-Road Biking in the Las Vegas Area-

So Mike and Nancy ventured to Las Vegas for one week. Yes, one full week. The questions are always the same, "What do you do in Las Vegas for a week?" Well besides the obvious things, we biked. Yes, biked in Las Vegas. Not Las Vegas proper, but outside the city limits. They were lucky to find two fantastic areas for road bikers. The first is more familiar, that being the "Red Rock Canyon" area. Heading out from the northwestern end of Las Vegas is the beautiful and modern town of Summerlin. Here are numerous roads marked with bike lanes, bike only trails and backcountry roads into the BLM Land of majestic Red Rock Canyon. Routes in this area can be moderate to very difficult. Altitude is deceaving because of the desert surroundings. But, our upper most climb reached 4500 feet in the Red Rock area. The second region they discovered was the "River Mountain Trail System" from Boulder City and heading to Lake Mead. This was a surprise in that the old railroad system to help make the Hoover Dam was replaced with a paved bike trail for over 25 miles one way. No stop lights, no stop signs AND no Starbucks. Can you believe they actually did a ride with no Starbucks in sight? Well, the route was basically moderate do to the rolling nature of the trails. Try either of these two road biking areas for a wonderful biking experience. It is recommended you choose November thru early April to avoid the hot desert months. So next time bring your bike along with your gambling money when visiting Las Vegas. Click on "Las Vegas Biking Photos" to view some fun pics.