First and foremost, you are responsible for your own safety. While desert travel can be a safe and rewarding experience, it can become life-threatening without proper preparation and utilizing common sense. If you are new to traveling in the desert find an experienced person or group to travel with. Nothing substitutes for experience and good judgment.
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Be Smart - Hiking in summer's heat can be dangerous, plan and adjust your itinerary accordingly. Under these conditions early morning or late afternoon can be alternatives for short local adventures. If it is extremely hot don't go at all, stay by the pool or enjoy the numerous indoor activities available in the area. Better yet, plan your visit (or adventure) during the cooler months so you can enjoy all that the Vegas area has to offer.

Know Your Limits - Misjudging your abilities or limitations on available time can lead to trouble. Consider your experience and physical ability when planning your adventure.

Weather - Deserts are known for weather extremes. Depending on the time of year you can experience exceptionally hot daytime temperatures or bitter nighttime cold. Be aware of and watch for signs of heat related injuries and or hypothermia. Other concerns are storms with potential lightning and flash floods. We all know about lightning, flash floods occur even under blue skies from rain falling miles away. Be especially mindful of desert washes or slot canyons under these conditions. With weather in mind consider your plans carefully.

Drinking Water - In hot weather carry at least one gallon of water per person per day. Leave extra drinking water in your vehicle for your return or in case of an emergency. Don't count on finding any naturally occurring water on your adventure. If any water is found be sure to purify it before drinking. REMEMBER: NO WATER = NO ADVENTURE

Equipment - Equipment needs are dependent upon your adventure. If you are planning a auto tour or short hike around town equipment such as water and snacks, comfortable shoes, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat and a camera would be a minimum. For desert travel your equipment list needs to be more extensive, including a well maintained vehicle with a full tank of gasoline, air in your spare tire and if traveling dirt roads a few tools and a shovel. In addition to the items just listed consider extra water and snacks, long pants, a jacket, sturdy hiking shoes or boots, a flashlight, matches or a lighter, a cell phone (remember coverage in the desert is problematic at best) and a basic first aid kit.

Rescue - Desert travel and hiking often involves access to remote areas. If your vehicle breaks down stay with your vehicle and wait for rescue. Remember if you are prepared your vehicle will provide sanctuary for you and visibility for your rescuers. Don't wander off, attempt self-rescue only as a last resort. When hiking consider how difficult it would be for rescuers to find you and get you out. Use common sense when hiking to avoid the need for rescue. It is good practice to provide an itinerary of your plans to a contact person, which should include your travel route and destination, your vehicle information including license plate number, your cell phone number, your planned activities such as hiking trails and your expected departure and return time including date(s). Make sure to stick to your itinerary and inform your contact person upon return.

Plants & Animals - It is said that everything in the desert bites, scratches or stabs. A lot of desert plants have defense mechanisms, think Cacti among many others. It's a good idea to carry tweezers for removing thorns and other "sticky" things. Some plants are poisonous if ingested so don't eat any plants you are not familiar with. In addition, plants provide a protective environment for animals in the desert heat, when hiking in brushy areas be aware of "nasty" surprises who have sought shelter. Overall, desert dwelling animals are abundant in and around the Vegas area, many being nocturnal or nervous around humans and rarely seen. On any given adventure you are likely to see birds, ground squirrels or chipmunks, rabbits and lizards. Occasionally Bighorn Sheep, wild (feral) horse or burro, coyote and Desert Tortoise are spotted if your lucky and know where to look. Cougar and Bobcat are rarely seen in their natural habitat (personally I have encountered one each in all my years of travel) and if spotted should be considered a "privilege". Rattlesnakes are of obvious concern and chances are you will not see one, being most active early morning or early evening, just keep an "eye out" for them. When it comes to wildlife keep these things in mind: (1) if you leave it alone it will leave you alone (2) don't put your hands or feet where you can't see (3) you are the visitor in their home - admire them from a distance.

GPS Waypoints - Waypoints (WP#) that appear on certain web-pages on this site utilize a coordinate system (datum) called WGS84. This system is what most consumer grade GPS devices utilize. In addition, for the purposes of this website, Google Maps™ is the suggested web-based program for mapping the Waypoint coordinates that are documented on this site. Note: we have noticed differences in mapping position (from time to time) utilizing other products and suspect that coordinate rounding is the most likely reason for these discrepancies. Google Maps™ utilizes the WGS84 datum and "reports" locations in decimal degrees and latitude / longitude coordinate pairs (xx.xxxxx, -xxx.xxxxx) and is therefore a "good match" with most consumer grade GPS devices.
An Example:
36.11468  -115.17286 (Google Maps™)
N36.11468  W115.17286 (this website)
Both of the above coordinate pairs represent the same mapping position. The apparent difference between Google Maps™ coordinates and coordinates from this website is how they are presented. Google Maps™ does not display "cardinal values" (N/S, E/W) as the format is recognized by mapping programs. The "minus" sign in the Google Maps™ coordinate pair "represents" West (W). Most consumer GPS devices display coordinates as "cardinal values" (as documented on this website). For the Vegas area (and the entire U.S.) latitude is North, longitude is West. Highlight each "green" coordinate pair (separately) in the example above, right click & copy, then in Google Maps™ paste into search window. The above example maps the intersection of S. Las Vegas Blvd. & E. Flamingo Rd.
•  getoutdoorsVegas.com is not affiliated

•  Know your GPS device's settings and use
•  All distances and waypoints are approximate

"The moral principles that govern a person's behavior with respect to the natural environment" as defined for this website. Each of us needs to ask: What do these words mean to me? For your author, this means to respect the land and wildlife, preserve the natural beauty, protect historically significance areas and leave only footprints: for the enjoyment of those that follow and future generations.
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