Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, Nevada

As part of my What Goes Around Spins Around Las Vegas Trip Report, I covered my trip to the fabulous Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

It's a wonderful getaway, and an easy drive from the Las Vegas strip - its just 15 miles west of town. Winning at the tables? Take a getaway and keep from giving it back. Losing at the tables? Take a break from losing!

I greatly enjoyed hiking on the trails around the Ranch, and learning about its history. Here's a pictorial view of my day.

Las Vegas Springs Preserve

The site of the very beginnings of modern Las Vegas can still be visited. Las Vegas Springs Preserve is a 180 acre refuge from modern big-city Las Vegas and harkens back to a time when freshwater springs bubbled up in the valley, fed from rainfall far off in the mountains which traveled through the porous rock, and created a green oasis in the desert basin.

This oasis gave the city its name, Las Vegas, meaning The Meadows in Spanish.