From:
Mike in Manchester, New Hampshire
Question:
I’ve enjoyed the walking tours you featured for the last couple of weeks on the South and Center Strip areas. Are you going to do one for the North Strip?
Answer:
There are a couple of problems with doing a walking tour about the North Strip, Mike. First, there is just less of major interest to see and second it’s much more spread out than the southern or central portions of The Strip. That means you’ll be doing a lot more walking to see a lot less, something that can be unpleasant in the best of circumstances but even worse if it happens to be 110 degrees outside.
But if you’re up for it, I am, so here’s my idea for a North Strip Walking (and Riding) Tour.
Start and End: Wynn Las Vegas
Approximate Time: 4 hours
Approximate Distance: 4 miles (but only 2 of it walked)
Best Time: Morning
Start at Wynn Las Vegas, which at an estimated $2.7 billion is the most expensive hotel ever built in this country. There’s a lot to look at here including the beautiful gardens near the lobby, the lovely casino, and a Ferrari dealership if you are so inclined. Exit the building through the Esplanade shopping gallery and that will lead you to the northeast corner of The Strip and Sands Avenue.
Take the pedestrian bridge across the street to the west toward the Fashion Show Mall. This 3 million square-foot temple to commerce is the largest in Las Vegas and one of the largest in the United States. It has everything from the usual mall suspects to things you probably won’t find in the one down the road from you. Have someone hide your credit cards.
Exit the mall and turn left to head north on The Strip. The next thing you’ll pass is The Frontier Hotel and Casino, a place totally not worth your time or energy going into unless you just want to say you did. At some point, probably this year, it will be torn down to make way for a proposed multi-billion resort hotel called Montreaux, based on the Swiss town famous for its jazz festival.
Out behind the Frontier you’ll notice a tall gold building under construction as of this writing. That’s the new Trump International (yes, that Trump), a condo-hotel tower due to open in 2008. There will be no casino so even if you happen to be reading this after the place is open, there’s not going to be a lot for you to see or do there.
Keep heading north along The Strip and you’ll pass a big construction zone on your side of the street. That’s where the Stardust used to be located (it’s due to be imploded any day now) and where they are building a $4 billion complex of hotels and casinos called Echelon Place. It’s due to open in 2010.
Across the street you’ll notice The Riviera, one of the last remaining casinos from one of Vegas’ many boom periods. Opened in 1955 with Liberace as the main entertainment, the hotel has gone downhill in recent years and it really isn’t worth the energy to cross the street to see it, again unless you just want to say you did.
Instead a little further north and you’ll find Circus Circus on your side of the street. This one is worth wandering through, if for no other reason than they have live, free circus acts inside above the casino and, for thrill ride aficionados, an indoor amusement park out back. When you come out of the hotel turn left and continue heading north.
There’s lots of construction going on between here and your next stop, but most of it is for condominium or time-share projects so it is of very little interest to the average Vegas visitor.
The big empty lot you see at the corner of Sahara and The Strip is noteworthy. That is the location of the very first hotel/casino to be built on what would eventually become The Strip. It was called El Rancho and opened in 1941, years before The Flamingo did. It burned to the ground in 1960 and the plot of land has been vacant ever since.
Across the street you’ll see The Sahara but don’t go there yet. We’ll get that one on the way back.
Continue north and you’ll pass Bonanza Gifts, billed as the world’s largest souvenir shop. I don’t know who verifies claims like this, but I’m willing to let it pass because if you’re looking for that truly tacky Vegas souvenir (and I mean that in a good way), this is the place to go. From Elvis to aliens, they’ve got it here.
Continue north for another couple of blocks and you’ll reach the pinnacle of your walking tour in more ways that one with The Stratosphere. You can’t miss it; it’s that 1,000 foot tower looming over everything. Go inside and take a ride up to the top to see just how far you’ve walked and if you’re feeling brave take a trip on one of the extreme thrill rides.
When you come back down head back the way you came, going a couple of blocks south back to The Sahara. This is another hotel that isn’t much to look at these days although if you’re a fan of NASCAR, they do have a themed café and a virtual reality ride that puts you behind the wheel of a stock car so that’s kind of cool.
Follow the signs for the monorail (or the buffet, whichever is more obvious) and you’ll go out behind the hotel to the Las Vegas Monorail stop. I recommend this rather than walking all the way back just because it’s easier and I’m a lazy slob.
You could stop at the Las Vegas Hilton on your way but that’s not officially part of the North Strip so I’m not going to include it here.
You want to get off at the Las Vegas Convention Center stop (the next one past the Las Vegas Hilton) and go across the street to the southwest corner of Desert Inn and Paradise Road. You’ll see a red awning over a bus stop. This is where buses will come pick you up to take you back to Wynn Las Vegas.
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