Good driving roads around Vegas?

Coming out next week again for the SEMA show. That lead to a spur of the moment purchase on an exotic car rental for next Friday in Las Vegas. Wondering if there are any good, enjoyable roads outside the strip. I'll have 4hrs and a little over 50 miles. I know it's not much but it should be enough to still have some fun. Was looking into Red Rock Canyon Scenic Loop or driving toward Las Vegas Bay via Lake Mead BLVD and Northshore Rd. Thoughts? Thank you!

 

"We" did some nice driving with Pauper's runs to Vegas, Mt. Charleston and Lake Mead Road. Here are two videos that I made from those trips. Good times and great friendships were made!

Clcik on the title of each box to view clip:

Pauper's 7:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWOebXZ_pVA]PAUPER'S VII - YouTube[/ame]

Pauper's 8:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w9A9wmi1B8]PAUPER'S EIGHT May 6-10 2010 !! - YouTube[/ame]


(Uploaded on my friends Youtube page, not mine.)

 

Northshore Dr by Lake Mead absolutely! Take that up to Valley of Fire, and head west through there to I-15S back down to Vegas. Northshore Dr is perfect for getting your money's worth out of an exoticar rental. PM me for vid from Sept when I rented a 458. It's the reason I now own a 360. What are you renting and from where?

 

Northshore Rd. and Valley of Fire Hwy are fantastic, as is the Mt. Charleston loop (Kyle Canyon Rd. up, Deer Creek Rd. across and Lee Canyon Rd. down). To really enjoy these drives you will need more than 4 hours and 50 miles.

Now those were a hell of a lot of fun - thanks for the vids/memories!

 

Well guys, we rented from Elite Exotic Car rental. It was a white 2011 Gallardo. It was a blast. We didn't go my originally planned route toward Lake Mead since we were on the complete opposite side starting off. We ended up driving up Decatur and onto Charleston until we got to Red Rock Scenic Loop. It was beautiful and fun to drive. My wife had a blast as she drove it about 30 miles. Makes me want to work even harder to one day be able to have our own exotic car. Thanks for the responses!

 

Thanks for posting those videos again, Todd! Those are fun to relive. It's been too long since I've been on a good run like that. It's time....

 

Yeah, those were great trips. Seems so long ago....

 

When Todd is around, one should expect spy cam...lol. Brother, good times indeed... thank you for reminding us that we need to do this again in 2014.

 

I'm invited to LV in next April for few days and might have 1, maybe 2 mornings with up to 6 or so hrs available for a drive and/or hiking. Prefer scenic, moderately challenging, mountainous(?) 2-lane highways and back roads. Which of the previously suggested routes would offer best choice for given preferences and time allowances ?
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Just wanted to clarify that any advise, if available, should focus on (vintage) driving pleasures.
Hiking is only secondary concern.

 

No suggestions?
We're planning to drive from Riverside to LV and back, but due to scheduling constraints may be forced to use I-15 which is rather boring experience, even in coolest of cars, so any recommendation for scenic drive opportunity will be welcomed.

 

Well, no one replied, but for those who may consider similar trips in the future, all I can say we had a great 5 day, 800+ mile road trip including two early am excursions from LV.

Friday: Red Rock Canyon loop + some hiking. Great.
Sunday: through Henderson & Boulder City to Valley of the Fire (+ some hiking) via Lake shore & North shore Roads. Bitc**n'.
Didn't have time for Mt. Charleston, but will try that next time I'm in the area.

Oh, and the 20th "Viva Las Vegas" Rockabilly Weekend (main excuse for the trip) was great event too and our 85 year old ride didn't miss a beat once during the trip.

Anything more fun would've probably included severely illegal or inappropriate activities.
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I love the Mt Charleston loop. There is a lodge up there that in the past had a great Sunday Brunch. I don't remember the name but the wife and I "stumbled" into it on a test drive of our Porsche a few years back. Lake Mead is a nice drive as well. The Valley of Fire is beautiful. There are other drives I like to do but those are more "Jeep" oriented. That is unless you want to take a long trip. Doing the ET Highway is fun and there is a good place to stay in Rachel. I like to drive up to Beatty and stop at the Death Valley Candy store. I stock up on nuts every time I pass through. Driving into Death Valley is a blast as well. I don't think they have opened up Scotty's Castle but that is a must see place. Its getting too hot though. I prefer to do that in the winter months.

Anyway I drive out to the Lake often enough that I buy seasons passes. If anyone stops in to Vegas and wants another car to go for a trip hit me up. Be forewarned. You will have to put up with a Lotus as I have not purchased a Ferrari as of yet.

 

Are the (paved) main highways/roads around Mt. Charleston area open year-around or do they typically get closed during snow/winter months ?

 

They get closed to anything but 4x4 or chains during the winter months many times.

 

Thanks, good to know, although I do carry & chain her up (if need be) during winter time road trips.
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I love it!