Cycling the Silver State

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This article was published 02/07/2022 (1414 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEVADA — There was no prior plan to visit Las Vegas, but since we were just a half-hour drive to The Strip, and hadn’t made a decision on dinner yet, we decided to venture into Sin City: I hadn’t seen the place since the mid-1990s and my travelling companion had never seen the bright lights of the Nevada entertainment mecca.

We had no particular spot picked for eats, but a guy I used to do a podcast with would always tell me about how he and his wife never missed a chance to visit one of the many decadent buffets on their regular visits to Vegas. I texted him and he suggested either Wynn or Caesar’s Palace. Unfortunately, the former was not open that particular day and the latter — the Baccanal Buffet — had a considerable lineup and would have meant we’d be eating too late after riding bikes all day.

I guess it’s best to make a reservation in Vegas — we serendipitously came across Spago’s in the Bellagio and a kind hostess advised us they just happened to have one table available on the outdoor patio.

As it turns out, we hit the Vegas dining jackpot.

Wolfgang Puck’s second Spago restaurant — of course the first debuted on L.A.’s Sunset Strip in the early 1980s — originally opened at The Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace in 1992, but it was closed in 2017 and relocated to the Bellagio in the spring of 2018.

The new location has a gorgeous indoor dining room, but the lakeside el fresco seating is beautifully situated with views that practically touch the Bellagio Fountains. It was a terrific treat to enjoy the musical show that uses 1,214 water nozzles and 4,792 lights to dazzle the many onlookers on the street or in front-row seats.

But, here’s the rub folks: as tremendous as that view was, Nevada is in fact one spectacular view after another — and the majority of them are nowhere near the infamous stretch of neon that lights up the Vegas night.

And while we had detoured to The Strip for what turned out to be a memorable dinner, the trip to Nevada was geared to seeing all the state has to offer other than Vegas; and man is there a lot on that particular menu. The place is bursting with natural beauty.

 

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One of only two places in the state that prohibits gambling, Boulder City has far more to do outdoors than sitting indoors at a slot machine or gaming table, anyway.

Originally constructed in 1931 to house Great Depression-era workers building the Hoover Dam, Boulder City — about 42 kms southeast of Vegas — still clings to its small town heritage. In fact, the city code maintains strict controls on growth, limited to 120 single- or multi-family residential building permits for new construction per year. And, hotels are also restricted to no more than 35 rooms.

It is by far the largest city in Nevada by land area and the 35th largest in the United States, giving it a low density rate of only about 72 people per square mile; leaving residents and visitors plenty of space to enjoy the great outdoors.

They say no trip the area would be complete without a visit to the dam and the best route to get there is the Historic Rail Trail; you can hike it, run it, or better yet — bike it.

The mostly gravel pathway hugs the hills on the southern shoreline of Lake Mead, offering panoramic views of the gorgeous electric-blue manmade body of water. The six-kilometre route from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area Alan Bible Visitor Center trailhead to the dam passes through five railroad tunnels — each 25 feet in diameter — that were built to carry the necessary supplies, including huge pieces of pipe and construction equipment, to the Hoover Dam site. After the dam was completed in 1935, the railroad ceased operation, and in 1962 the tracks were removed; the trail opened in 1995.

One caution: while the trail is quite flat and well maintained, there are a couple of curves where you will find yourself several hundred feet above the lake and there are no guardrails: it’s here that I personally stay right in the middle of the path!

Presuming you arrive safely at the dam — I’m sure you will — there are plenty of options for guided, self-guided, or just casual tours of what is often called one of America’s greatest engineering feats. When completed in 1935, Hoover Dam was the largest in the world and the pioneering techniques used in the design and construction have since been employed in large dams around the world.

Built in Black Canyon on the Colorado River and eventually named for Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States — it was originally called the Boulder Dam: Hoover Dam is used for flood and silt control, hydro electric power, agricultural irrigation and domestic water supply. It is also a major sightseeing destination, with some seven million visitors a year.

When visiting, be sure to take a walk across the dam’s pair of bridges:

The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opened in 2010 and honours the former governor of Nevada (1971-79) and the former NFL football player who left his career with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the army and was killed by friendly fire while serving in Afghanistan, is the world’s highest concrete arch bridge and the walkway is a dizzying 270 metres above the Colorado River.

The original bridge on US Route 93 is down near the dam’s turbines and has a friendly pedestrian walkway; at one point you can cross the Arizona-Nevada border and go back, or forward, in time depending on the direction you are walking.

Both bridges offer spectacular views of the dam and the river below it.

With spending just a couple of nights in Boulder City, there are a trio of things I would definitely do on a return visit: there are reportedly terrific rafting and kayak tours in Black Canyon; plenty of water recreation at Lake Mead; and there’s a picturesque 55-km bike ride — the River Mountains Loop Trail — that provides scenic views of the Mojave Desert.

Next time.

And finally if you don’t feel like driving into Vegas for dinner, there are plenty of great dining spots in Boulder City: I highly recommend The Dillinger for its burgers.

Housed inside the historic Bank of Nevada building, The Dillinger’s design motif and name would have you think it’s all a nod to the infamous bank robber John Dillinger. But in fact, owner Grant Turner revealed to us that it’s named after a favourite rock band of his — Dillinger.

Either way, the signature burger is one of the best I’ve ever tasted; a freshly-made half-pound patty topped with cheddar cheese, Applewood smoked bacon and BBQ beef brisket.

There’s also burgers named The Baby Face Nelson, The Capone, The Bugsy, The 45 Special and The Bonnie — sorry, no Clyde.

 

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In 1952, infamous film director Howard Hughes purchased 25,000 acres of land in Southern Nevada, making him at the time the Las Vegas Valley’s largest landowner. Originally scooped up for a reported $3 an acre as a possible relocation for his California-based business concerns, the land ended up sitting dormant for more than three decades.

But in the late 1980s, the deceased mogul’s surviving corporation — Summa — broke ground on a master-planned community named for the paternal grandmother of Hughes — Jean Amelia Summerlin.

And today, it is a bustling commercial and residential suburban area on the western outskirts of Vegas.

While it has a Vegas undertone to it, Summerlin more feels like you’re in some sort of mountain-side community; which in fact it is as it lies directly adjacent to Spring Mountains and Red Rock Canyon.

It was, in fact, Red Rock Canyon that lured us to the area. Known for its towering red sandstone peaks and Native American petroglyphs, Red Rock is also a common off-The Strip activity in the area with many folks heading there for its scenic drive. The 21-km loop is also a destination cycling spot, and that was our reason to be there that day.

From the park entrance, you immediately begin a 7.5-kilometre climb that rises in elevation about 350 metres with a grade maxing out at 9.2 degrees. I’m not going to lie: it was a tough trip to the top and there was no shame in stopping for a rest or two — or five. The breath-stealing climb does offer some breathtaking views and of course that long and winding descent.

In total, our ride from the lobby of the Red Rock Casino where we were staying to the highest point on the scenic rode and back was 48 km with an elevation gain of 769 metres, burning 2,500 calories.

Thankfully, Downtown Summerlin has the Vegas food scene down pat and after a re-loading of carbs at Maggiano’s Little Italy, we also indulged in a delectable desert dessert at an adorable pastry place called Benyeh that offers up a whimsical twist on classic french beignets: the salted caramel and pretzel version is a definite winner.

 

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The approximately 700-kilometre drive on I-95 from the outskirts of Vegas to the state capital of Carson City is as picturesque a ride as you’ll ever see; with one sweeping vista after another as you pass by and over a number of Nevada’s many mountain ranges.

I was surprised to learn that Nevada is in fact the most mountainous U.S. State. In addition to its 314 named ranges, it has at least 100 more that cut through the desert anonymously, with a total of 40 peaks that exceed 10,000 feet in elevation.

For much of the drive you can see the snowcapped Sierra Nevadas to the west of you, while also enjoying the beauty of numerous other lesser-known teams and valleys.

The Wassuk Range, which features the 3440-metre high Mount Grant is particularly pretty with the striking Walker Lake to the east of the range — a natural body of water that is a remnant of a prehistoric lake that covered much of northwestern Nevada during the ice age and is a gorgeous setting in the midst of the desert terrain.

Along with its natural beauty, the road to Carson City is also known as the Free Range Art Highway, with several funky-flavoured towns, intriguing murals, top-notch art galleries, and plenty of iconic places to stay — including one with the world’s largest private collection of clowns.

We stopped at the Goldwell Open Air Museum in Beatty, which features seven colossal sculptures, including a ghostly life-size version of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper. The sculpture park was created by a group of well-known Belgian artists who were drawn to the remote upper portion of the vast Mojave Desert to pursue artistic vision free from convention.

Some folks might be surprised to learn that Las Vegas is not the capital of Nevada; that Carson City, the sixth-largest city in the state, has had that distinction since Nevada statehood in 1864.

Named after mountain man Kit Carson, the city was originally just a stopover for California-bound immigrants but a silver strike in the area known as the Comstock Lode generated immense fortunes and a bustling township developed.

Today, Carson City offers visitors museums, a thriving arts and culture scene, unique shopping and antiquing, and an abundance of outdoor recreation.

Of note, the Nevada State Museum pays tribute to Carson City being one of the stations along the historic Pony Express route between Sacramento, Calf. and St. Joseph, Mo and the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum attempts to educate visitors about the experiences of Native American children removed from their homelands, families and culture.

The antique shops, there’s a number of them along N. Curry Street, offer wares ranging from military artifacts to dinosaur coprolites (I’ll let you Google what that is).

And there’s a number of great cycling routes in and around the city — we rode the V & T Trail that skirts the city and offers great views of the valley; and there are many more great single-track and gravel-riding routes in the adjacent Carson Range a spur of the Sierra Nevada

There are several great day trips from Carson City: Reno — The Biggest Little City in the World; Fallon — known as The Oasis of Nevada for the lush greenery surrounding the city; Carson Valley — comprised of four quaint small towns that also are home to breathtaking views of the Sierra Nevadas and Virginia City — an old west town with boardwalk-lined streets and historic shops and saloons. It’s also where a young Samuel Clemens arrived in 1861 to try his hand at prospecting. After spending a year attempting to find work in the mines, he eventually was hired and got his start as a feature writer for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. As his coverage of the bustling frontier mining town grew, Clemens adopted a pen name: Mark Twain.

And then there is the day trip we had come to the area for — Lake Tahoe.

I had admired photos of the majestic lake for most of my life and to finally see it in person and to ride my bike along its sparkling blue — sometimes emerald green — waters was a real blessing; truly more beautiful than I could have imagined.

Straddling the border of Nevada and California, Lake Tahoe welcomes close to three million visitors a year: to ski, to swim, to hike, to bike, to shop, to just enjoy what many consider one of the most beautiful spots in the world.

While there is a 115-km bike trail that circumnavigates the entire lake — added to my bucket list — the Lake Tahoe East Shore Trail is a stunning five-kilometre paved path that is just perfect while enjoying a day trip to the area.

With too many picture pit stops to mention, the trail ends at Sand Harbor State Park where you MUST be sure to experience walking on the sandy shores of the lake with the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas in the background.

In a state full of magnificent views, this folks is the piece de resistance.

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