DK Travel : Las Vegas

The Entertainment Capital of the World offers just about everything: the world’s largest hotels; the brightest stars in show business; shops and restaurants that rival any on earth. It’s true, too, that the lights are brighter in Las Vegas. Yet you don’t have to go far from the glamour and glitter to find the natural beauty of lakes and the desert as well.

NHRA Summit Nationals

Dragsters battle for supremacy.
Noontime Concerts, Clark County Amphitheater

Many programs of marching bands, bluegrass and zydeco groups, country and western singers, and jazz quartets are free.
Nugget Restaurant, Searchlight

Dominated by a mural of the Searchlight , an 1880s riverboat. The signature dish is a jumbo corn muffin with sausage, scrambled eggs, and gravy.
Oatman, Arizona

A century ago, Oatman was a thriving gold mining center; today, visitors are taken back to the old days of the Wild West, with burros roaming the streets and staged gunfights in the middle of town. The Oatman Hotel was where honeymooners Clark Gable and Carole Lombard stayed in 1939. The town has been used as the location for a number of movies, including How the West Was Won .
Observation Point – Hidden Canyon Trail, Zion

The 7.5-mile (12-km) round-trip hike is moderately difficult to Hidden Canyon, then strenuous to Observation Point, but the view from the point is the park’s finest.
Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort Historic Park

Mormons built the fort, along with a trading post in 1855, as a defense against the Native Americans (who turned out to be peaceful). It is the oldest building of its type in Nevada, but of the original structures only a small adobe building that was part of the stockade remains.

Mormon Fort
Original Pancake House

The portions are huge; the pancakes, divine. And so many varieties – blueberry, apple, plate-size German pancakes, or buttermilk hotcakes as small as silver dollars.
Orleans

There’s a feeling of Mardi Gras in the casino, which is patterned after New Orleans’ Vieux Carré.
Orleans Bowling Alley

Las Vegas has a lot of bowling alleys, but the Orleans, which has no fewer than 70 lanes, is consistently voted the favorite in the annual newspaper poll. Reasons for its success include the spacious surroundings, numerous tables and chairs, a state-of-the-art computerized scoring system, and a snack bar with a big choice of items.
Orleans Showroom

The 800-seat theater presents several headliners each month. The list of past performers is a veritable “who’s who” of the entertainment world: Jerry Lewis; Willie Nelson; Peter, Paul, and Mary; Roy Clark; the Righteous Brothers; and Crystal Gayle, to name but a few.

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Restaurant price categories

For a three course meal for one with a half bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and extra charges.
- under $20
- $20–$30
- $30–$45
- $45–$60
- over $60