“Dry” tripping across Nevada – going beyond the traditional “Dry January”, alcohol-free getaways known as “dry tripping” is a leading travel trend in 2024. Nevada is the perfect destination to combine “dry tripping” and road tripping as the Road Trip Capital of the USA with 10 themed road trips across the state. Nevada may be renowned for its sagebrush saloons, the sober sojourns kick-off at Wynn Las Vegas which has developed a “Drink Well” menu featuring reishi mushrooms, lion’s mane, ashwagandha and maca. The Alchemical Cabinet in the Downtown Container Park is a mystical shop selling loose leaf herbal teas and sustainably sourced, wildcrafted sea moss gel. Then head to Reno’s Pignic Pub & Patio, where owner Trevor Leppek is crafting some of the most layered, zero-proof cocktails in the city.
How to hit the slopes in Nevada – despite its reputation for having a desert landscape, Nevada is actually the most mountainous state in the Lower 48 with more than 300 mountain ranges. Nevada means “snowcapped” in Spanish, after all. Visitors can ski just 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas at Lee Canyon, the only ski resort in southern Nevada. Lake Tahoe is famously split between Nevada and California boasting dozens of ski resorts, but it is Nevada’s Mt. Rose Ski Resort that provides the highest base. At the Ruby Mountains in northern Nevada visitors can find more than seven metres of some of the driest, fluffiest snow in the US. For winter warriors check out the Rubies Route road trip, with the oldest, family-owned heli-ski operator in the nation taking powder-hungry backcountry skiers up for fresh tracks.
Photographer: Sydney Martinez
Supernatural sightseeing with new Nevada passport – Travel Nevada has launched an all-new Paranormal Passport to encourage visitors to explore some of the more haunted sights in the state. From its over 600 ghost towns to its Extraterrestrial Highway, Nevada comes by its other-worldly experiences naturally (or supernaturally, as the case may be). The Paranormal Passport, created in conjunction with Bandwango, is free to download and allows travellers to digitally check in at nearly 50 locations to earn points toward exclusive swag and prizes. Some of the experiences ghost hunters can check out and check in, include: The Clown Motel, Alien Research Center and the Haunted Boulder City Ghost & UFO Tour.
Park-hopping across Nevada made easy – Nevada’s Great Basin Highway and Death Valley Rally were curated to lead road trippers to two national parks – the latter celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024 – but, Nevada’s first state park, Valley of Fire, opened on Easter Sunday in 1934 and was officially designated the next year. Nevada is home to 30 diverse state parks, including five within a 80km radius of each other. In fact, more than 80 percent of Nevada is unfenced and totally wild – the highest percentage of public land in the continental US for visitors to explore. To encourage responsible visitation, Nevada State Parks has launched Reserve Nevada, a new reservation system for booking campsites, cabins and group areas, as well as day-use entrance passes for select parks.
