What to do in Vegas besides the obvisous?

The boyfriend and I are going to vegas from 8-14 April.  There's a wedding we're attending on Tuesday 11th but we're itching (or more precisly I'm itching) to get out of Vegas and explore whatever's around.  i've been to vegas a few times for work (conventions), and i'm not that psyched about it to be honest.  too crazy. great for a weekend but a whole week?  argh!!!

so- we were thinking of renting a car on wednesday afternoon and driving somewhere- spending two nights away and then driving back to the airport in time for our 1pm flight back to the UK.

some people say the grand caynon is a doable drive, others say go to nearby national parks etc.... any pointing in the right direction would be most appreciated!  thanks.

if you have the budget, you can take a helicopter ride from vegas to the grand canyon, im sure that would be pretty.

Red Rock Canyon is in Vegas (or just outside) and that has some good hiking trails if you like that.  There is a ghost town about 3 hours from Vegas, I can't remember the name but I can get that for you.  Arizona is a drive but Sodona is a cool place to search.  It has old Native American dwellings and things like that.

i like the idea of red rock.  has anyone been to valley of fire?  or zion?  i'm leaning towards valley of fire for it's proximity.  leave thursday am and make a whole day of it.

our flight on friday 14-april is at 9:30am.  would like to spend night at valley of fire on wednesday or thursday evening but probably not possible.

I have not been to Zion, but my sister has and she said it was amazing.  I really wanted to go to Red Rock when I was there, but we only had three days and it was not enough time.  Rich and I first met at a bar called Red Rock West, which is why I wanted to go.

My family has been to the Valley of Fire and they have enjoyed everything they've done so far in Vegas.

i like the idea of red rock.  has anyone been to valley of fire?  or zion?  i'm leaning towards valley of fire for it's proximity.  leave thursday am and make a whole day of it.

our flight on friday 14-april is at 9:30am.  would like to spend night at valley of fire on wednesday or thursday evening but probably not possible.

Zion was the most incredible place, absolutely beautiful.  We camped for 4 nights there and went on to Bryce Canyon for two days, then ended up at the Grand Canyon.  Out of the three, Zion was my favorite.  Have fun!

I went to Zion and Bryce as a child and they are imbedded in my mind as 2 of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I highly recommend both.
For me, the best thing to do in Vegas, however, is relax by the pool enjoying the warmth...then again...mid April may not be that warm.

looking at weather.com it says the average temp in mid-april is 76F.  seems warm enough.  i bet it'll be chilly in the AM.

i think i'm leaning towards zion.  three hour drive seems manageable.  any suggestions for restaurants along the way for dinner?  shoudl we stop by a store and pack our lunch or does the park have a small canteeny area?

iterinary:

Sat- Arrive late PM
Sun- Vegas fun...
Mon- Vegas fun... spa to get a massage and toeies painted
Tue- Wedding
Wed- nurse hangover by pool sipping virgin margaritas
Thr- get up early, rent car, drive to zion, go for hike, drive back pm.
Fri- 9am leave for UK

I try to take all my Vegas visitors to Death Valley (at least to Dante's View). We live 70 miles outside of Vegas and then its only another 30 miles to Death Vallley. Red Rock Canyon and Spring Mountain Ranch are great side trips.

Have a great time!! We had snow this past weekend! brrrrr

Whie it's a bit touristy, Hoover Dam is an amazing engineering feat.  I think it's worth taking the tour at least once in your life.

And I agree with everyone else - if you can go to Zion, you should.  It's amazing and beautiful.  I've been to many state & national parks, and Zion is absolutely in my top three.

All of this really makes me really want to go back to that area (Without going to Vegas, not my cup of tea) and see everything people have been raving about.

I can recommend Zion as well.  I worked there for 5 years...beautiful park!  One thing to bear in mind, though, is that it is likely to be fairly busy, especially if the weather is good.  You're bumping up against Easter weekend.  If you're planning on Zion, I would recommend booking lodging sooner rather than later.  The Zion Lodge is a beautiful place to stay.  It's located right in Zion Canyon, nice grassy area.  I'm not crazy about the food at the restaurant there, but there are some fantastic places to eat in Springdale, just outside the park entrance.  Let me know if you're interested in a recommendation.  One thing about the lodge...no TV and no pool.  If either of those are important to you, consider staying in Springdale instead.  There are a large number of hotels in Springdale, from basic to top of the line.

Bryce Canyon is also a beautiful park.  There may still be some snow around, especially since southern Utah received a significant amount of snow this past weekend!  I'd usually recommend Cedar Breaks as well, but the road through the park and the visitor center will be closed during the time that you're planning on visiting.  If you're 'outdoorsy', you might consider snowshoeing or cross-country skiing at Cedar Breaks.  Definitely contact the park first, though, to find out what snow conditions are like if you're interested in doing that.  (My avatar is a photo of me snowshoeing at the Breaks!)

Just outside of St. George there's a lovely state park called Snow Canyon.  Well worth a trip!

Let me know if you would like any additional info....I know a fair bit about the parks and the area, or I can point you in the right direction if I don't know the answer!

Born and raised Vegas girl.

Best places to eat are off the strip:

Nora's Italian on Flamingo and Jones. Make me jealous by having their melrose pasta. mmmm. Posh, not too expensive.
Soul2Soul on rainbow and Charleston.- Cajun pasta is amazing, and so is the crawfish bisque
Charleston and Ft. Apache- Kona grill. Everything is really good. and they have a great happy hour.
Hannah's is in the same shopping area (The FAB Boca park, my old 'hood), and try their house sushi or garlic noodles to experience heaven.

On the strip, go to the Paris Eiffel tower resteraunt if you have cash, because it is super expensive.

Shopping- stay away from all malls except the fashion show mall. Downtown in the Gaslight district, there are a few cute boutiques. Also boutiques in Boca park too.

The Belligio and the Wynn have beautiful gardens. Red rock etc has been mentioned. To be honest, I left vegas in part for lack of culture . For your drive...how about the lovely Mount Charleston? 30 min. away, and beautiful at that time of year. It is just nature, nothing super exciting.

If you do go to the grand canyon, have a Navajo taco. Mmmmm....

Have fun!

thank you all for your suggestions.  i will def be collating then into a fun fille trip.  this is on award tickets and i was able to move back our return ticket a day.  so now i think we have enough time to go to the grand canyon.  we'd leave Wednesday afternoon... get there late.  have all day thursday.  then drive back to vegas on friday afternoon.  departing 11am satur morning.

has anyone been to the grand canyon?  i like the idea of staying at the actual park, but everything seems to be booked (easter weekend).  is there a big difference btw north & south rim.  (really stupid question but which one is closer to vegas).  anything else to do around canyon?  wasn't looking forward to the vegas bit but now that we're heading into the dessert beautiful bit of nevada, quite excited.