Nevada road trips

Two hours to the lowest point in North America. Go in winter, fill the tank in Pahrump, and loop back via Beatty and the Rhyolite ghost town.

The easiest national park escape from the Strip: under three hours up I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge, with a stop for a mini-Zion at Snow Canyon or Kolob if you have time.

A climb from desert to 8,000-foot forests. It's easy to fold Zion in on the way, either through the tunnel on UT-9 or by staying on I-15.

America's most-driven road trip. The trick is when you leave: Friday afternoons and Sunday returns can double the drive time.

Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon are a long day from Vegas. The drive through Kanab and the Vermilion Cliffs is half the fun.

Most people pick the West Rim because it's close. The South Rim is the real national park, and the drive there runs along a long stretch of old Route 66.

Cross Hoover Dam, run Route 66 for a stretch, then drop through pine forest into red rock country.

Desert all the way on US-93 past Hoover Dam and through the Joshua tree forest near Wikieup. Watch your fuel on the empty middle stretch.

The I-15 corridor from Vegas to the coast. Plan stops in Yermo or Barstow, and start early to beat Inland Empire traffic.

A full-day run east through Kanab and Page into the Navajo Nation, timed to reach the buttes for sunset.

In summer the best route crosses Tioga Pass past Mono Lake and Bodie. In winter Tioga is closed and the drive is much longer.

Straight up I-15, the length of Utah. Zion's Kolob Canyons and the Fremont rock art are short detours from the interstate.

A big desert crossing on I-15 and I-70 through the San Rafael Swell, one of the emptiest and most dramatic interstate stretches in the US.

A two-day crossing of Utah and the Rockies on I-15 and I-70. Moab, the Colorado National Monument and Glenwood Canyon make great breaks.