: the area contains more than 1,200 named routes of sandstone, basalt, and limestone – some of which offer the occasional glimpse of the Las Vegas Strip in the distance.

Red Rock Canyon is also home to a population of burros. They are understandably shy, but you can sometimes spot them in the park’s northern section near Cold Creek.

Listen to the sand sing

Just outside Fallon, in the northwestern section of the state, you’ll find Sand Mountain Recreation Area. The epic two-mile-long, six-story-high dune is beloved by ATV riders and off-roaders. It’s also one of only a few singing sand dunes in the world, and you’ll sometimes hear it whistle, hum, and moan as the sand tumbles. In the center of it all, you’ll find the Super Bowl, a giant hollow carved by wind that, incredibly, remains intact no matter how much the sand around it shifts.

This is the world’s only place to see the rare Sand Mountain blue butterfly. The butterflies only live one week, and they never stray more than a 200-foot radius from the Kearny’s buckwheat that makes up their food source. Each one is a tiny blue miracle.

Wander prehistoric slot canyons

One favorite off-the-beaten-track place in Nevada is also one of its most awe-inspiring. Cathedral Gorge State Park was formed by ancient volcanic eruptions forming a fault that eventually filled with water. Over many millennia, the lake drained, leaving behind an otherworldly landscape of majestic hoodoos, spires, and slot canyons.

One of the best hikes in the park is the Juniper Draw Loop Trail, a 3.6-mile loop that begins at the Cathedral Gorge State Park campground. The terrain is mostly flat, and the path cuts through several sandy stretches dotted with juniper and sage and framed by dramatic rock formations.

Cathedral Gorge State Park is particularly rewarding at sunrise and sunset. At these hours, the light plays in the slots and pockets of the canyons, and the creamy peach-colored rocks turn to a fierce bright orange. To take it all in, head to the Miller Point Overlook—a gazebo constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s—which offers some of the best vistas in the park.

Stargaze along the Extraterrestrial Highway

Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway is equal parts history, beauty, and kitsch. Home to the legendary Area 51 (the once top-secret government facility rumored to hide an alien spaceship), this area offers everything from UFO-themed bars to a black mailbox that may or may not serve as a rendezvous point for visitors from outer space.

This region of Nevada is as alluring to history buffs as it is to UFO enthusiasts since it’s peppered with ghost towns, old cemeteries, and historic mining communities. Mostly, though, it’s a lot of gorgeous desert scenery and open roads. When you visit, raise your gaze to the night sky. You might not see spacecraft, but since there isn’t any light pollution on this long stretch of highway, the stars burn beautiful and bright.

Nevada’s public lands belong to the people. You can help preserve these incredible natural places by carrying reusable water bottles, keeping to dedicated trails, and packing out what you pack in. These small acts ensure that Nevada will be just as wild, wonderful, and welcoming when you’re ready to come back again.