When I frequently visited friends in Las Vegas, I often found myself heading to “Red Rocks,” or as it’s officially called – Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It’s only about 30 minutes from the heart of Vegas and quite beautiful.
Viva Las Vegas! This place ain’t your granddaddy’s Las Vegas – let me tell you. While smoke-filled casinos are still the bread and butter of Sin City, Las Vegas has continued to grow and develop into so much more.
Along the Lincoln Highway, or more specifically the portion of Highway 50 known as the Loneliest Road in America, lies Austin, Nevada.
The mountain town offers sweeping, stunning views of the high desert, including at the site of one of its most prominent landmarks, Stokes Castle. The three-story tower was completed in June 1897 by mine developer Anson Phelps Stokes as a summer home for his sons. The native granite structure was only briefly used and hasn’t been occupied since shortly after it was built.
Today, it stands to memorialize the locals who built it and has come to symbolize those who helped develop the mines of Austin.
The mining industry grew the city to some 10,000 people back in the 1870s and 1880s (with a year-round population of roughly 1,500). Today, the population is just over 100 people.
The area is also home to a lot of ghost towns, including Jacobsville, which became a Pony Express stop in 1860. At the time, it had a population of about 400 people.
A trip to this part of the West should also include a pitstop at Spencer Hot Springs, for a soak and maybe a night of camping. Wild burros frequent this area, where it’s eerily quiet (as long as you’re far enough away from RVers running their generators).
If you head south from there, be sure to at the very least pull over on Highway 376 to enjoy views of the Toiyabe Dome.
During Christmas weekend, winter storms across the West brought a lot of snow and record low temperatures in some areas – and the precipitation is not done yet.
From cities and towns to national parks and lesser-known landscapes, this inaugural special section has your 2022 travel through the West covered! We’ve curated a list of 52 places to visit this year – four in each of the 13 states we cover. If you travel at a breakneck pace, that’s one a week. Let this guide serve as inspiration and enjoy the West!
Lake Mead, the reservoir that serves 20 million people in Arizona, California and Nevada (and Mexico), is at record lows once again.
