Family Friendly Fun in Las Vegas

The Springs Preserve is a one stop shop for museums, hands-on kids activities, a children's playground, classes and programs, demonstrations and live exhibits.

Nature Exchange: Bring in your found artifacts and learn more about them.

Library: Non-circulating, Read more about nature and other topics relevant to the reserve.

When you get hungry, Wolfgang Puck has a restaurant right on the grounds. 

Watch Scientists and Historians in action. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, you will find Archeologists, Wildlife Biologists, Plant Ecologists and Hortoculturalists studying the surrounding area.  

Programs and classesare always running.

The Scouts have guided and self-guided tours and activitiesavailable for their program.

For Gardeners they not only have botanical and cactus gardens, but also herb and vegetable and fruit gardens. They can tell you exactly what will grow in the heat of the desert and how to do it.

The Nevada State Museum is not yet open, but will soon find a new home here.

The Origen Museum is open. It is named after Original Generations and is dedicated to preserving the history of the original generations that settled here. It is a modern space that also looks forward into what the future of Las Vegas may look like.

For More Info:
Tickets & Membership
Address & Directions
Printable Map of the Preserve
Hours: Open Daily From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Red Rock Canyon has some beautiful trails. I would recommend starting with Lost Creek Children's Discovery. It's .75 miles long, takes about an hour and is an easy to moderate trail.  It has petroglyphs and a hidden waterfall with lessons along the way.

List of Trails
Fees and Hours
Junior Ranger Program A PDF you can printout or pick up at the visitor center. Have your child complete 4 activites and turn it into the visitor center to receive a Junior Ranger badge and certificate.
Rock Climbing Information
Biking along the Scenic Route is allowed.

About 30 minutes from the Strip, tucked under the giant Red Rock Canyon Mountains is a small little replica of an 1880's mining town called Bonnie Springs Ranch. For $5-$7 per person, you can roam around a small old western town with working store fronts and rustic pieces placed throughout. It's small enough to wear the kids out, but not yourself. You might find peacocks and donkeys wandering about the area. There is a miniature train that runs on the weekends. The petting zoo is more than just a petting zoo; you can see wolves, llamas, deer, anteaters and a Canadian lynx. There is a melodrama show a couple of times a day. It's corny and they know it and wear it with pride. My 11 year old was cracking up at the jokes, perfect for that age. At noon there is a reenactment a bank robbery, shootout and hanging, we skipped that part since we had a 3 & 5 year old. The restaurant has some good food and there is a small duck pond outside to cool down. There are pony rides, perfect for the younger kids. My 5 year old loved it! They also have a buffalo and a longhorn bull stabled there to see. Bonnie Springs is a non-profit organization, so the costs are low, but tips are encouraged. I would bring lots of smaller bills next time. It's a nice shady place with lots of trees and a great place to take the whole family.

Location: 16395 Bonnie Springs Road
                 Blue Diamond, NV 89004

Have you or your kids always wanted to go for a ride on an old train? This fully operating museum offers a 40 minute, 7 mile round trip ride on a completely refurbished Pullman train. These trains date back to the early 1900's. There's no need to worry about weather, the cars are heated and air-conditioned and if the weather is really nice, there is an open-air car to feel the fresh air while you take in the view.  Train rides are offered only on the weekends, 4 times a day, reservations not required. For an additional fee, you can be the engineer for an hour.  For more information and a $1 off coupon go to: Nevada State Train Museum

Ticket Prices: (subject to change, so please check first)
 Adults (12 years and older)          $10
Children (4 through 11 years)       $5
Children under 4 years                   No charge
Group rate for 12 or more adults is $7 per adult

Located at:  600 Yucca Street
                     Boulder City, NV 89005
                     Phone: (702) 486-5006

Directions:
Take US-93 south toward Boulder City. After passing the traffic light at Veterans Memorial Drive, proceed 0.7 miles to Yucca Street (just past the Taco Bell). Turn left onto Yucca Street, and the train station for the Nevada Southern Railway is on your right.

How do you get your kids to have fun while you're shopping? Promise them a visit to the Children's Park at Town Square. At the south end of the Las Vegas Strip there is a shopping center with the most amazing Children's Park you have probably ever seen. Don't believe me? This park features:

- Tree House within a huge Live Oak Tree with a rock wall
- For the Boys, a fort that connects to the tree house by bridge
- For the Girls, a Princess Tower Playhouse with walkways and slides
- Bakery Café Playhouse where your future chefs can indulge in creating some fantastic faux food.
- Hedge Maze Labyrinth with animal topiaries
- A running Merry-Go-Round
- Children's Theater for the drama princes and princesses
- Play water fountain to get wet in on those hot summer days
- All Shaded and with specially designed restrooms that are just the right size for boys and girls.

Ok, so it's not educational like Hoover Dam or the Springs Preserve, but it's a great place to go right off the strip to just let them relax and have fun. And when they are all done playing, there are movie theaters at Town Square for the whole family to rest and relax in the cool air-conditioning.

Important Links:
Location
Mall Map
Website