BA - The Club - Epic drives: Las Vegas and beyond

The easy rider

Where to start: Las Vegas
Setting out from whichever kooky (or chic) Vegas hotel you choose, a 20-mile drive west will land you in the glowing spires and sweeping scrubland of Red Rock Canyon. There are almost 200,000 acres of Mojave Desert to explore, but driving this 13-mile loop from the Red Rock Canyon Visitor Centre allows you to see the best of it in less than an hour – if you drive like Lewis Hamilton, that is. We suggest taking things a little slower, stopping at the beautiful bluffs that overlook the tempting trails and Joshua trees along the way. This is one occasion where slow and steady will see you right.
Top tip: Reservations are required at the centre between October and May – secure yours up to 30 days in advance.

The mother road

Where to start: Oatman, Arizona
Get your kicks on Route 66 on the section closest to Vegas itself. Your route begins in Oatman, a gold rush hot spot turned American ghost town: wild burros (donkeys) have right of way over cars in Oatman’s honky-tonked Main Street. Then, it’s along America’s most famous road eastwards via Kingman and its neon-lit Route 66 Museum, Hackberry and its old-timey General Store, and Williams – the gateway to the Grand Canyon. You’ll finish in Flagstaff, the highest point of Route 66, where dinner at the iconic Galaxy Diner is in order.
The must-see: If you’d rather give up the driving seat, ride the Grand Canyon Railway between Williams and the Grand Canyon instead.

The lakeside wonder

Where to start: Hoover Dam
For movie-style shots of dusty tarmac roads and lakes as far as the eye can see, look no further than 12-mile Lakeshore Drive along Lake Mead – the USA’s largest reservoir. Departing from the Hoover Dam visitor centre, you’ll pass through abandoned railway yards and 1950s-era Boulder Beach – where you can still swim or boat in Lake Mead’s refreshing water – before revving up for a few miles of moonscapes, mirages and lakeside picnics. At the end of Lakeshore Road, drive north for the rock arches of the Valley of Fire state park.
Top tip: Ask the park rangers at Boulder Beach Entrance Station for their favourite viewpoints and follow their lead.

The screensaver spectacular

Where to start: Valley of Fire Visitor Centre
The Valley of Fire is a road trip in its own right – and it’s less than an hour from the Strip. At the Valley of Fire visitor centre, come off the highway and wind your way through copper-coloured mesas to Petroglyph Canyon, where 2,500-year-old etchings of scorpions and lizards are carved into the rock. Your thirst for ancient history quenched, carry on for five miles past the colourful Rainbow Vista and the hypnotic Pastel Canyon, before reaching the White Domes Road trailhead, where sandstone walls close around a sandy path in spectacular fashion.
The must-see: Check out the Fire Wave for screensaver-style geological formations.

The fire and the forest

Where to start: La Verkin, Utah
It takes a couple of hours (and crossing a state line) to reach the paradisiacal beauty of Zion National Park from Vegas, but skipping it would be silly. Heading out on Highway 9 from La Verkin is the first step; the Virgin River runs parallel to the passenger seat as you ascend toward the cathedral-like spires of Zion Canyon. When you reach the Canyon Junction Bridge, carry on eastwards through Highway 9’s tunnels and you’ll see the landscape change suddenly from the unforgiving Mojave Desert to the pastoral grasslands of the Dixie National Forest.
Top tip: Access to Zion Canyon itself is only via shuttle bus – except in winter and early spring.