North Las Vegas

North Las Vegas in Nevada is a city in its own right within the Las Vegas metropolitan area. With a population in 2019 of 252,000, it's the fourth largest city in the state, and is primarily residential with some industry. It borders the Mojave Desert. Its main attractions are the speedway, and Nellis Air Force Base which sometimes puts on air shows.

Get in

By plane

Air travel to the city of North Las Vegas is handled by 1 McCarran International Airport (LAS ^IATA), which sits just south of the Las Vegas Strip, and about 15 miles south of North Las Vegas.

• 2 North Las Vegas Airport (VGT  ^IATA). A small airport that is used mainly for general aviation, private planes, and scenic tours.  

By car

Interstate 15 can be traveled northbound from the Los Angeles metro area, and southbound from Salt Lake City to the Las Vegas metro area.

By train

Although the Union Pacific Railroad (UPR) provides freight train service to the Las Vegas metropolitan area, that doesn't help those in need of passenger train service. Until 1997, Amtrak's Desert Wind train used to provide service into Las Vegas using UPR tracks. Amtrak trains will provide motorcoach bus service into Las Vegas; generally after a train ride getting you somewhat close, such as to Kingman, Arizona, or Bakersfield, California. From there, and as part of your Amtrak ticket, a motorcoach will then provide bus service into Las Vegas. For a rapidly growing metro area like Las Vegas, this isn't sustainable. There are studies and plans in the works to provide rail service once again on (UPR) tracks, and high-speed rail to Southern California.

Get around

By car

A car will provide the best option for getting around North Las Vegas, as well as the Las Vegas metro area itself. Cars also tend to be relatively inexpensive to rent in the metro area. Although you may hit the occasional traffic jam, freeways are usually not severely clogged. Because the region is laid out on a grid pattern, navigating is not too difficult in the area.

By bus

If you must get around by bus, it's not totally horrific in the Las Vegas area as it could be in many western U.S. cities. Bus service in North Las Vegas, as well as Las Vegas and Henderson, is provided by the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC). Fares are $2 per bus ride. However, it may be more useful to purchase a 24-hour pass for $5 when boarding the bus. If you plan to be in the area for a while, RTC also sells a 5-day pass for $20 at many supermarkets and check cashing institutions, but this pass is not available on the bus itself.

By taxi

Taxi service in North Las Vegas is handled by calling for a taxi and then waiting for it to come and pick you up. Do not expect to hail a cab off the street as though you were in New York City or Chicago. Taxis are only plentiful and easily accessible at McCarran Airport, hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, or Downtown Las Vegas where they are queued up waiting for passengers. Outside of these areas, expect to call a cab and generally wait 20-40 minutes for it to come to you.

See

• 1 West Wind Las Vegas 6 Drive-In, 4150 W Carey Ave, ☏ +1 702 646-3565. If time permits, and you don't mind watching a movie on your vacation, consider a visit to West Wind Drive-in; especially if visiting from out of the country where drive-ins are infrequent. And for an added bonus; it's normally a double-feature, so you get two movies for the price of one. (updated Mar 2017)
• 2 Nellis Air Force Base. Home base of the air demonstration squadron United States Air Force Thunderbirds among others, the base is open to the public during airshows. Other than that, you can see military aircraft taking off and landing from a distance. (updated Aug 2018)
• 3 Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (bus route 119 from the Strip, trailhead at end of N Durango Dr at W Moccasin Rd), ☏ +1 702 293-8853. Open during daylight hours. For the more serious fossil bed hunter (see Floyd Lamb below for more accessible viewings). (updated Apr 2020)
• 4 Floyd Lamb Park, 9200 Tule Springs Rd (just before Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument), ☏ +1 702-229-8100. Daily 8AM-5PM. A pleasant oasis with ponds and tules and also the Tules Spring Ranch with some roaming peacocks and Pleistocene fossil exhibits. $6.  
• 5 Desert National Wildlife Refuge, 16001 Corn Creek Rd, ☏ +1 702 879-6110. Though not regularly visited, this is actually the largest national wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states. Coincidentally, it overlies part of the Nevada Test Site, so you can't just wander too willy-nilly, although the latter is quite distant. But this refuge's visitor center and trails will introduce you to aspects of the Mojave Desert ecosystem that are framed by some rather tall desert peaks, with a chance to see bighorn sheep and other species and even a yucca forest if you hike far enough. (updated Oct 2021)

Do

View of Aliante Golf Club with the Las Vegas Range in the background

• 1 Community College of Southern Nevada's Planetarium and Observatory (CSN Planetarium), 3200 E Cheyenne Ave, ☏ +1 702-651-4138. F 6PM, 7PM and 8PM; Sa 3:30PM, 6PM, 7PM, 8PM. It's not on par with L.A.'s Griffith Observatory or Chicago's Adler Planetarium, but this planetarium and observatory can still help give an understanding to the skies and open space beyond. There's also an adjacent astronomy store that's open during the show times. Be aware, however, that chairs do not lean back, so there is a lot of looking up on your part. (updated Oct 2017)
• 2 Clark County Shooting Complex, 11357 North Decatur Blvd, ☏ +1 702 455-2000 ext 4, shootingcomplexinfo@clarkcountynv.gov. No public shooting M or Tu. (updated Sep 2020)

Golf

If golf is your thing, there is plenty of that to do in North Las Vegas.

• 3 Aliante Golf Club, 3100 Elkhorn Rd, ☏ +1 702-399-4888. 6:30AM-5PM. (updated Oct 2017)
• 4 City of North Las Vegas Municipal Par 3 and Disc Golf Club (North Las Vegas Golf Course), 324 E Brooks Ave, ☏ +1 702-633-1833. 6AM-10PM. Golf and disc golf. (updated Oct 2017)

Driving

Although they are not in North Las Vegas, these attractions are recommended to all automobile enthusiasts.

Thunderbirds perform a flyover for the NASCAR Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

• 5 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 7000 Las Vegas Boulevard North. A 1200-acre complex of multiple tracks for automobile racing. The speedway also consists of a fan zone called The Neon Garage which has live entertainment, areas for fans to watch their favorite driver's car get worked on, and is home to the Winner's Circle. (updated Oct 2017)
  • NASCAR, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, toll-free: +1-800-644-4444. Las Vegas hosts NASCAR for a weekend every year, usually in March. The race draws about 150,000 race fans to the city. Many cheer for Kurt and Kyle Busch, natives of Las Vegas. Aside from NASCAR, the speedway hosts many other racing events throughout the year. 
• 6 Exotics Racing School, 6925 Speedway Blvd, ☏ +1 702 802-5662. After a training session, get behind the wheel of a Ferrari F430 F1 or other race car and go up to 130 mph with an instructor in the passenger seat. From $249 depending on the car and number of laps. 
• 7 Sun Buggy Fun Rentals, 6825 Speedway Blvd Bldg B Ste 101 (I-15 N to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway; 3rd Right behind Shelby's corner cafe), ☏ +1 702 644-2855. 7AM-7PM daily. Dune buggy rentals and off-roading experiences at the Las Vegas dunes. 

Eat

North Las Vegas has numerous restaurants and fast food places to choose from. It does not have as many high-end establishments as Las Vegas does, but still has a large variety of options and many of them are open 24 hours a day.

• 1 MRKT Sea & Land, Aliante Hotel, 7300 Aliante Parkway, ☏ +1 702 692-7777. Opens 5PM daily. Fine dining that features premium beef and poultry selections as well as seafood such as king crab, lobster, and scallops. MRKT also has one of North Las Vegas' most extensive wine lists. 

Sleep

• 1 Aliante Casino + Hotel (formerly Aliante Station), 7300 Aliante Parkway, ☏ +1 702 692-7777. A casino-resort hotel and spa on the northern side of the Las Vegas valley along the northern beltway, about a 30-minute drive from the Strip and about 15 minutes from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  
• 2 Hitchin' Post RV Park and Motel, 3640 N Las Vegas Blvd, ☏ +1 702 644-1043, toll-free: +1-888-433-8402, fax: +1 702 644-8359. Sites are cramped but cheap. They take your name but don't take reservations if they are nearly full (beware!). 
• 3 Best Western Plus North Las Vegas Inn, 4540 Donovan Way, ☏ +1 702 649-3000. 
• 4 [Ojos Locos Sports Cantina y Casino Santa Fe Station], 4949 N. Rancho Dr, ☏ +1 702 658-4900.  
• 5 Cannery Hotel and Casino, 2121 E Craig Rd, ☏ +1 702 507-5700, toll-free: +1 866-999-4899. (updated Oct 2018)
• 6 Ojos Locos Sports Cantina y Casino (Lucky Club Casino and Hotel), 3227 Civic Center Dr, ☏ +1 702 399-3297.  

Connect

• 1 Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N Buffalo Dr, ☏ +1 702 507-6100. (updated Dec 2021)

Go next

Routes through North Las Vegas

St. George ← Mesquite ←	N  S	→ Las Vegas → Barstow
Ely ← Caliente ← Jct W ←	N  S	→ Las Vegas → Kingman