Outdoorsy stuff near Vegas

So, my mom expressed interest on accompanying me on my next Vegas trip. This suprised me because (1) she's not a gambler and (2) she doesn't really like the whole "Vegas Vibe."

That said, she is into outdoorsy stuff, so she asked what kind of hiking/other outdoorsy stuff there is near Vegas. I rattled off Red Rocks, Valley of Fire, and Death Valley. I don't know the relative merits of hiking in any of those places, but I think the Wizard wrote some reviews of Red Rocks that seemed favorable. I also threw out the Lake Mead Recreation Area. I told her Bryce and Zion in Utah were too far for the amount of time we had. (I still wanna gamble :)).

Anybody have any other ideas?

Mt. Charleston.

None of these involve hiking as you would at Red Rock but they are good places to get outdoors and are still relatively close to the strip.

Springs Preserve - www.springspreserve.org
Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve - www.cityofhenderson.com/parks/parks/bird_preserve.php
Botanical Cactus Garden at Ethel M - www.ethelm.com/about_us/factory_tour.aspx
Sunset Park - www.clarkcountynv.gov/Depts/parks/Pages/park-sunset.aspx

Valley of fire. Its an hour or an hour and a half away. Spend 2-3 hours there and its worth it.

I have no idea of relative risks in these matters.
I do recall some news headlines of about the last three months.
One was a woman who fell at or near something involving Red Rocks (Hows that for a nice precise statement, complete with citations).
The other was an experienced young hiker who was unfamiliar with the area and apparently went hiking without maps.

I am sure zillions of people engage in outdoor exercise without receiving injuries. Most likely there is greater danger from urban crime than from suburban or rural recreation.

I know tourists doing The Strip are advised to be sure to consume water. I suspect its even more important for hikers and rock climbers.

Of the ideas already mentioned, I would rank them from best to worst Red Rock, Mt. Charleston, Lake Mead. Valley of Fire and Zion are too far for day trips.

I'd like to add the Black Canyon. Lisa wrote an article about a kayak trip there under "articles." If that is too strenuous, there are pontoon boats that do the same trip.

What time of year will you be visiting? The season can have a big effect on recommendations for hiking/walking. There is snow on Mt. Charleston in the winter, and I am not sure you want to hike anywhere in the desert in mid/late summer.

Christmas. I guess there will be snow on Mt. Charleston, so that's out. (Unless we want to ski!)

Mt Charleston is my favorite place to go for outdoorsy activities. I like it because it doesn't even feel like you're in the desert anymore. There is a beautiful mountain lodge about half way up Kyle Canyon called the Resort on My Charleston. The rooms are gorgeous, but even if you dont plan on spending the night, they have a restaurant with great food and a 24hr bar. Its my favorite place to eat after hiking all day. :)

Thanks. The dad decided to come along too. (Even more shocking than the mom!) It looks like we are going to try to book a kayak trip with Boulder City outfitters, if they are open. Also, we are going to do a Red Rocks hike. That should keep us busy for a few days. Valley of Fire if we have downtime.