Plenty to See and Do in Laughlin, NV

I lived most of my life in Southern California and spent many weekend in Las Vegas. As much fun as Vegas is, it can be really expensive and really crowded. I am not much of a crowd person, so I much rather head to Laughlin to gamble and spend a long weekend. The city of Laughlin, formally known as South Pointe, is located on the tip of Nevada and touches California as well as Arizona. It is only 2 hours away from Las Vegas, but the atmosphere in Laughlin is extremely different. It is definitely more relaxed and much less flashy. Although the hotels and resorts attract millions of guests yearly, the Colorado River attracts even more. The lure of the river attracts boating, fishing, water-skiing and swimmers alike. Wave runners and the sort are also often seen on the river.

Laughlin was not always the travel destination it is today. Up until 1966 the area contained one little roadhouse restaurant that mostly served the workers working on the Davis Dam. Then Don Laughlin, an entrepreneur, came down from Las Vegas and renovated the little restaurant into a casino. After the renovation was complete the casino was named the Riverside. Eleven years later, in 1977, the rapidly growing city of South Pointe was officially changed to Laughlin.

Several people saw the success of the Riverside and began building their own hotels and casinos. Today there are major hotels that cover most of the west riverbank of the Colorado River. The Colorado Hotel (now the Pioneer), The Regency, Sam’s Town Gold River (now the Laughlin River Lodge), and The Edgewater opened in the early 1980s. A second boom resulted in the construction of The Colorado Belle, Harrah’s Del Rio, and The Ramada Express (now The Tropicana Express). In 1987, Don Laughlin funded and built the Laughlin Bridge which he donated to the states of Nevada and Arizona.

Besides gambling and playing on the river, there are quite a few other things to see and explore while in the Laughlin area. You can visit the Old West city of Oatman in Arizona and see a staged gun fight. Grapevine Canyon is also a fun place to visit. Many Indians gathered here for water and meetings. The signs on the rocks tell many stories of the past and give instructions on the local conditions.

Make sure to check out Davis Dam constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation downstream from Hoover Dam. It impounds Lake Mohave. Another interesting thing to see is Fort Mohave Indian Reservation. It is the 41,884-acre home of the Mojave, noted for their basketry and beadwork. If you are a night person, there are plenty of shows and nightclubs to keep you entertained.

As I said earlier, I really like Laughlin. I like being able to go swimming in the late afternoon and gamble the night away, lol. I do like that the city is smaller and slower than Vegas. It is also fun to take the water taxi from one casino to the other. The only downfall is that fact that it is desert and it even hotter than Vegas. Yuck. It’s ok though. I mostly stay inside and gamble anyway, lol. I would definitely suggest trying it sometime as an alternative to Vegas. You may find that you like it better too.