I lived in Nevada for almost 30 years and in each of the 3 corners (you'll see it in a map) of the…read morestate-from Carson City & Reno to Ely & Elko and for 13 years in Las Vegas. I've traveled, camped and hiked in the mountains and desert-that covers the wide, open spaces outside of those towns. Each area has its own beauty.
It's called the basin and range because as you cross the state from West to East there are mountains with deserts in between. Driving Highway 50, called the loneliest road in America from Carson City to Ely travels across long valleys of desert then into small mountains towns like Austin and Eureka.
Carson City-Reno area is beautiful with desert area and snow covered mountains around. You can drive to Lake Tahoe to ski in the morning and be back down in sunshine in the afternoon. The desert lakes like Pyramind (outside of Reno) are magical in stillness and wildness. I've seen wild horses in my backyard while having coffee in the morning. Fallon, a farming area east of Reno is the location for the Top Gun school after it moved from California's coast.
Ely, a high desert town on the eastern side of the state, is isolated-with ghost towns near Ruth, which still has mining going on today. When I lived there, I would see Ely as the coldest place, in the contiguous states, on Good Morning America. There are beautiful lakes, like Cave Lake, outside of town with great fishing-in summer or even in the winter for ice fishing. I've hiked the mountains to areas where few people have ever been.
Then to the bright lights of Las Vegas. I lived in Vegas for 13 years. When I moved there, it, surprisingly, had a small town feel in the communities away from the strip and still may, though those communities are growing. When you live in LV, you tend to only go to the strip when visitors came to town to visit. Friends from out of town would often know more about new things on the strip than I did.
Vegas has temperatures that rise to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to freezing in the winter. There is something so funny about watching my high school students run outside when it starts to snow-a fairly rare event-and scoop up an entire yard full of snow to make one tiny snowman. They also run out when it rains because Nevada gets under 10 inches of rain per year (USclimatedata.com) but I've seen years with less. But when it does rain, it rains hard causing flooding in intersections and low lying areas. When I moved there, one low spot under train tracks would close because it would fill almost to the top with water. Rain causes flash flood dangers in canyons and dry riverbeds so even if it's not raining where you are, rain from the mountains can make its way down. Red rock and the Valley of Fire are must see spots if you go to LV. I used to recommend Lake Mead (formed by damming the Colorado River) but it's water level is frighteningly low from years of poor snowfall in the northern areas of the Colorado river. Where else can you stay at the A'Le Inn (pronounces alien) on the Extraterrestrial Highway, in the town of Rachel (though it's address says Alamo), on the outskirts of the Test Site's Area 51. Be sure to get some alien E.T jerky before you leave.
Nevada has the Great Basin National Park outside of the Ely area. It has great hiking to the ancient Bristlecone pines to caves with unique stalagtite-stalagmite formations. It's a great way to get cool during the heat of the day. They used to do lantern tours so you could experience total darkness but it's been a while since I've been there.
Nevada is definitely a state to experience. It is more than the casino towns of Reno and Las Vegas. I definitely recommend visiting some of the outdoor wonders that it offers.
