Best time to visit Nevada
Spring: Explore Nevada’s two national parks, four national monuments, six ski areas, nine national wildlife refuges, 27 state parks, and 60 million acres of accessible public lands in comfortable temperatures. When the snow melts in Great Basin National Park and Death Valley National Park, spring rain blooms hundreds of species of wildflowers, some of which you can only find in the Great Basin region such as Holgrem’s buckwheat.
Because Death Valley National Park is the hottest, dryest, and lowest place in North America, spring conditions also offer an opportunity to spot wildlife that have adapted to these extreme conditions such as Kangaroo rats that never have to drink water. Most of the animals who call the park home are nocturnal; so, consider visiting around dawn or sunset, and bring a pair of binoculars.
Summer: Extreme hot temperatures can start as early as May. Las Vegas broke its hottest day record last summer (2024) with 120° F. Visitors tolerate the heat by enjoying air-conditioned spaces and water sports. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Look up road construction projects (repairing potholes, performing erosion control, and replacing guardrails during the summer) that might delay your travel time.
At the end of August, tens of thousands of “Burners” gather annually in Black Rock Desert to celebrate the Burning Man with art, community, and self-reliance. This is the largest “Leave No Trace” event in the world because participants are required to pack up anything they brought to the playa (dry lakebed).
Fall: Like spring, the fall is another season of mild temperatures perfect for camping, hiking, and enjoying Nevada’s outdoors. Hike the summit of Boundary Peak, Nevada’s highest point. Attend the largest powwow in the state for free usually held the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Fish for world-class freshwater fishing trophies in Pyramid Lake, one of the largest natural lakes in the state, located about 35 miles northeast of Reno. The season begins October 1 and ends June 30, but anglers argue that early and late in the season offer the best chance to catch a giant Lahontan Cutthroat Trout.
Winter: After hitting the slopes of one of Nevada’s ski resorts, relax in a natural hot spring like Carson Hot Springs and benefit from sulfate which strengthens the protein in your hair, nails, and skin, or potassium which improves muscle functionality or magnesium which nourishes your nerves and bones. Don’t forget to bring your towel.
Every December, the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas hosts The National Finals Rodeo. In January, the Las Vegas Convention Center usually hosts the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Be sure to reserve a room early during these months.
Fast Facts
Statehood: October 31, 1864 (36th state in the U.S.)
Capital: Carson City
Time Zone: Pacific Time Zone, but Mountain Time observed close to the Idaho and Utah border
Size: 110,572 square miles (seventh-largest state in the U.S.)
Population: 2,770,551
Main Airports: Reno/Tahoe International Airport (RNO) and Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), renamed from McCarran International Airport) located near Las Vegas
Lay of the Land
Nevada is in the Great Basin province with California and the Sierra Nevada Mountain range borders Nevada on the west. Idaho’s Snake River plain and Oregon Cascade Mountains frame the north. Utah’s Wasatch Range is on the east.
Cities and towns: Whether it’s the themed resorts, celebrity chef restaurants, gambling, shopping, or shows, Las Vegas offers enough options to entertain all ages in your party. Four miles of the Las Vegas Boulevard is known as the Strip. Try to avoid driving the Strip late afternoons and evenings as well as weekends. From MGM Grand to Sahara Avenue, the Las Vegas Monorail shortens the four-mile trip to 14 minutes.
Las Vegas boasts more than 300 hotels and resorts, some with pools, which provide a refreshing way for guests to cool off in the summer. Photograph by David Guttenfelder, Nat Geo Image Collection
Ninety-five percent of Nevada’s residents live in Reno or Las Vegas; however, these cities occupy only two percent of the state. While most of the land is public, the state also has one of the largest top-secret restricted areas like Area 51, located 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Because of rumors that the government studies alien bodies here, State Route 375 was renamed Extraterrestrial Highway. Visitors go out of their way to get a selfie with an enormous metal alien statue guarding the entrance to a gift shop called the Alien Research Center.
Don’t miss visiting dark-sky towns. They are easy to miss because there are few streetlights and they are well camouflaged in the desert landscape. Tonopah is known for UFO sightings, ghost-hunting, and other paranormal activity. The Clown Motel, known as America’s scariest hotel, is located next to the Old Tonopah Cemetery. Before booking a room, the hotel provides a disclaimer to guests, stating that they are not liable for bodily injury, death, or other related health issues caused by unexplained phenomena.
Parks: Photograph 2,000-year-old petroglyphs at the Valley of the Fire State Park. Ice fish in the winter at Wild Horse State Park. Collect Junior Park Ranger badges by completing a booklet of conservation, science, or ecological questions at Death Valley and Great Basin National Park visitor centers. The Nevada Department of Wildlife also offers free Grab and Go Kits for kids, including Owl pellet dissections available at regional offices every other month. The owl dissection kits allow children to open owl pellets to identify the bones of animals the owl ate.
Bristlecone pine trees thrive at a high elevation, like this one (measured at 1,762 years old in 2003), found in Magic Grove on Mount Washington. In Basin National Park, two other groves of bristlecone pines are located on Wheeler Peak and Eagle Peak. Photograph by Keith Ladzinski, Nat Geo Image Collection
Dark Skies: Known as the “Starry-est Route in America,” Park to Park in the Dark connects Death Valley to Great Basin –– both are International Dark Sky Parks. The 336-mile route takes about five hours with stops at dark-sky spots like Bonnie Claire Playa, a solidified ancient lake, or Black Rock Lava Flow, a young and active volcanic field. Plan for zero cell service, no gas stations, and no restrooms.
Held every September in Great Basin National Park, the Great Basin Astronomy Festival is a free gathering of astronomers, astrophysicists, and astrophotographers. Take a Milky Way photography workshop. Make solar telescopes. Learn about bats, the night sky, and constellations.
(Related: 8 authentic ways to truly experience Nevada.)
Taste of Nevada
Basque cuisine: In the mid-1800s during the Gold Rush, immigrants from Basque, a region of northern Spain and southwestern France, settled in Nevada. They were skilled at raising sheep and cows and made money feeding the miners.
Today, they reside mostly in Northern Nevada. Winnemucca has the highest concentration of Basque restaurants, including the bar and restaurant at the Martin Hotel, where they serve lamb shanks, steaks, paella, fried sweetbreads, and salt cod.
At the annual National Basque Festival, held in Elko around the 4th of July, out-of-towners can taste pintxos(pronounced pin-cho), which are appetizers usually served on skewers, and pastel vasco (a dessert filled with black cherry or pastry cream) while watching wood-chopping or stone-lifting competitions as well as traditional folk dance performances. Don’t miss a sip of Nevada’s state drink, the Picon Punch, a Basque favorite made with grenadine, club soda, brandy, and Amer Picon.
The chorizo sandwich is another Basque favorite passed down like a family recipe from one generation to the next. Although there are multiple variations of the sandwich around the world, visitors to Nevada can pick up an authentic sandwich at Villa Basque Café. The Carson City restaurant is known for its homemade Basque chorizo made from pork, garlic, paprika, and other spices.
Southwestern Fare: A Southwestern favorite is Native American Fry Bread made of flour, powdered milk, baking powder, and water. Clarissa Mashburn (Paiute) serves $15 tacos wrapped in her famous fry bread, which is also sold by itself for $8. You can find MuHa’s Indian Tacos food truck parked in front of the United Methodist Church Farmer’s Market in Sparks and Burning Man.
Shrimp Cocktail: Seafood connoisseurs are probably familiar with its classic presentation: a chilled shrimp poached into a perfect C-shape to hang on a tulip-shaped sundae glass along with a wedge of lemon and a homemade concoction of ketchup and Tabasco sauce. However, few people may know its origin.
In 1959, Italian-American Italo Ghelfi, the managing partner of The Golden Gate Casino, which opened in 1906 in Las Vegas, began serving shrimp cocktails for 50 cents. In 1991, the Golden Gate Casino raised the price to 99 cents after selling more than 25 million servings.
Today, the Golden Gate Casino no longer serves shrimp cocktail but you can find Saginaw’s version in Circa Las Vegas for $12. Chile Caliente Restaurante & Bar sells one with avocado (medium for $16.63 or large for $20.70).
(Related: Best Nevada hotels for every type of traveler.)
Getting around Nevada
By plane: Delta, JetBlue, Frontier Airlines, United, American, and Alaska Airlines all service Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), the largest airport in Nevada.
By bus: This is the most convenient transportation across the state. The Regional Transportation Commission operates 39 routes with over 400 vehicles. It runs seven days a week from 5 am to midnight. Inform the bus driver of your destination before paying. Download the rideRTC app. Ring the buzzer when approaching your stop.
By car: Nevada has more than 5,400 miles of highway and 1,000 bridges. Interstates include 11, 15, 80, 215, 515, and 580. Highways include the historic 40, 91, and 466. You must be 21 to rent a car in Nevada. Some rental agencies do not rent to anyone under the age of 25.
By train: The Amtrak California Zephyr, with scenic views of the Rockies and Sierra Nevada Mountains, runs from Chicago to San Francisco and stops in Reno, Elko and Winnemucca.
Know before you go
Cultural History: The indigenous Numu (Northern Paiute), Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute), Newe (Western Shoshone), Pipa Aha Macav (Fort Mojave), and Waší∙šiw (Washoe) people lived in Nevada before the Spanish conquistadors arrived. These communities now represent 28 federally recognized tribes in Nevada.
Before planning your trip, research Indigenous-owned businesses you can support during your visit. Golf or dine at Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. Camp, boat, or fly fish at Pyramid Lake with Paiute fly fishing guides––Autumn Harry (Numu and Diné) and Marvin Racine (Numu)––who grew up on the reservation caring for the fish, land, and waters.
Autumn Harry, the first Paiute woman flyfishing guide, stands on the edge of Kooyooe Pa’a Panunadu also known as Pyramid Lake. Photograph by David and Michael Hanson
LGBTQ+: Nevada ranked number three in a Wall Street report that scored 50 states and scored high in Movement Advancement Project’s Mapping Equality Report. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Equality Federation Institute assessed how well states are protecting people who identify as LGBTQ+ from discrimination. Nevada was rated “Working Toward Innovative Equality.”
The state legalized same-sex marriage in 2014; protects the rights of incarcerated transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex persons; and ensures that insurance companies will not discriminate coverage to transgender and non-binary communities. Las Vegas is considered one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in Nevada.
How to visit Nevada sustainably
Nevada is committed to raising the percentage of renewable energy (biomass, geothermal energy, solar energy, water power, and wind) to 50 percent in 2030. The state is investing in increasing access to electric vehicle charging stations. Las Vegas is the second-ranked city after Honolulu in solar capacity per capita. According to MPH Online, Nevada is ranked 16th overall as one of the greenest states in the U.S. and 8th in green energy prevalence, and waste diversion and recycling.
Nevada is addressing climate change risks: drought, heat, and fire. 97 percent of water is now recycled in Las Vegas. The travel and hospitality industries are also taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint with more sustainable or green measures. MGM Resorts replaced grass with drought-resilient landscaping, installed water-efficient taps, and reused water in aquariums and the iconic Bellagio fountains. Bellagio’s furniture is made of renewable eucalyptus. By installing low-flow shower heads, ARIA Resort & Casino saved 50 million gallons of water every year––that’s equivalent to providing 45,000 people with clean water.
Before booking lodging, check to see if the property received any green certifications such as LEED. When you are staying in Nevada, reuse towels, turn off lights, and take shorter showers.
Get Outside Nevada or Three Square offers voluntourism opportunities to tourists and residents. Nevada Volunteers also provides a database of opportunities across the state.
