Bonnie Springs Ranch/Old Nevada

About 24 miles W of Las Vegas, 5 miles past Red Rock Canyon

Bonnie Springs Ranch/Old Nevada is a kind of Wild West theme park with accommodations and a restaurant. If you're traveling with kids, a day trip to Bonnie Springs is recommended, but it is surprisingly appealing for adults, too. It could even be a romantic getaway, as it offers horseback riding, gorgeous mountain vistas, proximity to Red Rock Canyon, and temperatures 5° to 10° cooler than on the Strip.

For additional information, you can call Bonnie Springs Ranch/Old Nevada at tel. 702/875-4191, or visit them on the Web at www.bonniesprings.com.

If you're driving, a trip to Bonnie Springs Ranch can be combined easily with a day trip to Red Rock Canyon; it is about 5 miles farther. But you can also stay overnight.

Jeep tours to and from Las Vegas are available through Action Tours. Call tel. 888/288-5200 or 702/566-7400 (www.actiontours.com) for details.

What to See & Do in old Nevada

Old Nevada (tel. 702/875-4191; www.bonniesprings.com) is a re-creation of an 1880s frontier town, built on the site of a very old ranch. As tourist sights go, this is a classic one, if a bit worn around the edges; it's a bit cheesy, but knowingly, perhaps even deliberately, so. It's terrific for kids up to about the age of 12 or so (before teenage cynicism kicks in) but not all that bad for adults fondly remembering similar places from their own childhoods. Many go expecting a tourist trap, only to come away saying that it really was rather cute and charming. Still others find it old in the bad way. It's certainly low tech and low key.

Certainly, Old Nevada looks authentic, with rustic buildings made entirely of weathered wood. And the setting, right in front of beautiful mountains with layered red rock, couldn't be more perfect for a Western. You can wander the town (it's only about a block long), taking peeps into places of business, such as a blacksmith shop, a working mill, a saloon, and an old-fashioned general store (cum gift shop) and museum that has a potpourri of items from the Old West and Old Las Vegas: antique gaming tables and slot machines, typewriters, and a great display of old shoes, including lace-up boots. There is also a rather lame wax museum; the less said about it, the better.

Country music is played in the saloon during the day, except when stage melodramas take place (at frequent intervals between 11:30am and 5pm). These are entirely tongue-in-cheek -- the actors are goofy and know it, and the plot is hokey and fully intended to be that way. Somehow, it just heightens the fun factor. It's interactive with the audience, which, in response to cue cards held up by the players, boos and hisses the mustache-twirling villain, sobs in sympathy with the distressed heroine, and laughs, cheers, and applauds. It's hugely silly and hugely fun, provided you all play along. Kids love it, though younger ones might be scared by the occasional gunshot.

Following each melodrama, a Western drama is presented outside the saloon, involving a bank robbery, a shootout, and the trial of the bad guy. A judge, a prosecuting attorney, and a defense attorney are chosen from the audience, the remainder of whom act as the jury. The action always culminates in a hanging. None of this is a particularly polished act, but the dialogue is quite funny, and the entire thing is performed with enthusiasm and affection.

Throughout the area, cowboys continually interact with visiting kids, who, on the weekends, are given badges so that they can join a posse hunting for bad guys. There are also ongoing stunt shootouts (maybe not at the level found at, say, Universal Studios) in this wild frontier town, and some rather unsavory characters occasionally languish in the town jail.

In the Old Nevada Photograph Shoppe you can have a tintype picture taken in 1890s Wild West costume (they have a fairly large selection) with a 120-year-old camera. There are replicas of a turn-of-the-20th-century church and stamp mill; the latter, which has original 1902 machinery, was used for crushing rocks to separate gold and silver from the earth. You can tour the remains of the old Comstock lode silver mine, though there isn't much to see there. There is also a nicely maintained chapel that would be a hoot to get married in. You can also shop for a variety of "Western" souvenirs (though to us, that's when the tourist-trap part kicks in). Eateries in Old Nevada are discussed below. There's plenty of parking; on weekends and holidays a free shuttle train takes visitors from the parking lot to the entrance.

Admission to Old Nevada is charged by vehicle -- $20 per car, for up to six people in the car (the fee includes a $10 coupon to the restaurant). The park is open daily from 10:30am to 5pm November through April, and until 6pm the rest of the year.

What to See & Do at Bonnie Springs Ranch

There are several things to do here free of charge, and it's right next door to Old Nevada. It's quite a pretty place, in a funky, ramshackle kind of way, and in season, there are tons of flowers everywhere, including honeysuckle and roses. The main attraction is the small zoo on the premises. Now, when we say "zoo," unfortunately we mean that in addition to a petting zoo with the usual suspects (deer, sheep, goats, and rabbits) and some unusual animals (potbelly pigs and snooty, beautiful llamas) to caress and feed, there is also a mazelike enclosure of a series of wire-mesh pens that contain a variety of livestock, some of which should not be penned up (though they are well taken care of), including wolves and bobcats. Still, it's more than diverting for kids.

Less politically and ecologically distressing is the aviary, which houses peacocks, Polish chickens, peachface and blackmask lovebirds, finches, parakeets, ravens, ducks, pheasants, and geese. Keep your eyes peeled for the peacocks roaming free; with luck, they will spread their tails for a photo op. With greater luck, some of the angelic, rare white peacocks will do the same. It may be worth dropping by just in the hopes of spotting one in full fan-tailed glory.

Riding stables offer guided hour-long trail rides into the mountain area on a continuous basis throughout the day (9am-3:15pm spring-fall, until 5:30pm in summer). Children must be at least 6 years old to participate. Cost is $40 per person. For more information, call tel. 702/875-4191.

Where to Stay & Dine

In Old Nevada, the Miner's Restaurant is a snack bar located in quite a large room that looks great thanks to Western-motif accessories. Inexpensive fare is served (sandwiches, decent burgers, pizza, and hot dogs), along with fresh-baked desserts. There are tables out on the porch. In summer you can also get beer and soft drinks in a similarly old-fashioned Beer Parlor.