I’m so thrilled to share our favorite picks for hiking Las Vegas with you today! As a fulltime travel family, we’ve spent a few weeks in Vegas on separate trips. There are fun things to do in the city, but it’s also totally surrounded by gorgeous outdoor adventures! These are the four hikes we tried out during our time in Vegas, and honestly it’s hard to choose a favorite. They were all fantastic hikes!
If you’re hiking with kids and need tips for that, I’ve got you covered. I also have family-friendly outdoorsy gear linked up here.
Without further ado, let’s get to the hiking Las Vegas ideas!
Hiking Las Vegas Trail Suggestions
Bowl of Fire
The Bowl of Fire hike is a huge bang for your hiking Las Vegas buck. There’s not much of a designated trail, mostly wander around where you want once you get to the slick rock. We walked 3 mostly flat miles, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful red rock formations, flowering cacti (in the spring), and fun caves for the kids to explore.
There is very little sun on this trail, so keep that in mind when planning when to go. The trailhead is down a wash where 4×4 is recommended, but a friend in her minivan made it just fine. There’s one hill that was the hardest part of the drive.
This hike is also located within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, so you’ll need an America the Beautiful pass (National Parks) to get in free or pay to enter. This is the closest of all of the hikes on this list to downtown Vegas!
Anniversary Narrows
The Anniversary Narrows hike is a really unique looking slot canyon that’s super fun for the kids and/or photography buffs. It’s also about 3 miles if you start from the furthest trailhead option, which requires a couple of miles of driving down dirt/gravel road.
4×4 is also recommended to access this trailhead, but I don’t think it’s strictly necessary. Use your best judgment and stop and park wherever you feel you should (we parked here). You can simply walk the wash for longer if you don’t feel comfortable driving the whole way, but there’s no shade and that wash section is a bit boring.
Once you get into the slot canyon section, it’s shady and cooler. This hike is also located within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area!
Valley of Fire State Park: Fire Wave, White Dome, Seven Wonders Loops
Everyone recommends the hour+ drive out to Valley of Fire State Park, and for good reason! It’s absolutely stunning out there. There are a lot of places to get out and hike in the park, but we chose the Fire Wave, White Dome, Seven Wonders loops.
I highly recommend this hike because it’s also around 3 miles and mostly flat, but it packs a real punch. There are cool geological features throughout the whole hike that kept our whole group in awe. There’s very little shade on this hike, so I recommend visiting early or late in the day. I would choose golden hour if possible!
There is a fee to enter the state park, but if you’re hiking Las Vegas, this is a don’t-miss.
Gold Strike Hot Springs
The Gold Strike Hot Springs hike is by far the hardest hike on this list. AllTrails has it listed at 5 miles, but my phone clocked it at 7. Regardless, it has tons of bouldering, rope and ladder obstacles, and a fair amount of elevation loss/gain. It closes in the summer because it’s actually dangerous to do when it’s too warm out.
If I haven’t scared you away yet, I do still highly recommend this hike if you’re a strong enough hiker! It’s gorgeous to hike down into the canyon and end up at the base of the Hoover Dam, plus there are fantastic hot springs to soak in at the bottom (don’t submerge your head underwater!).
We loved this hike! We made it with 3/6/8 year olds, although we do hike every week so we’ve been training. Bring sandals and swimsuits!
I hope this list of ideas helps you enjoy your time hiking Las Vegas! The strip is fun, but I’ve been really blown away by how much outdoorsy beauty there is just outside the city, too. For all of these trails (especially Gold Strike!), bring way more water than you think you’ll need. Hiking in the desert is thirsty work! We’ve got the hydration packs our kids use linked here.
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