We ended up in Laughlin, NV due to my need for packages from Amazon. Laughlin was in the general direction of Las Vegas which will be our destination for March 2020. Neither of us has been to this area. We learned that town is named after Don Laughlin in the mid 1960s. We are actually staying in the RV park attached to the casino that he owns.
We drove near the Davis Dam as we came into town. I quickly added that to our places to visit once we got settled. Davis Dam was the first place we visited. There is a scenic park on the Nevada side. The play ground and picnic areas are covered for year round use. You can access the Dam from the Nevada and the Arizona side. The Arizona side is lake behind the dam. If you want to walk the dam, I recommend you do it from the Arizona side. There is parking near the entrance to the top of the dam. The Nevada side is the dam and the water beneath. This is where the best walking trails are located.
This is an area where we both constantly wore hats and sunglasses. I had a difficult time keeping my lips from burning. It did not seem to matter how much sunscreen I used.
Gambling is Laughlin’s industry. We are parked above the strip. It is surprisingly quiet. Across the river is Bullhead, AZ. There are homes, shopping and services on the Bullhead side of the river. The one issue we had to get used to is that Laughlin is in the Pacific time zone and Bullhead is in the Mountain time zone. During our time we got used to going places early after our first day showing up too late for certain businesses because they close at 7 pm MST. Besides that this is a great place to visit. We are at an low elevation (less than 1,000 feet). It is much warmer here than at the Mojave National Preserve or Las Legas, NV due to elevation.
There are interesting trails that lead from the strip to the Davis Dam. There is plenty to do if you are not a gambler. We tried one of the buffets for lunch. It was inexpensive and very tasty. We are in the desert so we got to see rock art. One of the most interesting is the Laughlin Labyrinths. Donna and I spent time walking a few of the Labyrinth to find our zen space.
Have you been to Laughlin, NV?
We are very familiar with the Bullhead City area and Laughlin. My mother-in-law and brother-in-law live there, and we had been visiting weekly through our time in Quartzsite. Until we left for Texas, that is. Did you make it to the Petroglyphs just up the road a bit? Those are fun to see as well.
We did. Those are so beautiful that this area will have its own post later this week. We really enjoyed that area. I am glad that my need for a package made us make that stop.