This page could go on for a very long time because of everything there is in the Las Vegas Valley for seniors to do. I am sure we are only scratching the surface. When you visit a senior community, you will find that this list includes just some of the activities that we know seniors enjoy. Our goal is to try and give you a good snapshot so you get an idea of what the capabilities are for seniors to do around the Las Vegas area.
Let’s start with listing some of the most popular outdoor activities: sightseeing and photography. They are activities that are very uniquely different to the area do to the climate and surrounding desert and mountains. You will see wildlife that you don’t normally see (burros, horses, deer, elk, bighorn sheep, coyotes, foxes, and others) and some sunsets and sunrises that are very special.
Swimming pools are often used in the senior communities and are primarily for exercise and enjoying each other’s company. It is a great place to entertain and enjoy family visits. Some of the casinos in the community will allow locals to be able to go over and go swimming with grandkids, not just travelers, for a minimal cost.
Sports are enjoyed around the community. Tennis, softball, pickleball, running, horseshoes, bocce ball, shuffleboard, golf, frisbee golf, shooting clubs of all kinds (state of the art ranges) soccer, cycling, bowling, mountain bikes, ATV and dirt bike trails and racing. We are sure there are others, however the outdoor activities do not stop. The active seniors in the Las Vegas Valley will have an abundance of things to do and find what they are looking for.
The Las Vegas valley constantly has activities. That is the beauty of having casinos close by. The casinos offer many things to do and they are constantly changing. When visiting our community from out-of-state, people stay in downtown mostly and do not see the area very well. The casinos are always trying to figure out what they need at their casino to be able to keep the people there for their stay or locals to come often. That is why casinos have between 8 and 16 movie theaters as many as 60 bowling lanes, child care, swimming pools, shops and restaurants. Many of the restaurants in the casinos have world-class chefs because they can afford to hire them and a great staff.
The casino will sponsor events through the boarding passes that we all have because they give you discounts on restaurants, theaters, and specials when gambling. They have opportunities for free slot play, opportunities for free dinners, rooms, and other things for someone who likes to gamble. Sports betting is a very big deal in the valley many people enjoy betting on games, horses, cars, the Super Bowl, World Series, hockey, and basketball (both professional and college). There are people that place a bet every every week. They go to place bets with friends to enjoy their company. Usually it’s not for much money, but if they win they can be for a lot of money especially if they do a parlay card. During the football season, they have contests you can enter for about $25 that goes for the whole season and it keeps track of who picks the most winners who picks the most losers and the like. It makes for a lot of fun with the people who are actively doing those things. It is bragging rights along with some money you can win.
Other activities that the casinos provide are things like bingo and keno. Those things are a little more passive where you can spend some time with some friends and have some fun and enjoyment while at dinner or in the lounges. It amounts to a lot of fun for the money and good time being able to spend time with friends.
There are many groups to get together for activities. Many of these groups are as simple as just going for walks together in Las Vegas area. We have hundreds of miles of walking trails. Some are more strenuous than others. We can go up to Mount Charleston if we want to get into some serious hiking or we can go around football fields or some malls to get some walking in without having as much strenuous activity. Groups will go on outings such as RV clubs going into the mountains, people going to explore mines, and you can go rock climbing.
Theater is a big deal here. We have the Smith Center for Broadway type plays, Super Summer theater, and a few libraries have their own theaters. We have Las Vegas Little Theater. We have schools for the arts that do performances all the time. We have local community groups that perform in theaters within senior communities at times. We also have groups that come off the Strip and perform at some of those centers up there. With their shows, there’s a calendar of events and lots of our senior communities go for those shows and they do them often.
A lot of seniors have gotten to the point where they will plan their vacations around some of the activities they enjoy. The bridge clubs have had cruises booked so when aboard ship they will go for two week cruises at a time (or even longer) where they spent a lot of time on the ocean sometimes it’s on a ship with extended day at sea. For instance, to Bermuda or Hawaii or some of those places where the time on the water can be 4 days in a row. The bridge club and those types of groups love to go on this type of cruise because the time at sea is a good time to play bridge or other games. They start in the morning, break for a while for lunch, come back and play again, then have dinner and go out to a show, and start over again the next day. Makes a full day and has the time well accounted for. The day-to-day activity of not being home gives more time to play rather than daily home chores. Keep the mundane duties out of the way and helps them get more saturated into the activity at hand.
Senior softball clubs put on softball tournaments in foreign countries that are attached to a variety of cruises. They will come to cities and play teams that are on the same trip or other ships that meet up in that same area. Usually the benefits from that are going to some sort of a charity and they really enjoy meeting people from all over the world doing those activities they enjoy. You will find the people from those activities truly enjoy meeting people with like kind interest and choose to hang out with them and kindle new relationships.
What are the fun things to do in Nevada? Exploring Nevada was at the front when mines were needed back in the 1800s. When traveling around Nevada you will see little dugouts or rocks that look inappropriate on the sides of mountains. Years ago, there was somebody who went and dug those out and was looking for silver, gold, and whatever else of value they could find some of those mines are still active today. However, the people who like to use that as an activity love to go out and explore the old mines. You must keep in mind this can be very dangerous, only experienced people should try doing that. Some of our old mines have been deemed unsafe and could collapse. Some mines don’t have very good air within the mine. However, it is very fun to go back in the time when they were thriving cities. Some of the ghost towns in Nevada were once home to over 10 to 20,000 people when one of mines nearby was full of the ore they were looking for. Many large buildings and homes are left abandoned.
There are mountain trails that will take you to see a lot of those places. For the ATV enthusiasts, a trek like that could be the highlight of the week. When you’re traveling out in the country and going over mountains and ridges and through hard to get through places it is amazing to think that back in the horse and buggy times they were able to get the equipment that is located in some of those areas today. When the mine gets to the point where the mineral that they are extracting is diminished, it is basically abandoned and the equipment that was there is very often just left behind because it cost too much to move for the value of it. There are maps that show you some of those abandoned areas. Many times they are not close to the main roads so the ATV groups will go out and explore those areas and enjoy one another’s company when doing those activities. Enthusiasts like traveling in big groups just in case something happens to them on the excursion. It’s nice to have somebody to fall back on and you do not want to get stranded in the desert and 110 degrees. Whenever you’re out exploring the desert, make sure you take plenty of water as this climate will pull the water out of your body. Most people going on adventures have the ability to carry coolers, backpacks, food, CamelBaks, sunscreen, and everything on their bike along with the required tools to fix most of the issues and change the flats. Plan like it will happen and it will be an enjoyable trip.
Boating out at Lake Mead is a big deal. Many people go out there and spend the day. Lake Mead is about the lowest area in Clark County and you can be out on the water and get dehydrated if you’re not careful. Some people think since they are in the water you don’t need to worry about drinking water and you cannot drink out of the lake so they forget to drink water sometimes they’re drinking alcohol instead of water and that doubles the problem. The activities at Lake Mead include water skiing camping fishing jet skiing sightseeing it is a very beautiful Lake and worth the trip out there to see it it is a national park and with all national parks you have to pay to get in. Seniors however get a bargain they can buy a one-time pass for all national parks or around $80 for a lifetime however they do not reissue the pass and if you lose it you’ll have to buy another one. With that pass you buy in Clark County you can get into Valley of Fire, Red Rock area, at west Charleston and Lake Mead. They are the same passes that are good all over the country where there are national parks all the way from Hawaii to the East Coast.
This is just a start of what’s going on around Clark County for seniors to do. I am sure the more people you talk to that they would have as many more things to talk about than what’s listed here. We would encourage you to go out and find out what’s going on in the Las Vegas Valley and Clark County for you to do that you would enjoy.
