So, You are planning a trip to Las Vegas and you are going to take the kids? Twenty years ago, this would have been a crazy idea, but now Las Vegas is a much more kid-friendly place to visit. There are lots of things to do and the kids will probably get very tired from all these places to visit! I lived in Las Vegas for 6 years and I still go visit frequently because my family lives there. I was recently there for a medical conference and I realized that it was time to update my review on Las Vegas.

First of all, most of the casinos now have areas where you CAN take kids, however, the gaming areas are off limits. The security is usually pretty tight and they will approach any kids or teenagers left alone in the gaming area. Most casinos have an arcade or “carnival” game area, but parents can go through a lot of money in a hurry in these areas.

In the Casinos, there a lot of fun things (some even educational) families can do (many are free):

1. White tiger exhibit at the Mirage. See the white tigers as they lounge around.
2. Dolphin habitat at the Mirage. (There’s a small fee for this, but it is well worth it) See the dolphins swim around and play.
3. Lion exhibit at the MGM. This is fairly new, but they have lions behind plexiglass in a fairly large exhibit. You can watch them play around (or sleep). There’s also an area where you can have your picture taken with lion cubs (of course not free!)
4. Volcano in front of the Mirage. This is incredible at night as the fires burst out of the waterfall. Kids will love this. You can actually feel the heat as you are standing in front of it.
5. Sinking ship in front of the Treasure Island. Next door to the volcano, they sink a ship and pirates jump off as it sinks!
6. Dancing fountains in front of the Bellagio. These are set to music and are really fun to watch. (It may be a good time to discuss water conservation with the kids, because this is a great example of how NOT to conserve water!)
7. Fremont Street Experience (downtown Las Vegas): The ceiling of the “experience” comes alive with a music and lights show.

There’s also “Grand Slam Canyon” which is an amusement park at the Circus Circus, a NASCAR driving simulator at the Sahara, a roller coaster at New York, New York, and a roller coaster on top of the Stratosphere. I’ve not been to most of these.

To get away from the casinos and try more educational things...

1. Lied Children’s Discovery Museum: (833 Las Vegas Blvd. North) has incredible displays and interactive exhibits for kids to try. Check it out at www.lcdm.org

2. Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) in Boulder City, NV on the Colorado River: This is about a 45-60 minute drive from the Strip, but it is well worth it. It was built in the 1930s and is truly an engineering wonder. This dam formed Lake Mead and the dam still creates hydroelectric power. There are tours to go inside the dam which are not very expensive, but even just seeing the outside of the dam is impressive. The paid tours are great and the inside of the dam is a great place to cool off!

3. Red Rock: Located west of town this is a park/recreation area where you can hike and see much in the way of native desert plants and landscape. There is a Visitor’s Center and a 13 mile scenic drive.

4. Valley of Fire State Park: Located about 1 hour from LV this is a really incredible place to see great rock formations and do a little hiking. This is a beautiful example of Nevada’s desert landscape!

5. Mt. Charleston: Snow in the winter, green in the summer. Beautiful place to hike, and there is snow skiing in the winter.

6. Lake Mead: Swim, water ski, etc. on one of the world's biggest man-made lakes.

7. Ethel M Chocolate Factory: this is a really neat free tour to watch chocolates being made. It's located at the edge of Henderson/Las Vegas city lines. Check out www.ethelm.com

8. Coca-Cola gift shop (on the strip): This used to be a really neat Coca-Cola museum, but I was sad to find out that they closed down. Of course, the gift shop is still there and has 2 stories of Coke merchandise.

9. M&M world (on the strip next to the Coke gift shop): If you take the kids here, plan to spend some money, but it's cool to see all different colors of M&Ms. They also have really neat souvenirs.

One final note, if you are on the Strip with the kids, I recommend you don’t let them reach out for the fliers being handed out. These are usually full of pictures of naked women (advertisements for strip joints).

I’m sure there are other great places for kids, but I think this is a good overview. If people have questions, please leave a comment and I will try to answer.

Enjoy the trip!


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Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime