Fall makes a fine time to explore areas best avoided during scorching summer days, such as Valley of Fire and Sloan Canyon.
Natalie Burt
Natalie Burt, a former news reporter at the Review-Journal for 11 years, spends as much of her free time as possible enjoying Southern Nevada’s outdoors. She’s now a teacher and has lived in Henderson for 17 years.
The mostly flat Historic Railroad Trail allows walkers and bicyclists to travel back to the early 1930s.
Mural admirers don’t need a defined path to get the most from a near decade of creativity left behind by the annual Life is Beautiful music festival in downtown Las Vegas.
Great Basin bristlecone pines are gnarly, twisted tales of survival and inspiration. Lucky for local desert dwellers, hiking paths wind past these ancient, animated trees high above the valley floor.
Some intrepid Southern Nevadans choose paths of darkness in their bid to keep hiking adventures alive during sizzling summer months.
As temperatures soar and scorch our concrete jungle, the forest shade and cooler air of the nearby Spring Mountains offer a reprieve.
April kicks off the reemergence of desert reptiles. Among the easier species to spot are side-blotched lizards, zebra tails, yellow-backed spiny lizards, and chuckwallas.
For wildflower chasers, March, April and May mean bursts of magnificent color from seemingly mundane plants in the Mojave Desert.
Southern Utah ski resorts offer skiers and snowboarders a frosted February wonderland with picture-perfect panoramas of surrounding forests and mountains.
A sense of adventure and plenty of hiking sensibility are what’s needed for Late Night Trailhead, where manageable and meandering trails sprawl into the Las Vegas outback.
Southern Nevada’s favorable fall weather translates into good times in outdoor spaces that have fire in their names.
An off-the-beaten fall foliage circuit is Kyle Canyon’s Acastus Trail, which offers the chance to spot Gambel oak leaves changing from greens to reds, golds and browns.
Hiking opportunities on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe are plentiful, varied and often come with stunning views of Big Blue.
Summer in Cedar City lets you pair Shakespeare’s plays with plenty of walking and hiking opportunities in the cooler mountain air.
Spectacular vistas, wildlife sightings and tranquil settings make for a perfect vacation spot.
