Nevada Might Just Be the Most Underrated Winter Destination in America. Here’s Why.
1. We’ve got slopes with the sweetest views.
There are plenty of places in
2. Our backcountry is badass (and virtually untouched)…
Photo: David Bunker/
If your idea of a good time involves virgin powder, pristine bowls, and killer chutes, grab your GoPro ’cause
3. …but we also do date night right.
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S’mores. Fire pits. Movies on the big screen. During the holiday season, the
4. Death Valley is at its best.
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With summer temps topping 120° Fahrenheit, this national park is far more welcoming in winter when you can explore its alien landscapes without melting from the heat. Snow-capped peaks make for stunning scenery, and cool days allow for better hiking. Hang out on the rolling sand dunes or take a stroll along the Badwater Basin salt flats, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. The park’s eastern entrance is a short drive from
5. You can try your hand at kite skiing…
It’s like kiteboarding — on the snow. This athletic hybrid combines cross-country skiing and kiteboarding into a wintry adventure sport that’ll give you a rush even on flat ground.
6. …or ski an hour from the Las Vegas Strip.
There’s an après-ski pint at the lodge and then there’s soothing sore legs with a trip to a lavish casino spa. One hour from the Strip,
7. We build way more than snowmen…
Anyone can put together a snowman in the front yard, but competitors at the annual Fire and Ice Show at
8. …and our cowboys recite poetry.
Photo: Sydney Martinez/
Winter in
9. We do New Year’s Eve like no one else.
Las Vegas gets down every December 31, turning the Strip into a massive, pedestrian-only block party where everyone’s invited. Find someone to kiss when the clock strikes midnight, then direct your eyes upward as the casinos let loose a rooftop fireworks display that turns the desert sky into a technicolor spectacle.
10. You really can dash through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh.
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Nobody wants a partridge in a pear tree, but your Christmas-carol fantasies can come to glorious life with a picturesque sleigh ride along Lake Tahoe or down the historic Pony Express Trail.
11. You can even carve across state lines.
Heavenly Mountain Resort, Photographer: Aurora
And being in
