Free and Educational

A great benefit of living in Las Vegas is that we have plenty of beautiful parks to choose from. There are several hidden gems that the local residents treasure. If you don’t have any money to spend on entertainment, going to the park is a great way to spend the day with your family. My mother and I like to take my daughter and her younger cousins to the park so that they can play on the playground while we take a nature walk.

Even though the City of Las Vegas is fairly young, there is a wealth of history in this valley; you just have to look for it. We found a little piece of history tucked away in a residential neighborhood. There is a small park on Cimarron just south of Sahara that is worth checking out if you are interested in a history lesson. 

The Old Spanish Trail runs right through the middle of the park. You can actually see some of the old wagon wheel ruts which are preserved in the original landscape at the very back edge of the trail.

As you can see in the above picture, the dirt trail is very level and easy to walk on, and there are several covered benches conveniently scattered throughout the park so you can sit while the kids are playing. 

There is a concrete sidewalk that wraps all the way around the outer edge of the park so that 3 laps conveniently equal one mile. We enjoy walking around and reading all of the interesting historical signs that are placed throughout the park. One of the most interesting signs talks about the evolution of the interstate highway.

Las Vegas was a watering stop and campsite on the way to California. The trail was originally a mule path, until covered wagons started bringing families out west. My mom’s favorite sign was about the toys that children played with as they crossed the country in a covered wagon, and how the long journey west was dangerous for children.

We also learned that several of the street names in this city were named after the original pioneer settlers and ranch owners, such as Gass, Stewart, Kiel, Fremont, Craig, Smoke, and Gilcrease.

Mom and I really take pleasure in looking at the desert scenery and chatting as we walk the path around the playground area. The park and restrooms are well maintained, and little doggie bag stations are conveniently placed for dog walkers. 

I always thought the desert was just sand, cactus, and tumbleweeds. But this park has a beautiful desert landscape with several flowering bushes like this one in the picture below.

We are originally from Illinois where there are an abundance of green trees and shrubs with beautiful gardens of colorful flowers everywhere. So it took us a while to appreciate the beauty of the desert, because at first glance, all we saw was brown. Eventually though, we realized that there are many different shades of brown in the sand and the mountains. Then we saw the beautiful golden sunsets, the yellow and pink flowers, the red rock, the orange and purple of desert brush, and we learned to be grateful for the rare treasure of such striking colors in the desert.

We hunt for the specks of green wherever we can find them. We relish finding wild flowers in the desert landscape. We also like to search for the animals: such as chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, and hummingbirds.

Yucca Tree

My daughter really likes the Joshua trees which are scattered beyond the local highways. There was even a park sign that said, “You know you are in the Mojave Desert when you see Joshua trees.” Ironically, we did not see any in this particular park, but we did see several yucca trees. A Joshua tree is the largest of the yucca family.

There are an abundance of parks to choose from in Las Vegas, so we check out different ones all the time. It’s a nice way to spend a lovely spring day outside and enjoy the beautiful sunny weather. There was a lovely cool breeze so we had to wear a light sweater. You could even bring a homemade picnic lunch, have quality time with the family and not spend any money.  It’s a great way to get some exercise and enjoy the fresh air.

Whether you want to spend a day with your family or just get out of the house on a nice day, Las Vegas parks have something to offer everyone. Please let us know about your favorite park in the comments below. Thank you!