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This page last updated on 05/20/2019
This page last updated on 05/20/2019
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| (Fig. 01) Click to Enlarge |
There are numerous daytrips within the urban and suburban areas of the Las Vegas Valley (Fig. 01). These public parks and wildlife areas, all within relatively short distances of the Strip, can provide locals and visitors alike with many enjoyable hours of hiking, birding and photography. Though each of the locations below offer their own unique experience, they all have one thing in common, they offer an opportunity to experience various forms of wildlife in a relatively natural environment. Clicking the titles of each of the site descriptions below will take you to pages with pictures and full descriptions for each location.
 Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo. This outdoor, man-made 15 acre habitat is home to more than 300 birds. In addition to Chilean flamingos, you'll find swans, ducks, koi, and turtles living on islands and streams surrounded by sparkling waterfalls and lush foliage. It is so natural that it feels more like a refuge than an exhibit. Birding-Photography |
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 Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs. This is a 2.040 acre park centered around Tule Springs, a series of four small ponds that form an oasis of grass and trees. When walking its various trails, you will come upon a variety of ducks and waterfowl. It is especially noted for its peafowl. Dozens of peacocks freely roam the property. Hiking-Birding-Photography |
 Pittman Wash - Henderson Nevada. The Pitman Wash Trail follows what is usually a dry wash through residential neighborhoods in Henderson and represents urban hiking at its best. The wash corridor itself is a natural bird sanctuary offering views of mountains, sand, desert scrub, plants and trees, and a wide variety of wildlife including coyotes, foxes, rabbits and ground squirrels, and small lizards. Hiking-Birding-Photography  |
Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. Located within the water treatment facility, it sits on 140 acres. There are miles of trails surrounding it nine shrub-lined ponds. Home to thousands of migratory waterfowl as well as numerous resident desert birds, the birding here keeps getting better and better. Hiking-Birding-Photography
Duck Creek Trail. The Duck Creek trail system is located at the southern end of the Clark County Wetlands Park. The trail is broken into 2 short, connected loops - Quail Run & Coyote - which when combined make it into a 2 mile walk. Its four wetland ponds attract ducks, shorebirds, and other wetland species. Hiking-Birding-Photography
 Upper Las Vegas Wash: The city of Las Vegas sprawls across a wide bowl that is ringed with mountains on all sides. Often called, the Las Vegas Valley, it is drained by the Las Vegas Wash which eventually runs into Lake Mead. North of the city, Upper Las Vegas Wash is a series of aprons — bajadas — that fringe the rugged ranges of the Sheep Mountain Range. Though this part of the wash is normally dry, except during the monsoon season, it has been accumulating sediment for many centuries, leaving a sedimentary record of conditions and ecosystems covering millions of years. This deep drainage, cut by thousands of years of run off and flooding, contains significant paleontological, botanical, and cultural resources such as extinct mammoth and ground sloth fossils. Hiking, Birding and Photography | |
 Terrazza Park: Terrazza Park is Henderson's newest park. At a cost of more than $5 million, the park is located at 1992 Galleria Drive near Lake Las Vegas. It has a basketball court, open turf area, picnic areas and access as a trailhead with access to the Wetlands Connector Trail and Clark County Wetlands Park. It leads to two hike along both sides of the Las Vegas Wash. The Las Vegas Wash is the vital channel through which the Las Vegas Valley's excess water returns to Lake Mead at Las Vegas Bay. Hiking, Birding and Photography |
Las Vegas Springs Preserve: The Springs Preserve is a 180-acre attraction in Las Vegas, featuring botanical gardens, museums, trails and offers a whole new perspective to the Las Vegas desert. It has 3.65 total miles of trails that meander through 110 acres of native habitats and archaeological sites. This "Visitor Attraction", originally developed by the Water District to protect some of the valley's Mojave Desert Scrub and riparian areas, includes the Origen Museum and the Nevada State Museum. Hiking-Birding-Photography
Sunset Park: Sunset Park is one of Las Vegas' largest parks. This urban park contains a 10-12 foot deep, 14 acre pond, surrounded by trees, and the remnants of a mesquite-sand dune system that once covered much of the Las Vegas Valley. The properties encompass more than 3.5 miles of hiking trails. Hiking-Birding-Photography
Lorenzi Park. This 59 acre park is Las Vegas' oldest park. Though more of a family recreation area, this urban park and its grassy fields contains a fishing pond, rose gardens, and many old cottonwood trees, all of which attract a variety of duck, geese and birds. Birding
