As of 2023, Las Vegas attracts more than 40.8 million visitors a year. The Fremont Street Experience, a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, occupies the westernmost five blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as Glitter Gulch. The large number of neon signs earned the area that nickname. For many years, the western end of Fremont Street was the area most commonly portrayed whenever producers wanted to evoke the lights of Las Vegas.
In Las Vegas, the summer months of June through September are extremely hot, though moderated by the low humidity levels. July is the hottest month, with an average daytime high of 104.5 degrees F. On average, 78 days a year reach 100 degrees F, and during the peak of summer, overnight lows frequently stay above 80 degrees F. The highest temperature officially observed for Las Vegas is 120 degrees F, measured at Harry Reid International Airport on July 7, 2024.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is about 15 miles west of Las Vegas, and more than three million people visit the area each year. It showcases large red rock formations, a set of sandstone peaks and walls, and the walls are up to 3,000 feet high. A one-way loop road, 13 miles long, provides vehicle access to many of the area's features, and a visitor center is at the start of the loop road. Several side roads and parking areas give access to many of the area's trails.
The most popular activities at Red Rock are hiking, biking, rock scrambling and rock climbing. The conservation area is a protected habitat for the desert tortoise, and a habitat at the visitor center houses eight females and two males. Visitors are told that summer temperatures can routinely exceed 105 degrees F, so they must bring plenty of water. In early spring, depending on precipitation, waterfalls may be seen on the edge of the canyons.
The Pinball Hall of Fame is a nonprofit, hands-on museum for playable pinball machines in Las Vegas, and it features pinball machines, arcade games and other novelty machines from all eras. It is fully staffed by volunteers, and its excess revenues are donated to the Salvation Army. Tim Arnold is the director of the Pinball Hall of Fame. He raised money for the project by selling videos about pinball repair and organizing pinball nights at his house. His collection started with his first machine in 1972, and he moved it from Michigan to Las Vegas in the early 1990s. In 2020, the Pinball Hall of Fame announced plans to move to a new, larger location at 4925 S Las Vegas Blvd. The new location is a purpose-built 28,000 square foot warehouse intended to house the complete collection of more than 700 games. It opened at its Las Vegas Blvd location on April 15, 2021.
The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is in the median at 5100 Las Vegas Boulevard South. It sits in Paradise, roughly 4 miles south of the Las Vegas city limits. Betty Willis, an employee of Western Neon, designed the sign, and it was built and installed in 1959. It cost $4,000 to build the sign, which is 25 feet tall. In a nod to Nevada's nickname, the Silver State, white neon circles across the top of the sign represent silver dollars. On the back or north side, which is less frequently photographed, the sign reads "Drive" on the top line and "Carefully" on the second, with "Come Back" on the third line and "Soon" on the fourth.
First Friday is a monthly celebration with arts, music, special presentations and food in 18b, the Las Vegas Arts District, downtown, and it extends into the Fremont East Entertainment District. The Thursday evening before First Friday is Preview Thursday, which highlights new gallery exhibitions throughout the district. Life is Beautiful, an annual music, culinary, art and learning festival held in downtown Las Vegas, was founded by Rehan Choudhry in 2013. The festival has a heavy focus on art, with massive murals and interactive sculpture exhibits, and its art features both local and international artists.
Fremont Street's Las Vegas firsts include the first hotel, the Hotel Nevada, which opened in 1906 and has since been renamed the Golden Gate, and the first paved street, in 1925. The central attraction of the Fremont Street Experience is a barrel vault canopy, 90 feet high at the peak and four blocks, or about 1,375 feet, long. Each canopy show begins by turning off the lights on all of the buildings under the canopy, including the casinos. The Fremont Street Experience is also the location of the SlotZilla zip lines.
Binion's, a casino on Fremont Street along the Fremont Street Experience pedestrian mall, is named for its founder, Benny Binion, whose family ran it from its founding in 1951 until 2004. In 1951, Benny Binion bought the Eldorado Club and Hotel Apache and reopened them as Binion's Horseshoe. The Binion's hotel, which had 366 rooms, closed in 2009. Where You LIVE.