Fun things to do in Las Vegas on Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day, Valentine’s Day, your birthday: there’s always something going on at the LINQ, one of Sin City’s most popular open-air entertainment destinations. Soar above the Strip (way above, in fact: this thing is 550 feet tall!) on the High Roller Observation Wheel. The 30-minute rotation gives you plenty of time to ogle Las Vegas’s many skyline attractions, as well as the reddish tinge of the Mojave Desert beyond the city limits. Like your kicks high, but not quite as high as that? Try the Fly LINQ Zipline, for an adrenaline-fueled ‘wheeeee’ moment as you speed screaming towards the High Roller from a relatively modest 122 feet up. Back on terra firma, hit up Sweet Sin for a nerve-settling sugar fix – try the signature macaroon/cream cake crossover that is the macream.

No trip to Las Vegas is complete without ooh-ing and aah-ing your way through the Bellagio’s epic dancing fountain display. And, like every other preening casino hotel along the Strip, you can bet your bottom dollar the Bellagio will up the ante for Labor Day Weekend, with special themed shows and an increased number of performances to meet demand. Once you’ve ticked off this essential Vegas experience, duck inside for a goggle at the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Free to enter, this unexpected oasis in the middle of the Mojave showcases eye-popping elaborate displays of seasonal plants and flowers, all presented in that inimitable larger-than-life Vegas style that the fountains outside so ably demonstrated.

In Las Vegas, Labor Day = party time. And, as if it even needs saying, Sin City's club scene is the stuff of legend. Pool parties, rooftop raves, cavernous clubs: it’s all here, and then some. Labor Day Weekend sees the world’s top DJs descend on the desert city. Expect sets from the likes of Tiësto, Diplo, Steve Aoki and Calvin Harris as mega-clubs like Omnia at Caesars Palace, Hakkasan at the MGM Grand,and The Cosmopolitan’s Marquee go into holiday overdrive. It’s Vegas, baby! So, as ever, there also the option of a VIP nightclub tour – think of it as a zero-hassle Sin City taster for the uninitiated.

The Grand Canyon. And if you thought things couldn’t get any more epic than that, well, you’d be wrong. Buckle up for the road-trip of a lifetime – straight from the neon lights and noise of Vegas to the hushed, otherworldly South Rim of one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. That’s right, folks: it’s the Grand Canyon, where colorful alien rock formations, red sandstone cliffs and deep, sculptural crevasses are the order of the day. Eyes peeled (and cameras at the ready) for carpets of native wildflowers and maybe even the occasional shy bobcat peeping out from behind a sagebrush shrub.

Red Rock Canyon. The clue’s in the name here. We’re talking 200,000 acres of rust-colored sandstone stacks, all just a few clicks west of downtown. Book a guided tour or go it alone in a rented Cadillac (top down, of course). There’s a drivable 13-mile loop, an impossibly scenic route with easy access to several of the canyon’s hiking trails along the way, in case you want to stretch your legs and take a closer look. Expect to spot ancient Native American petroglyphs, towering cacti, secret waterfalls, and the occasional twitching nose of a jackrabbit.

Seven Magic Mountains. No, it’s not the effects of last night’s mescal party: you really are looking at seven stacks of rainbow-colored boulders way out in the middle of the Mojave. Swiss sculptor Ugo Rondinone’s gravity-defying art installation is manna for Insta addicts; its teetering towers – all bright blues, gorgeous greens and popping pinks – sure to set your reels alight.

Mount Charleston. Do you wanna build a snowman? Unbelievably, you can do precisely that just an hour or so north of the Strip. Take a drive up to Mount Charleston, marveling at the way the landscape morphs from heat-hazed desert reds to lush green alpine scenery along the way. The Spring Mountains National Park’s wild pine forests and crashing waterfalls provide welcome respite from the heat of the city and – should you be so inclined – you can undertake a 16-hour round-hike up to Charleston Peak where, alongside epic views of Death Valley, the Sierra Nevada and Las Vegas, you might even find enough snow to construct that aforementioned frosty friend.