10 Greatest Stops on the LA to Vegas Drive
Want to know all the best stops on the impressive LA to Vegas drive? From bottle art work to saloons on the highway, here are the places, distances and timings you need to know.
You could spend days exploring the 5-hour, 300 mile journey on the iconic Highway 15 road trip from Los Angeles to Vegas.
Chock-full of beautiful landscapes, quirky displays, original gas stations, and good road trip food, it’s a memorable one!
See the road trip using this LA to Vegas road trip link. As you can see on the map below, it’s 8 hours 38 direct, but why would you want to do that when you can pop into all these cool spots?!
So, you’ll start in LA. There are so many great things to do here, if you need some inspiration check out my posts on the LA to the Bay tour, the best California day trips and the coolest things to do in Palm Springs too.
If you have time before this road trip, then how about driving from San Francisco to LA on the Pacific Coast Highway first?
Right, finished with LA? Let’s get started…
1. Mormon Rocks
- Distance: 65 miles
- Time: 1 hour 20 minutes from LA
Just outside of Los Angeles, you won’t want to miss the towering sandstone formations that line the highway.
Pull over and spend at least 20 minutes walking the mile-long Mormon Rocks Interpretive Trail, where you can get up close to learn about the odd-shaped formations. Keep your eye out for local birds and reptiles too. This is a popular spot for hiking if you have time, and water.
2. Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch
- Distance: 97.6 miles from LA
- Time: 1 hour 39 minutes from LA
You won’t be driving for long before you’ll want to take another short detour to Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch. Thousands of colored glass bottles form trees in this unique outdoor experience. Take lots of pictures and if you’re lucky, you’ll get to meet Elmer and learn about his art process too.
Visit on a breezy day and you’ll hear the musical drama that is Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch.
3. Calico Ghost Town
- Distance: 136 miles from LA
- Time: 2 hours 23 minutes from LA
If you love exploring abandoned towns, you’ll want to stop here at Calico Ghost Town. This mountainside mining town was left in the 19th century and is now a tourist attraction.
Pay a small fee to explore, and check out the Mystery Shack, full of optical illusions, including a place where water runs uphill. You can take your ghost town experience to the next level by taking a night-time ghost tour and staying the night at the campground here, great for tents