3 Best Day Trips from Las Vegas | Condé Nast Traveler

"For those who just want a bit of history on their hike (and want it to be more like a walk on a paved road than an actual hike), the Desert Valley Overlook is the perfect place to take in views of the Mojave Desert with very little effort. The path is only a quarter-mile, paved walkway close to the Deer Creek Highway of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (aka Mount Charleston). Park in the little parking lot and you'll walk up a gentle slope to viewing platforms with panels telling you the history of this place—a popular vantage point for watching atomic bomb testing in the 1950s. T" - Andrea Bennett