May 2025

Why Salt Lake City to Las Vegas ? 

We needed to get back to the UK from the Philippines.

Going east (via the USA) was a tad further, but hey ! That way we could catch Rod Stewart's farewell residency in Vegas !

Charlie grew up watching cowboy films. He soon drew up a "Wild West" route from Salt Lake City to Vegas, passing close to Butch Cassidy's hometown.

Above: The actual Butch Cassidy (far right) and the Sundance Kid (far left)

Above: "Molly Cassidy" and "Charlie Sundance". Yeehaw !

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Our Route

We pedalled 753 miles from SLC to Vegas & surrounds, on everything from rough tracks to the interstate highway.

The Journey

Above: Superb bike lanes and snow-capped mountain scenery, right out of Salt Lake City Airport

Salt Lake City Airport was a touring cyclist's dream. It was easy to build the bikes and pedal straight out onto quiet roads, with wide marked shoulders for bikes.

We passed through some run-down areas and many homeless people on the way to our city centre hotel.

Above: Top-notch cycle trails ran for miles out of SLC 👌

Heading south out of Salt Lake City: we jumped straight onto the Jordan River Trail (above), followed by the Murdock Canal Trail.

This kept us traffic-free for 38 miles, all the way to our next hotel in Lehi !

Above: A close encounter with cattle on the frontage road.

Things got more rural towards Scipio.

Pedalling the gravel "frontage" roads was tough, but peaceful. It was just us and the cattle, who weren't always fenced in - causing a bit more "bum twitching" (above) !

The big mountain scenery seemed endless.

Above: Molly Cassidy spots a bullion train to hold up.

Below: Charlie Sundance, all set to climb aboard and jump between those big ole carriages !

Only problem was, the train carriages had no lids on.

Errmm and no gold either. 🤦🤦‍♀️ 

Hold-up abandoned !

Next challenge: a tough grind to Kanosh, population 500 (!).

Steep gravel to start, monster headwinds to finish.

Above: Molly on a grump after a "pedal or push" section 🤦‍♀️

A big rattlesnake crossed the track right in front of us  !

Later, we met a load of locust-like "Mormon crickets" hopping all over the road. Named for their blights on Mormon settlements, their swarms still destroy crops to this day.

Another brutal day followed, on Highway 15 to Beaver. 

The National Weather Service had issued a severe "freeze alert"🥶.

It was bucketing rain and icy cold.

We saw a car spin off the highway just in front of us. Luckily no-one came to harm.

Above: Boy, are those ponchos worth their weight in gold !💦

There was a load of sharp tyre blow-out debris on Highway 15's hard shoulder.

Bad news for Charlie's tubed rear tyre 🤦‍♂️

Above: Profuse swearing. Always helps a puncture repair 😉

Next day: trying to avoid Highway 15, Google Maps Bike took us on a couple of challenging dead-end detours (below).

After a hat-trick of testing days, we were knackered by the time we reached our hotel in Hurricaine.

A rest day was sorely needed !

Above: This rough trail was used by the pioneers. They had to dismantle their wagons to make the steepest section !

Hurricane was a good budget-conscious base to access Zion National Park, a must-visit in Utah.

A worthy stop-off en route was the old "ghost town" of Grafton.

Above: Great cycling on the turn-off road to Grafton

Grafton was a Mormon settlement in the 1800s, but has been unpopulated for decades. 

It was used for the bicycle scene (Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head) in the film Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.

Above: Grafton ghost town. Causes of death listed in its graveyard include being killed by native Paiute Indians.

Zion National Park was a few miles further on.

It was very busy, but well-organised, and stunning.

Tickets were $17.50 each at the entrance, and good for 7 days in any national park.

Above: The soaring red cliffs of Zion National Park.

Only bicycles and park buses (shuttling visitors to trail points) were allowed on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive 👌

We also did one hiking trail, which was super-busy. Definitely better off on 2 wheels !

From Hurricaine, it was a mixture of roads to St.George: some gravel, some tarmac, then several wonderful miles on the Virgin River Trail, taking us all the way into town 👌

Next we hit Old Highway 91, taking us up a quiet 7-mile climb over Utah Hill through the Paiute Indian reservation.

Followed by miles of panoramic descent along the Old Spanish Trail. This route was used by New Mexico traders in the 1800s, on epic desert journeys to LA with their mules. No map, no compass.

All topped off with authentic live music, cold beers and burgers at the smalltown Beaver Dam Bar.

Yee-haw !

Above: Joshua tree "forest" on the Old Spanish Trail

The Valley of Fire State Park, just 50 miles east of Vegas, was a trip highlight for us.

This area is remote, so we had to plan food and water supplies carefully.

It was far more peaceful than Zion National Park, and the scenery was stunning.

We "wild camped" under the desert stars at the park's Atlatl Campsite.

Above: Dawn departure from Atlatl Campsite, Valley of Fire

Taking Highway 167 south through the desert towards Vegas was a challenging finale: 68 miles of long climbs, extreme heat, no shops, no shade.

Good job we set out at dawn, carrying 10 litres of water. We needed every last drop.

Above: Route profile for the Highway 167 leg 🥵

From Lake Las Vegas: a short rough section got us straight onto the Wetlands Loop Trail. 

This took us 12 traffic-free miles, all the way to the city outskirts 👌

Above: The Wetlands Loop Trail, with Vegas in the distance

Cycling Las Vegas was a pleasant surprise, with excellent bike shoulders on most roads, and even some dedicated traffic-free trails.

Who'd have guessed ?!

Above: Traffic-free trail next to the highway in Las Vegas !

Google Maps Bike found us a quiet route cross-city, through poorer areas as well as Downtown, and totally avoiding The Strip (the crazy main drag, renowned for its heavy traffic and frequent accidents)👌

Regardless, The Strip had to be pedalled !

So Charlie hatched the genius plan for a dawn outing...

Above: Las Vegas Strip + Early morning = Epic pedal !

The ride around Red Rock Canyon, accessed just 12 miles from the city's west side, was another great pedal out.

Above: The 13-mile scenic loop at Red Rock Canyon.

Food & Accommodation 

Supermarkets were our food mainstay in the USA.

With prices similar to mid-range UK supermarkets, and a vast range of good-quality fresh foods and ready meals, it was the economical option. And saved us from fast food overload !

It helped that nearly every hotel room had a microwave and fridge as standard.

Above: A typical supermarket stash

Below: Charlie hits Walmart for the daily shop. Gotta love that all-American patriotism !

Of course we did a bit of eating out too.

The classic American brunch of gravy and "biscuits" (actually savoury scones) was a revelation.

Above: Delicious "biscuits" at locals' favourite Union Biscuits, Las Vegas. Well worth the queue !

Budget accommodation was better than we had expected, in terms of both quality and price.

We generally went for the cheapest hotel available, averaging around £50 per night.

Above: Most places were cool about bike storage in the room. Even the Hilton at Lake Las Vegas !

Anticipating much higher costs in Las Vegas (dismissing the cheaper hotels in shady areas), we secured a week-long house-sit via Trusted Housesitters.

Cycling SLC to Vegas: Ups & Downs

🤗 Stunning mountain and desert scenery, on a vast scale.

For us: some sections even topped New Zealand.

🤗 Variety of pedalling roads,

with surprisingly cycle-friendly infrastructure in many urban areas - even in Vegas !! 

🤗 Great weather further south, but ...

🤦‍♂️ ... mid-May was still damp and chilly in central Utah. And strong headwinds came out of nowhere some days.

Above: Freezing cold rain on Interstate 15, central Utah

🤦‍♀️ Extra costs

US tipping culture is one aspect, supplementing the woeful minimum wage of $7.25/hr. But more stings awaited us.

Hotel "security deposits" of up to $200, taken from cards at check-in and not refunded for several days. 

Whopping great "cleaning charges" added to Air BnB bookings.

A $100 labour charge for fitting new tyres (displayed price:$55 each) on our bikes ...

Above: "The Sphere" looked impressive, but! $150+per ticket?!

... and then there was Vegas.

"Resort charges" slapped on by Vegas hotels at check-out, for reasons which remain nebulous. 

Eye-watering costs on the Vegas Strip, such as $49 for 2 cans of beer at Caesar's Palace Colosseum (vs. $4 on offer at the supermarket).

Ouch !

Above: Rod Stewart, still a class act. Worth the most expensive beer we've ever had !

🤦‍♂️ Big city homelessness. The rows of tent dwellings in Vegas stood in painfully stark contrast to the excesses of The Strip.

Above: Like us, many of the urban homeless relied on bicycle transport.

Overall: this cycle trip was bloomin' brilliant !

Right up there with our very best adventures.

Highly recommended.

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Practical Pointers

⭐ Phones: If you don't have an iPhone or Samsung, you can't get a compatible US SIM card. Who knew?!

The fix (iunless you already have well-priced roaming data): buy a Tracfone, around $30 at Target stores. It's a basic smartphone which accepts a US SIM (also sold at Target: ours cost $25 for 6GB data and unlimited calls)

⭐ Respect the desert !

Further south: it was extremely hot, with long barren stretches and little shade.

Early-morning starts and carrying extra water are mandatory.

Above: Even the tortoises get desperate for shade in the Nevada desert !

⭐ Cycling Zion National Park: the mile-long Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel on Highway 9 does not allow bicycles.

Cyclists can either try to hitch a lift through, or avoid it by approaching Zion from the west and pedalling the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive (recommended).

Above: Magnificent Zion - just don't get stuck at the tunnel !

⭐ Vegas Strip: A bonkers must-see, but horribly expensive (even Starbucks double their normal prices there).

 Options for the thrifty: stay in the suburbs and travel in by Uber, eat before you go, bring a bottle of water ...

... or just wear your lucky pants and hit those casinos hard !!

Above: Opulent Vegas madness at the Bellagio

Salt Lake City Airport pedal-out rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Our best airport pedal-out yet.

Lots of space by the arrivals terminal exit to build the bikes, friendly staff and straight out onto quiet roads with wide bike lanes.