Some people get their thrills by pulling a slot machine handle or dining out at a five-star restaurant. But for some real heart-in-your throat action—the kind that gets your stomach flipping and your mouth screaming bloody murder—Las Vegas provides opportunities that dare you to add some adventure into your vacation itinerary.
Stratosphere
1. Stratosphere thrill rides
Because amusement park-type rides aren’t exciting enough when boarded from the ground, Stratosphere upped the ante and placed its thrill rides 1,000 feet in the air. Take your pick for panic by riding Insanity, Big Shot or X-Scream, or hurtling down 108 floors from the top of the Stratosphere tower strapped into SkyJump Las Vegas.
2. Gun ranges
There really is no other thrill that can be compared to shooting a gun. So if you’re going to do it, do it in a safe environment at some of Vegas’ top shooting ranges: The Gun Garage, Vegas Machine Gun Experience and The Range 702. Different packages are available at all locations, including the chance to fire off weapons such as an AK-47 or Uzi.
Voodoo ZipLine
3. VooDoo ZipLine
Unless you have Spidey powers, getting from the top of one Rio tower to the next may require you to ride VooDoo ZipLine. This two-person ride, while providing adrenaline-pumping speeds of 33 mph, lets you view the city twice. After you reach the second tower, you’ll be pulled backwards more slowly to the launching point.
4. Exotics Racing
This thrill literally puts you in the driver’s seat as you zoom around the private 1.2-mile track. But who says thrills can’t be luxurious, too? At Exotics Racing not only can you get plenty of laps around the track, but you can also ride the track in some of the most expensive cars to hit pavement. Put pedal to metal in a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Corvette.
5. Vegas Indoor Skydiving
Everyone knows ordinary skydiving is a daring experience. Instead of boarding a plane, get your hang time inside a building at Vegas Indoor Skydiving. Guests enter a padded wind tunnel where under the mesh floor whirs a DC-3 propeller. Angle your arms and legs just right to simulate the same free-fall experience—no airflight required
6. Adrenaline ATV Tours
Head out on the trail for an extraordinary desert riding experience. Adrenaline ATV Tours is the only tour company with permission to take riders through the Logandale trails in the beautiful Valley of Fire. The three-hour ride on the company’s Polaris Sportsman ACE ATVs winds through the trails with terrain that includes red sand dunes. Honda ATVs are also available to ride.
The Roller Coaster at New York-New York
7. New York-New York’s roller coaster
The thrill slowly builds as you ascend into the air on The Roller Coaster at New York-New York. The death-defying moment comes when you plummet in a 144-foot drop and travel more than 60 mph as the coaster does loops, corkscrews and a stomach-flipping 180-degree heartline spiral. Along the way, a camera snaps a pic of you screaming.
8. Shark Reef Aquarium
Out of the shadows, coal-black eyes focus intently on you. You notice not only one shark, but now dozens circling above and below. It doesn’t get more electrifying in Las Vegas than with the Dive With Sharks Program at Mandalay Bay’s aquarium. The experience requires adventurers to be dive-certified before heading into 1.3 million gallons of water.
El Loco
9.El Loco
At Circus Circus’ Adventuredome, 72 seconds of thrills begins after boarding the indoor theme park’s coaster, El Loco. The four-seat car takes riders through a series of scream-inducing turns carried out over 1,300 feet of track. Barrel rolls, inverted drops, banked curves and a reverse 240-degree roll will send shivers through your body.
