View Larger MapBefore a few weeks ago, I had never been to Laughlin, Nevada. Laughlin is a border town just across the Colorado River from Arizona. It’s also a popular destination for folks who want to get into Nevada for a little fun on the weekend. You can easily see that by the size of the resorts in Laughlin. They don’t strike you as a small-town border-type place to put up for a night, but rather pretty big-time places that are capable of handling some serious crowds and events.
My trip to Laughlin was part of a bigger trip to see a lot of southern Nevada. I was going to spend a few days in Las Vegas and take a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon. So I didn’t have as much time in Laughlin as I would have liked, but I was able to hook up with the awesome Laughlin Visitors Bureau to get shown around a bit.
Colorado Belle Riverwalk: Laughlin has a nice riverwalk that extends from one end of the Laughlin Strip to almost the other end. This is the section behind the Colorado Belle. Photo by Ryan Jerz.The first day I was shown a few key spots to take photos in Laughlin and released to explore it on my own. I wandered around the Riverwalk, which runs from the Riverside on one end of the Laughlin Strip to the River Palms on the other. Beyond the River Palms is Harrah’s, which isn’t connected to the Riverwalk. Part of that night’s shooting yielded a photo panorama of the entire Laughlin Strip, which I love. Make sure to look at it in the largest size.
My room was at the Aquarius Casino Resort, and was quite nice. Admittedly, with the late night of shooting and the early morning the next day, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time there, but the place was very accommodating.
Grapevine Canyon Petroglyphs: Ancient petroglyphs are all over the rocks and hills in Grapevine Canyon, near Laughlin, Nevada. Photo by Ryan Jerz.The next morning, I got up early and wandered around near the river again. I met with one of the people from the Laughlin Visitors Bureau and we took a little ride a few miles up the road to Grapevine Canyon. It consists of a bunch of hiking trails and some climbing. The old riverbed that runs through the canyon is surrounded by rocky hills that are covered in petroglyphs. We hiked back from the parking area about a half mile to reach the majority of the petroglyphs, and we could see the spot where the grapevines that give the area its name grow. There was no water yet when we were there, but I hear it’s a great sight when they’re green.
After leaving Grapevine Canyon, I wandered around town a bit. I had a few hours to kill before hopping on the boat for a river cruise. Laughlin houses an outlet mall with over 50 stores that was pretty popular. I got to wander around in the air conditioning (it was warm for the time of year) and rest up. Then I headed over to the Riverside for a trip up the river to see Davis Dam.
A look down the Colorado River: This look down the Colorado River in Laughlin shows the Edgewater, Colorado Belle, River Palms, and the Pioneer. Photo by Ryan Jerz.Leaving the Riverside for the dam is a slow go. The river runs at about 7 mph and that pushes quite a bit against the boats. At one point, I was walking next to the river and was going about the same speed as boats moving in the same direction. That leaves ample time to hear about the history of Laughlin from the boat owned by the resort named after the guy who started it all, Don Laughlin. As we hit the dam and turned around, I could immediately tell we were really moving. It felt pretty fast going back toward town. Passing all of the resorts gives you a great look at the town itself and a good perspective. I would say that the $10 cost for the boat cruise is well worth it, as it’s a great time to relax, learn a little bit, and enjoy the Colorado River.
After the boat ride it was time to head out to my next stop. Along the way while in Laughlin, I was able to take a couple of short, quick videos:
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