What are the best roads to clinch/travel on in Nevada?

[Lytton]

I'm curious to see which roads should be clinched/traveled on and roads that should not be clinched/traveled on in Nevada. My preference is any road that's scenic or interesting.

[oscar]

Having no idea what your preferences are, we can't be of much help. 

I've been on many highways in Nevada (use the "Display Map" drop-down menu), so obviously I like the state and its roads, at least outside metro areas such as Lost Wages.  US 6 and US 50 are among my favorites.  I can't think off-hand of a particularly awful road I wish I hadn't traveled, though most of US 95 comes close. 

[kkt]

I haven't been there myself, but I keep meaning to drive the Extraterrestrial Highway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_State_Route_375


Have fun and bring water!

[MaxConcrete]

I'm curious to see which roads should be clinched/traveled on and roads that should not be clinched/traveled on in Nevada. My preference is any road that's scenic or interesting.

I recently drove from Las Vegas to Great Basin National Park via US 93, around 300 miles. I classify it as moderately interesting - not really recommended but also not a route to avoid. The terrain transitions through several zones which makes it interesting.

Leaving the Vegas area it is typical desert terrain. Then there is a very long lake along the highway, which was a huge surprise to me. At the junction with NV 375 the highway goes east. There is an area with Joshua trees in this section, and around Caliente the road passes through rock formation areas.

North of Caliente you more mostly in a wide valley with mountains in the distance on either side. The further north you go, the larger the mountains become. The terrain is less desert-like and more like western range that you find in much of the west.

Great Basin National park is nice. The hike to the main canyon passes near the bristlecone pines and is very nice. The cave was nothing special in my opinion.

[agentsteel53]

anything longer than about 30 miles.  don't bother with the random streets in downtown Las Vegas or wherever that just happen to be a (possibly decommissioned) state highway.

[gonealookin]

A local loop, for scenic and historical interest, starting at Stateline and going clockwise:

US 50 north along Lake Tahoe to near Spooner Summit;
NV 28 continuing north along the lake to Incline Village;
NV 431 over the Mt. Rose summit to the southern end of Washoe Meadows;
NV 341 up to Virginia City (heart of the silver mining area) and then continuing down to US 50 at Mound House;
(Mound House is the home of a few brothels, including the Bunny Ranch, if that's your cup of tea)
US 50 into Carson City, with an interesting historical area around the state capitol;
US 395 south to NV 206;
NV 206 west to Genoa (first non-native settlement) and then south to the bottom of Kingsbury Grade;
NV 207, more or less following the Pony Express route, over the Carson Range and back down to Stateline.

Otherwise, when I get on an airplane in Reno and look out the window, I'm glad I'm flying rather than driving.  There are some neat little scenic drives, such as into the Ruby Mountains outside of Elko, but boy you have to drive for hours to get to them.

[roadfro]

^  +1 to gonealookin's suggested loop. That hits two scenic highways and a good chunk of interesting state history.


Suggestion for down south would be SR 156/157/158 around the Mount Charleston area as well as the west end of SR 159 through Red Rock Canyon.

Even though it is no longer state highway, a drive down the Las Vegas Strip (especially at night) can be rather interesting if you've never done it. It is the only nighttime scenic byway/All-American Road (don't remember which) in the U.S.

SR 231 (Angel Lake Road) is supposed to be really pretty–that's another state scenic route, but it is closed in winter.

The Extraterrestrial Highway/SR 375 is nothing special from a road & scenic perspective...about the only scenery you'll see is open range cattle. But if you're into the Area 51 business then that's good–I hear SR 375 is/was also a pretty good place for geocaching.

[andy3175]

^  +1 to gonealookin's suggested loop. That hits two scenic highways and a good chunk of interesting state history.


Suggestion for down south would be SR 156/157/158 around the Mount Charleston area as well as the west end of SR 159 through Red Rock Canyon.

Even though it is no longer state highway, a drive down the Las Vegas Strip (especially at night) can be rather interesting if you've never done it. It is the only nighttime scenic byway/All-American Road (don't remember which) in the U.S.

SR 231 (Angel Lake Road) is supposed to be really pretty–that's another state scenic route, but it is closed in winter.

The Extraterrestrial Highway/SR 375 is nothing special from a road & scenic perspective...about the only scenery you'll see is open range cattle. But if you're into the Area 51 business then that's good–I hear SR 375 is/was also a pretty good place for geocaching.

Agree with both gonealookin and roadfro. Only one I'd add is Valley of Fire Highway (former NV  169), Northshore Drive (former NV 167), and Lakeshore Drive (former NV 166) for a full day loop's drive from Las Vegas (with connections via I-15 at the north end and US 93 at the south end, with easy access to the Hoover Dam area).

[SimMoonXP]

Andy,

It is also nearby Lake Mead National Recreational Area in just west of Lake Mead! I heard Lake Mead water level going down lately due can see the "ghost" town which was covered up the lake water for while since 1960s.

[roadfro]

^ The route Andy mentions (Northshore Drive and Lakeshore Drive) does take you into Lake Mead NRA. The former town that had been submerged by the lake water is St. Thomas (near the northernmost tip of the lake), which is accessible via a turnoff from Northshore Drive near the junction of Valley of Fire Road.

[Henry]

If I could do only one route across NV that is not an Interstate, I'd choose the Loneliest Road, aka US 50. Almost no traffic in that corridor, so go as fast as you want to on the straightaway stretches.

[gonealookin]

If one is making long drives across the state, the NDOT Traffic Count Report may be of interest.  There are a lot of highways lonelier than the "Loneliest Road", including much of US 6.  You can drive for quite a while on some of these roads without encountering any opposing traffic.

I'm reminded of a drive on NV 266 in Esmeralda County a while back, encountering a couple who had run out of gas.  There wasn't a gas station for at least 30 miles in any direction.  I told them I'd call NHP when I got within range of a cell phone signal, but even that was quite a while.  I doubt anybody who reads this site would let that happen, but it's a reminder that you can be very much alone out there.

[ZLoth]

I drove I-80 from Reno to Winnemucca to Reno yesterday. My notes:
* Gas is about a dime cheaper east of Reno.
* There are no services between Fernley and Lovelock. (57 miles)
* I missed some great photo opportunities.

Also, as it bears warning.... there is NO GAS/SERVICES on US 6 between Tonopah, NV and Ely, NV (167 miles), nor between Wells, NV and Ely, NV (139 miles). This is a good opportunity to invest in a small ice chest for drinks and water. Oh, and double-down on making sure your car is in good working order.

[agentsteel53]

the Las Vegas strip is best walked.  drive it between maybe 3 and 5 am to avoid huge crowds of people.

[english si]

the Las Vegas strip is best walked.

As someone who walks short distances (<3 miles) as often as possible, I'm going to say "not quite".

Even in January, when the heat wasn't hard to bear (unlike my trip during August), I felt that making use of the shuttle trams (eg Excalibur-Mandalay Bay, Monte Carlo-Bellagio) was worth it. As is, if doing the whole Strip in one go, taking the bus (not the expensive monorail) from one end to the other at some point during your tour, halving the amount of walking (just keep using the overbridges to visit both sides).

Walking all day is tiring and making some use of the transit that exists (especially the free transit) is sensible.

But yeah, never drive on the Strip unless it's the dead of night (and even then, Vegas is a 24h city)

[jeffandnicole]

the Las Vegas strip is best walked.

As someone who walks short distances (<3 miles) as often as possible, I'm going to say "not quite".

Even in January, when the heat wasn't hard to bear (unlike my trip during August), I felt that making use of the shuttle trams (eg Excalibur-Mandalay Bay, Monte Carlo-Bellagio) was worth it. As is, if doing the whole Strip in one go, taking the bus (not the expensive monorail) from one end to the other at some point during your tour, halving the amount of walking (just keep using the overbridges to visit both sides).

Walking all day is tiring and making some use of the transit that exists (especially the free transit) is sensible.

But yeah, never drive on the Strip unless it's the dead of night (and even then, Vegas is a 24h city)

I wouldn't go that far.  The Vegas strip is crowded, but not undriveable.

The biggest hangups are generally construction related.  If the sidewalk is unavailable, the contractor must use the right lane of traffic for a sidewalk.   

If you want to drive Las Vegas Blvd simply to drive it, do it during the day.  Mon-Thu are best in the morning and early afternoon.  If you want to drive it at night to see the lights and the people, it'll be a slower ride, but it won't take you hours.  It'll be like any other congested city area - lots of traffic, but otherwise not horribly bad.  Try to stay in the left or center lane.

Vegas has done a good job with forcing casinos to build overhead walkways when they built/expanded their casinos over the years.  There's certainly some crosswalks that slow traffic down (along with the occasion drunk that decides to cross mid-block only to encounter a fence), and due to heavy pedestrian traffic crossing on the green, it can be tough for traffic to turn right.

If you want to stay and enjoy Vegas, then by all means park the car and walk the Strip. I've been about once a year for 7 years now.  I've been there in January, July, and the months inbetween.  Personally, I enjoy the summertime the most.  Yes, it's hot.  But walking down the strip with a drink in hand makes it much more bearable!

I've fairly active on a forum regarding Vegas, and it's interesting to see people's tolerances regarding Vegas.  The entire Strip is definitely walkable...as long as you're comfortable walking.  Some people walk several miles a day with ease.  Some people will drive their car down the driveway to get mail from the mailbox.   So it really varies based on the person asking the question - what I may consider doable would be unthinkable to them.

Of course, there's also the whole sight perception issue in Vegas as well...The casinos are specifically designed to look as if they're close by, when in reality you're a mile or more away. 

[agentsteel53]

good point on the use of the trams.  take advantage of them.

I'd say if you want to make a trip to Vegas, make a trip to Vegas, and enjoy it for that.  go into some of the casinos.  lose a little money.  get a little tipsy.  see a show.  get eaten by a tiger.  that's the point of the place.

from a roadgeek perspective, the only real attraction is the old 91-466 button copy sign (look on the back!) somewhere near the Sahara or Stratosphere.  I forget exactly where; but I just narrowed it down to about a half-mile segment - the front side says "Downtown" with an arrow; the back side has 91 and 466 shields and arrows scraped off. 



but really, all the road work and what have you in Vegas is far more exciting if you're casino and/or architecture geeking.  the strip in and of itself is just another 8-lane arterial with lots of traffic lights.

[english si]

The entire Strip is definitely walkable...as long as you're comfortable walking.

The distance isn't so much the problem for me, it's the overly-slow speed and the length of time it takes. My first trip (in August) was unbearably hot - there was a wind coming off the desert and even at (nay, especially at) night it was horrible. Despite a lot of cold drinks (even I forwent my usual no ice policy, especially enforced in America where a soda with ice means a slushy), we were right to split our walking the strip over two days - it gave us a chance to look around properly (though as my brother and I were both under 21, there were some areas where we didn't go), look at an exhibition, ride one of the rides. IIRC we took the bus down to Mandalay Bay (from Circus Circus, where we were staying), and walked up that west side of the strip. About two thirds of the way up, we just walked back to Circus Circus - having arrived at Mandalay Bay around 10.30, it was about 5 when we got back to Circus Circus and we were hungry so went and showered and changed and had a break and went and had some dinner at about half 7. The next day we did 11-3 walking the strip doing the bits we missed and then did the Circus Circus theme park.

The second time, starting at the Luxor, and with less time there, we did the whole strip in a day - we didn't need to see as much, it was a nice cool between-Christmas-and-New-Years (and not as crowded because of that) time, we knew our way around better. OK, we didn't stop and look round exhibitions, etc. Didn't need to stop and buy drinks (and getting lots of alcohol would have been unfair on my 18-year-old brother who could drink at home, but not in Vegas), queues were less, and so it only took about 9 (after a large buffet breakfast - I was still going to sleep around 9.30 and waking up at around 5.30 despite being a night owl thanks to jet lag) to about half 4 to do. We got the bus back from the Stratosphere, though that, again, was more a time thing (needed to get back as the whole reason for being in Vegas was Grandparents going to see a show that evening and they needed to get dressed up and make their dinner reservations at seven back up the north end of the strip) than an energy thing.

Plus, even - if like me - you adore walking and people look at you as if mad for walking a mile or two on non-wet/cold days or if it is night*, there's no point in not using the trams (unless you've just missed it and aren't going far) - it's part of the Vegas way, after all.

*and will happily do hikes and such.

[Henry]

I drove I-80 from Reno to Winnemucca to Reno yesterday. My notes:
* Gas is about a dime cheaper east of Reno.
* There are no services between Fernley and Lovelock. (57 miles)
* I missed some great photo opportunities.

Also, as it bears warning.... there is NO GAS/SERVICES on US 6 between Tonopah, NV and Ely, NV (167 miles), nor between Wells, NV and Ely, NV (139 miles). This is a good opportunity to invest in a small ice chest for drinks and water. Oh, and double-down on making sure your car is in good working order.

Yes, I'd hate to get stuck out there.

[roadfro]

One point about some of the free trams between casinos on the strip is that they are often towards the back of the properties, so using a tram to travel a length of the Strip is somewhat negated by walking through the two casinos to get to the tram station. There's also less to see architecturally from most of the tram lines, so it's lower visual interest to the tourist. (These are actually some of the reasons why the Las Vegas Monorail doesn't do so well.)

FYI: The Strip is about 4 miles in length from the Welcome to Las Vegas sign on the south end to the Stratosphere on the north end.

from a roadgeek perspective, the only real attraction is the old 91-466 button copy sign (look on the back!) somewhere near the Sahara or Stratosphere.  I forget exactly where; but I just narrowed it down to about a half-mile segment - the front side says "Downtown" with an arrow; the back side has 91 and 466 shields and arrows scraped off. 

Still there, at least according to this Street View image from July 2013, about 1/4-mile south of Sahara Ave (and the former Sahara/future SLS casino) in the median across from the Hilton Grand Vacation Suites.

[Tarkus]

If you really want to see a bit of a forgotten corner of the state, NV-140 (which turns into OR-140 at the Oregon border) is a rather interesting drive, which was *almost* a US Highway (part of the so-called "Winnemucca to the Sea" route).  For the record, I've only done the Denio-to-Oregon section, so I don't know how the eastern half toward US-95 is.  But it's a rather windy and lonely road with some spectacular elevation changes, and some nice palisades.  If you go from Denio into Oregon, shortly after crossing the border, you'll encounter Dougherty Rim, which is startling when you get there (especially as ODOT is terrible and didn't put guardrails along there--compare to NDOT's treatment of their section of the highway).