It’s already time for a new state in our ‘What to do when in …’ series. Today Nevada takes center stage! In this series we show you the best sights and activities of one of the 50 states. As a student-athlete, you naturally spend a lot of time on sports and studying. Fortunately, there is also plenty of time to explore the country.
Let’s start with the location of the state of Nevada, Check it out on the Slamstox map below.
Nevada is of course known for Las Vegas, but this state has much more to offer. You can read all about it in this article.
Las Vegas
In Las Vegas you can find about 195,000 slot machines, so it’s no surprise that this city is considered as the gambling capital of the world. Vegas attracts more than 43 million visitors annually, who collectively spend more than $16 billion in the various casinos in the city. Besides all the casinos, the city is also known for its entertainment sector, many great artists can be found in the city every year. For sure, in this city you have enough to do and see to enjoy yourself for days. A real must visit during your visit to Nevada.
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is located on the border between the states California and Nevada and is the largest mountain lake in America, located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The area is an important tourist attraction for water sports as well as winter sports. So you can easily enjoy yourself here all year round. Rent a boat in the spring or summer and have fun on the water. In the winter months you have perfect views of Lake Tahoe from the various slopes over here. So, plenty to do in this area for everyone.
Valley of Fire State Park
The Valley of Fire is Nevada’s oldest and largest state park in the States. The park gets its name from the fact that on a sunny day it looks like the rocks in this park are on fire. You don’t have to be a hiker to explore the nature and the view here, the beautiful rocks are also clearly visible from the car. If you still want to take a walk, the Elephant Rock is highly recommended. From the parking space in the east of the park it is only a short walk to this special rock, which in our opinion is definitely worth to take a look.
Red Rock Canyon National Conversation Area
Located just outside Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon is the perfect place to get away from the rush of this city. In fact, the park is so close to the city that you can see the mountain peaks from the Las Vegas strip. Red Rock Canyon is a protected nature reserve in America. It is characterized by the large red rock formations, created by sandstones that were pushed up by thrust. The park is easy to explore by car, on foot and even by bicycle. Highly recommended for a relaxing break.
Reno
Reno is located in northwestern Nevada and is also known as ”The Biggest Little City in the World”. The city has about 220,000 inhabitants and is therefore approximately equal to Eindhoven in terms of population, so it is indeed relatively small for an American city. The city is full of all kinds of casinos, theaters and houses the Nevada Museum of Modern Art, partly because of these activities the city attracts millions of tourists every year.
Black Rock Desert
Unlike many other deserts, the Black Rock Desert does not only consist of large surfaces full of sand. This area consists lava beds, narrow canyons, desert playa and all kinds of mountainous areas. In addition, volcanic activity regularly takes place in this are, resulting in a special landscape full of lava beds. But the landscape is not the only thing that makes this area special; record attempts have been made here several times since the end of the last century, including rockets tests. And if you want to see more of this desert, you can also visit Burning Man.
Burning Man
Burning Man is a festival in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada. The festival gets its name from the symbolic burning of a large wooden statue, the man, which always takes place on the penultimate night of Burning Man, the Saturday before Labor Day. The event is mainly focused on art, self-expression and self-reliance. The festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world every year. In addition, all kinds of music performances are organized during the festival and all kinds of other gatherings between visitors.
Virginia City
Virginia City is located in the Reno metropolitan area and is a census-designated city. The city had its most prosperity in the second half of the nineteenth century, with the opening of numerous mines and the discovery of the first large silver deposits. Today, the city has greatly diminished in size, remaining less than a thousand inhabitants in the city. Because the city was already declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961, the city can still be visited in a old town atmosphere nowadays. With a trip to Virginia City it really feels like you are going back in time.
Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam is an immense concrete dam built on the border between the states of Arizona and Nevada. At a height of 221.4 meters, it is the second highest dam in the United States. As far as we are concerned, this dam should certainly not be missed during your trip through Nevada and we are the only one in this; the dam attracts some 8 to 10 million people every year (apart from normal traffic). So this must be a special place.
High roller
At 167.6 meters, the High Roller on the Strip in Las Vegas is the tallest Ferris wheel in America and the second highest Ferris wheel in the world. The High Roller opened in 2014 and has a capacity to take 1120 visitors at a time. A ride takes half an hour and gives you a great view of the entire city. If you want to see a lot of the city in a short time or just have a beautiful view, this is a real must visit. We would definitely go, do you dare?
So plenty of fun things to see and do in Nevada. We understand if student-athletes want to go to Nevada. Do you want to become a student-athlete or would you like more information about sports and studying in America? Then contact with us!
