Recently, I went to Las Vegas and, having been there before, I was looking to get out of the city a bit and explore some of the surrounding trails. I went to an area called Red Rock Canyon and did a trail called Icebox Canyon and I loved it! The desert scenery was so different from what we're used to in the pacific northwest and it was beautiful seeing the redish rock formations and desert vegetation.
The Red Rock Canyon area was within a National Park (you have to pay to enter) and there are many trails within the area to hike including some that would take most of the day. The drive was less than 1-hour outside of Vegas and even the loop that you drive around the park was scenic.
Here are some photos that I found with good information about the area.
http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/Red_Rocks/Icebox_Cyn/_Icebox.htm
