Beautiful national monument with well-maintained trails for hiking. This monument preserves fossil…read morebeds from the Pleistocene era, when Las Vegas was a lake and camels roamed freely. Times have changed and now it's a desert with no shade; make sure you're prepared for the heat with water, a hat, sunscreen and sunglasses. The trails are well-marked. The monument is open from sunrise to sunset and has several entrances with free street parking. Well worth a visit! Free admission.

We weren't quite sure what to expect and when we arrived it was on the edge of Vegas and literally…read morethe cutoff point for rural desert vs the neighborhoods. There wasn't much there BUT I'm sure when the temps are cooler it's a great place to explore, hike, bike and ride horses! If you're into the National Parks passport stamps and cancellations there's nothing here but if you head to the Lake Mead visitor center you'll find them there.

"Man has always sought to express and preserve the magnitude of his exploits in symbols...They form…read morethe connecting link between the spiritual and the material world. They are the shadows cast by the realities of the soul." -- Oskar J.W. Hansen in 1928 This is an awesome Landmark at Hoover Dam in Boulder City, Nevada... When you visit Hoover Dam, one of the Engineering Wonders of the World, you can't help but notice this magnificent masterpiece! To me, The Winged Figures of the Republic looks like two gigantic angels guarding our American Flag and reaching up to the Heavens - like a bridge between Earth and upwards - connecting us with the Universe! In the 1930's, a sculptor named Oskar J.W. Hansen entered a contest and his design won! He was born in Norway, immigrated to the USA, became a citizen, entered the US Army, retired, and became a well-known Artist and Sculptor. His Winged Figures of The Republic are made from over 4 tons of bronze. The two figures - with wings measuring more than 30 feet tall - sit on black diorite - all of these were lifted by cranes and set on blocks of ice so that everything could be adjusted precisely as the ice melted. What a creative and smart way to construct this unique Public Artwork! In front of the 14-story (142 feet) flagpole is a mosaic floor depicting the constellation in the sky. It's a map of where the planets and stars were when President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated Hoover Dam on September 30, 1935. Tip: remember to rub the golden toes of the Winged Figures for Good Luck! And listen to the informative, inspirational recording that's playing while you browse around these sculptures!

When you go to Hoover Dam, there are the expected grand sights (the Dam itself) and unexpected…read moregrand sights, none greater than the Winged Figures of the Republic. This gorgeous landmark is the work of Norwegian-born, naturalized American Oskar J.W. Hansen. Perched on the north (Nevada) side of the Dam, you'll find two angel like, 30ish feet high winged figures with a 140+ flag pole. The bronze figures have a nice green patina after 85 years of weather and, at their base, black diorite (an igneous rock). Don't forget the tradition of rubbing the toes of the Winged Figures! The flagpole also has a black diorite base has the engraving "It is fitting that the flag of our country should fly here in honor of those men who, inspired by a vision of lonely lands made fruitful, conceived this great work, and of those others whose genius and labor made that vision a reality." I love the statues as well the grandiose backdrop of beige rock, which gives an epic vision of just how difficult it was to carve out this area. Near that, you'll find a monument dedicated to the 95 workers who died constructing Hoover Dam. There is sound: Speakers give a narration about the Dam and the Winged Creatures. Also check out the terrazzo floor, which includes a celestial map and star chart. Winged Figures of the Republic is a stunning, grandiose, and fitting tribute to one of the U.S.A.'s greatest man-made achievements.

Town of Paradise does exists. Who knew I would be driving through a town when visiting the City of…read moreLas Vegas? Here's how I came across this revelation... I was heading to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Per Google Map, I can get from A to B without having to drive on Las Vegas Blvd. Sometimes it's much faster driving the back streets than the main attraction street, Las Vegas Blvd. Koval Lane and Paradise Road are key streets that go from south to north. Cool! Paradise is an unincorporated town adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It contains "Harry Reid International Airport; the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV); the majority of the Las Vegas Strip; and most of the tourist attractions in the Las Vegas area (excluding downtown). However, all Paradise addresses, as well as other unincorporated areas in the Las Vegas Valley, have "Las Vegas" addresses." Who knew? Now we know!

Take me down / to the literal Paradise City / where there is no grass / and the roaches breed…read morefreely! Feels weird for a place with The Strip, UNLV, and McCarran airport to be a "town", but I didn't make the rules. If you aren't familiar, what most people think of as "Las Vegas" is actually a patchwork of smaller cities, towns and unincorporated areas. Actual Las Vegas is really a pretty small area. The Strip up to about where Circus Circus is is in Paradise, the rest is actually in Las Vegas. Paradise is a rough box shape with Decatur as the west border, Desert Inn as the north, Nellis to the east and Sunset to the south, with an annex stretching down south of McCarran just far enough to engulf Silverado Ranch. Though most of the Strip is here I hope people won't review the Strip in here. I'm not going to. The Strip has its own entry packed full of tourists making inane superficial observations that are of no help to anyone. I feel like this should be more about daily life in and around, considering most locals tend to not go to The Strip unless they work there. Or are peddling drugs/ass there. Which I guess is work, really. So if you've lived here, like me, you can say you lived in Paradise for a year and it's technically true. "I didn't find it to be that, exactly" - Sam Elliott. It's not the worst place to live and it's not the best. It has serious trouble spots, mostly along the eastern edge as you get close to Boulder Hwy (which is some level of trouble all the way up and down). But I also never found it to be TOO dangerous or TOO dingy. I've lived in a lotta worse places, and there's a lot that I actually enjoy about the place. It's started to feel like weird, busted home to me. Not a place that I want to settle down forever, but a place that I'm happy to come back to. UNLV is the big showpiece to me, outside of the casinos. What a great school with so many great resources. I'm not gonna list them though because I don't need you hornin' in on my hustle. Worst part is the roaches. They cool out in the colder months but maaan are they out in force when it gets warm. Like every possible variety from around the world is living just underneath the town in like hellish Cockroach Fraggle Rock. You basically have to live up off ground level here, it doesn't stop them completely but it does seem to make a big difference. Living in a legitimate 24 hour area is also really nice if you gotta keep weird hours sometimes. Eh. I can deal with it. You can do a whole lot worse.

What a unique little town in the Springs Preserve. Definitely worth checking out while you're…read morethere. Totally walkable from the main area but I'd recommend taking the train since it's about a 3 minute ride and way faster than walking. Pretty cool stuff to see and learn about the history of this little town.

If you compare this to using the 15 freeway and the 95 freeway, yes, this is the best one, in terms…read moreof congestion, when there are no construction zones. (I am so used to this one, that I hate going on the other ones, true story.) But, like I said in my review of the 215 Beltway, there is no middle ground here, there are so many Speeders and so many Slow-mo's. If you have a driver tracking App like me, you want to keep it to a certain speed. But if you drive properly, use the signals, check your blind spots, and keep gas in your tank, (disregard, Electric vehicle drivers) you should be alright. I use this one every morning and every afternoon unless I have errands. My home is located near the exit, so it's really convenient for me to use. As realtors would say, "Location, Location, Location."

It flows. Lacking the congested 15 freeway touristing near the strip.read more

We were so lucky to have an incredible view of the fountains from our PH hotel room…read more Then in person it's wonderful! People start lining up for 10-15 mins before they start. We just missed the 11pm show but they run every 15 mins until 12am so we were able to get a good view. It's a must see on the strip because it's beautiful and free!

From our LYFT driver we learned that Monday- Friday they run every thirty minutes from 3-7:30 pm…read moreand every 15 minutes from 8pm-midnight. On weekends and holidays they run every 30 minutes from Noon to 7:30pm and every 15 minuets from 8pm to midnight. This would have been good to know as we were walking around them. We did overhear a couple say that they were gong to run at 7[m, but they had 7pm reservations so they'd miss it. Us on the other hand had plenty of time and 7pm was only 10 minutes away so we grabbed a good spot facing Paris and waited our 10 minutes. Not a bad wait time. This is my first time seeing a whole show and it was totally worth the wait. The fountains and dancing waters never get old. There are so many spots to watch as the same time it gets crowed in spots and they block traffic of walkers who are trying to get somewhere. We were in a cut out so we weren't blocking anyone by standing there. I did stand back a bit form the railing for fear of dropping my phone. I wasn't wearing my phone lanyard so that's always a fear for me and thus I skip taking some pictures as to avoid losing my phone. Like when we were on that safari ride. I took a couple snap shots, but I wan't like my husband that put his hands over the rail and snapped a few. You have two views, facing the Bellagio, where most of the people congregate. Or facing Pairs. I love Pairs so that is where we stood. Inn addition that is were we heard it was going to play at 7pm so there was really no reasons to walk anywhere else as we had a good view. If you want front and center then you want to be on the street side facing the Bellagio. I do see lots of guest crowed at the fork in the walkway that goes back into the Bellagio. They just stop in the middle of the path so you can barely get by. I find that inconsiderate. The dancing watered go high enough that standing anywhere is a good view. If you don't want to leave the AC you can look out above the fountains on the 2nd floor behind the elescalator. There are full length glass doors and windows you can look out of. It's deceiving as there is a balcony, but the doors are locked. I guess this is good for the people capturing the fountains on film those guests aren't in the pictures. I do with that the patio was open that would give you the perfect view. Any way you look at it, the Fountains at the Bellagio are a must see every trip along with the conservatory. Neither gets old.

I love this library and community center! Today I learned they have laptops available and ready to…read moreuse! Along side the community center is open to the public and there's a gym upstairs $3 a day or $15 a month M-S 8am-8pm! Wow! They have all the equipment with tvs! Also day camps for kids! I miss these days! Gotta come back here! Love all the free resources! The provided me w a folder when I printed out a paper complaint I had to write out! Thanks! So nice!

The pros: Very friendly people; free computers (2 hour limit)…read more The cons: Pretty dicey neighborhood; irregular hours of operation (however, they ARE open on Friday, but closed on Sunday) Yes, they do have a small parking lot, but there are usually spaces available, unless they're having an event of some kind at the Stupak Center that the library is located within, then you'll be parking on the street.

Are you new to Nevada? Looking for local information about Boulder City? Stop in at the Nevada…read moreWelcome Center. You'll find brochures and signage about local businesses and attractions. There are men's and women's restrooms available during business hours. Want to have a picnic BBQ? Go ahead, use the recreational area adjacent to the welcome building. Do you play Pokemon Go? There are several PokeStops and one gym at the welcome center.

It was on a recent Monday that I played the tourist at the Nevada Welcome Center on the way to a…read morehiking adventure. As it turns out, I would leave here with resourceful knowledge of the state parks and a new trailhead connecting to miles of Boulder City outdoor adventure. Throughout the years, I have explored Boulder City's parks and attractions. When I drove on US 93, I had been curious about this Nevada Welcome Center that sits off Nevada Way. After seeing so much of Boulder City, it was about time to check out the state welcome center. Although this is a Nevada Welcome Center, it is owned and managed by the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. With that said it is a visitor center serving Nevada, Boulder City, and Las Vegas. This is one of the four Nevada Centers in Southern Nevada. From the perspective of a reviewer discussing the Visitor Center proper & adjacent hikes, it is best to separate the review into two sections 1: Visitor Center Proper and 2: Trailhead 1: Visitor Center Proper. Before touching on the facility, it is important to note that it has two major flaws. The first flaw is that it is closed on weekends when US 93 is flooded with drivers. The second flaw is that it sits on the opposite side of the US 93 traffic entering the state line. The Visitor Center is a long building parallel to a long parking lot that can handle a lot of vehicles including busses. It reminds me of a concession stand at a drive-in parking lot. The first thing that is noticeable is the "Welcome to Nevada" sign. This is a nice photo spot for a state sign pic. At the opposite end are clean rest rooms. The Visitor Center itself is in the center. It is essentially one room with a floor to ceiling window overlooking Lake Mead, a desk, "This is Boulder City" computer, and two walls of travel brochures. These 11 racks of brochures are the focal point of the Center. The racks feature brochures on the State of Nevada, cupouns, tours, shopping, recreation, parks, entertainment, and attractions. These brochures include directories of local malls, state parks as far north as Ely, and national parks. Over and above the brochures, one of the two knowledgeable and friendly women here made this an enjoyable learning experience as she answered my questions while I loaded up on brochures. Where the Visitor Center looks like a drive-in parking lot from the front, in the back it is a spectacular property that overlooks a dramatic vista of Lake Mead from a hill. Nearby are two banks of shaded picnic tables. This includes 16 shaded picnic tables to the right of the building. A few of them overlook Lake Mead. This is the only spot that I know of where you can enjoy a picnic overlooking Lake Mead off southbound US 93. Adjacent to the picnic tables is a short mult use trail that tunnels under US 93 to the River Mountains Loop Trail (RMLT). This will segue into the second part of my review. 2: As a Trailhead It is the additional role of a trailhead that I am giving it 4 stars. It connects to miles and miles of trails without crossing a major road thanks to the fact that it tunnels under US 93. Due to the Yelp character limit, I will brief. Here are some hikes that the short trail leads to: 1. Hemmingway Valley Park (short distance) 2. Red & Black Mountain via RMLT to River Mountain Trail. (moderate distance) 3. Teddy Bear Cholla Forest via RMLT (long) 4. Railroad Tunnel Trail via RMLT (long) 5. Bootleg Canyon via RMLT (long) 6. Boulder Beach via RMLT (long) & 7. Miles of hiking & biking on RMLT. There is more hiking opportunities when you exit the center and turn right onto Nevada Way. This is the hiking I did from here. A nice relatively hike up the Nevada Way hill rewarded me with a first-rate Lake Mead view from the high up Boulder City overlook. This was the prequel to hours of hiking. Just up the hill from the Visitor Center there are trails that lead into the wilderness of the Boulder City backcountry. This is where I spent around 4 hours enjoying the serenity and beauty of nature. The nice thing about using the Visitor Center as a trailhead is the parking lot. There was a perception that my vehicle was safe here. In conclusion I rate the Nevada Visitor Center 4 Stars. It does a great job serving as both a resource for the State and local parks and attractions and as a trailhead to miles and hours of Boulder City outdoor adventures.