My Trip to Vegas

Warning, this post is long and picture heavy. I don’t focus on the Las Vegas Strip, but rather things off strip (and much more affordable).  I lived in Vegas for 8 years, so I do enjoy going back there.  My husband’s company does a retreat there every year, so I sometimes tag along a little early so we can spend a few days together.  This was my first time going back to Vegas as a vegan, so I thought would share some of the yummy vegan eats we had while there.  I was super excited to score tickets for only $40.  Thanks to Southwest Airlines for their wanna get away fares. Love them!

Our flight to Vegas got in super early, so as soon as we got the car, we looked up somewhere to have breakfast.  I love using Happy Cow when traveling.  So many good vegan restaurant suggestions!  The first place we found was Violet’s Vegan Organic Eatery and Juice Bar.  It’s actually located in the same neighborhood as I used to live in!  It’s about a 15 minute drive from the strip, but well worth it! I loved the decor and there was some pretty amazing art on the walls.

This place is 100% plant based, organic AND they try to source local ingredients when possible. Marcus got the BLT on sourdough and I got a breakfast burrito.  Both were so good, but I really enjoyed the burrito.  They also have some delicious sounding milkshakes (like German Chocolate, hello!) on the menu. I wanted to go back and try one, but we only had 2 days here.

After breakfast, we went over to Red Rock Hotel and Casino because that is where we were staying.  I really enjoy staying off the strip.  It’s much quieter and and close to where I used to live.  We didn’t expect our room to be ready since it was only about 10am in the morning.  However, we were pleasantly surprised.

Not only was a room ready, but they also upgraded us to a pretty bad ass sweet for no extra charge!  Here are a few pics of the suite.  It was huge and had 2 bathrooms!  The lighting in the rooms was very low, so it was hard to get really good pictures.  The ONLY negative thing I will say about Red Rock is that the internet connection is super slow.  Like dial up slow.  I even tried to pay for a faster service and never saw an improvement. I ended up creating a hot spot on my phone and that was a better connection.

After check in, we headed to the strip to do some people watching.  We parked our car at the Bellagio and I was kinda bummed to find out they charge for parking now.  Up until 6 months ago, it was free. Just an FYI for anyone heading down to the strip.

We are not big gamblers, so we mainly went down there to people watch and get some exercise. When I go on vacation, I love to do a lot of walking.  It’s a great way to experience a destination, and also great for people watching!  Usually on vacation, I indulge a bit with food, so all the walking helps burn that off.  Here is a glimpse of day 1 from my fitbit.

We were meeting some old friends that night for dinner and drinks later in the evening , but decided to grab a quick bite at Yard House in Red Rock.  We just happened to get there for all the happy hour specials. Here is a look at their happy hour menu.  I got the mushroom lettuce wraps and Marcus got the onion rings sans cheese.  He doesn’t normally eat fried food, but splurged a little since it was vacation.  🙂 Both of these servings were HUGE and could have easily been shared.

Another great thing near Red Rock is Downtown Summerlin.  That’s actually where we met our friends.  It’s  an outdoor mall that is walking distance from Red Rock.  There are lots of dining options and all of them have good happy hour specials as well.  I highly recommend Grape Street Cafe.  It’s my all time favorite place to eat in Vegas.  In fact, we ate there on our wedding night.  So good!!

We met our friends at The Lazy Dog.  It’s a dog friendly restaurant.  They even have a menu for the dogs!  There are lots of things on the menu you can easily veganize.  I fogrot to take pics, but I got the Pad Thai with tofu and no egg.  So yummy!

The next day, we took a reader’s suggestion and tried VegeNation downtown.  It was a bit of a drive from Red Rock, but if you are staying on the Strip, its about a 10 minute drive.  Marcus got the chili bowl, and I got french toast with this divine maple walnut cream!  I could have eaten that by the spoon alone!

Everything was delicious!!  They also have some pretty sweet happy hour deals if you come later in the day.

We headed up to Red Rock Canyon to go hiking after breakfast.  It’s super close to Red Rock Hotel.  Only about a 7 minute drive.  The admission price is $7 and with that, you get a map with the trail descriptions. There are trails for all energy levels and the level of difficulty is on each trail description.  I have hiked all the trails in here numerous times, but I highly recommend either the Calico Hills Trail or Ice Box Canyon.  If you are feeling super adventurous, you can try Turtle’s Head Trail.  There is a great view from the top!  On this day, we did the Calico Hills Trail.  The weather was gorgeous!  About 85 degrees.  Here are a few pics from our hike. The pictures don’t do it justice.  It’s absolutely breathtaking to see!

We racked up lots of steps and active minutes this day as well.

The next morning, I had to leave, so Marcus and I stopped at the Whole Foods on Las Vegas Blvd for breakfast before we went to the airport.  I got a detox juice and made some steel cut oats topped with granola and raisins.  The juice was made from beets, apple, parsley, carrot and a HUGE kick of ginger, which I love. 

So if you head to Vegas, there are definitely some awesome places worth checking out off the strip!  I hope to go back again in a few years!  If you like these travel posts, you can check out my vegan travel section.