Nevada is mostly desert - but there's still some very scenic routes you can take for your road trip.
Don't overlook the Mount Charleston Wilderness Area, which according to Wikipedia spreads for 57,442 acres across the southern tip of the state. It's managed by the United States Forest Service, and has lots of woodsy back roads plus some wonderful hiking trails. The area offers a nice change of pace from the flat, dry deserts in the middle of the state. But ironically, this peaceful mountain wilderness is less than 100 miles away from the bright lights of Las Vegas.
Naturally you can also drive past all the flashy casinos on Las Vegas Boulevard, which offers its own kind of man-made scenery. But less than an hour away is the spectacular Boulder Dam, which produces all the electricity powering those lights on the Las Vegas strip! There's a fascinating inside-the-dam tour that's available to most tourists. But just driving across the dam also offers a spectacular view of the river at the base of its 700-foot waterfall!
The water behind the dam creates Lake Mead, so there's some very attractive scenery nearby in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It's the largest reservoir in all of America, stretching for over 112 miles, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It's a great place to swim or fish - or to be amazed by the vast, spreading lake! The lake actually straddles the border with Arizona, so it's almost like visiting two states instead of one!
And remember that when you're in Las Vegas, you're only 300 miles from Grand Canyon National Park! It's considered one of the seven wonders of the world, and its beautiful plateaus are truly breathtaking - especially at sunset! It's over a mile deep, and it's an awe-inspiring view that's definitely worth a trip if you've never seen it. Like Nevada, much of Arizona is also a flat, dry desert. But the Grand Canyon is so iconic that it's mentioned on every one of the state's license plates!
Northern Nevada also includes some scenic road trips, including the state capitol in Carson City, and Death Valley National Park (which also straddles a border, into California). And of course, once a year the week-long Burning Man festival is held in the tiny desert town of Gerlach. The roads are clogged with festival-goers, and for that week it becomes the fourth-largest city in the state. It's a wild crowd, so it's not the ideal destination for everyone, but some people attend every year. But it does attract a very creative community - and for them, it's the ultimate road trip!