25 Family Friendly Things To Do in Las Vegas with Kids

While Las Vegas may have a notorious reputation with a nickname to match, “Sin City” isn’t just for adults anymore. Over the years, the city has diversified its entertainment, activities, and culture to include lots of family-friendly options. Leaving your children at home is definitely an option—who doesn’t need a weekend away sometimes?—but it isn’t required.

Keep your kids and yourself entertained with these exciting, interesting, and occasionally educational Las Vegas experiences:

Behind Circus Circus, you will find AdventureDome Theme Park—5 acres of indoor rides, mini-golf, movies, and fair and arcade games for you and your kids to enjoy whatever the weather.

For any nature- or plant-lovers in the family, the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is worth a stop. Open 24 hours a day with free admission, you’ll find beautifully arranged scenes of flowers, trees, and plants. Plus, with feature seasonal and holiday displays, no matter how many times you’ve been there is always something new to see.

The Bellagio Fountains are a can’t-miss Las Vegas staple. This show is free-to-see and fun to watch for the whole family. The Fountains of Bellagio put on an impressive show, featuring choreographed-to-music illuminated water.

The Big Apple Coaster spans the New York-New York Hotel, reaching speeds of 67 mph with drops up to 144 feet. Children must be 54” (4 ft. 5” / 138 cm) or taller to ride. Also located at the New York-New York Hotel is the Big Apple Arcade, full of video and arcade games. Packages that include entrance to both attractions are available.

Enjoy some classic games along the Carnival Midway before taking in a free circus performance or two. Starting at 11:30 AM daily, you can check out 30 minute performances featuring acrobatics, trapeze tricks, aerial silks, juggling, unicycles, and visiting performers from around the world.

Located north of the Strip near the Fremont Street Experience, you’ll find the DISCOVERY Children’s Museum. This museum boasts 3 stories of fun, educational, and engaging hands-on activities and exhibits, including:

The Grand Canyon is within driving distance of Las Vegas and definitely worth a day trip during your Vegas vacation. If a full day at the Canyon or a long drive doesn’t appeal to your children, consider taking a faster mode of transportation—helicopter or airplane tours are available with half day options if you don’t have time for a full day trip.

Stop by the Paris Las Vegas Hotel to take in the Eiffel Tower choreographed light show. It runs every night from sunset to midnight. Ride the glass elevator up 46 stories to enjoy the incredible view from the open-air observation deck.

Located roughly 20 minutes from the Strip in Henderson, Nevada, you will find renowned chocolatier Ethel M Chocolate Factory. The factory offers free admission for self-guided tours of their chocolate factory viewing aisle, where you can learn about the candy-making process, enjoy some free samples, and take in the sights of their Botanical Cactus Garden. They also offer chocolate tasting classes.

Every day you can see real flamingos, pelicans, sacred ibis, koi, parrots, and other incredible animals traverse 15 acres of lush wildlife habitat at the Flamingo. Make sure you arrive in time for the pelican feedings at 8:30 AM and 2 PM.

Throughout the Venetian Hotel and along the Grand Canal Shoppes, you will encounter the man-made gondola canals. As you glide along the canals in your gondola, your personal gondolier will sing in Italian. Indoor and outdoor gondola rides are offered, with each lasting about 15 minutes and holding 4 passengers.

Located along the LINQ Promenade and standing 550 feet off the ground, the High Roller Observation Wheel is the world’s tallest observation wheel. It’s also an ideal place to spend 30 minutes taking in the view of the Strip and the surrounding Las Vegas Valley in a comfortably air conditioned, slowly rotating cabin.

The LINQ Promenade also offers a unique outdoor shopping experience, as well as the Strip’s only zipline, FLY LINQ. Riders must weigh between 60lbs – 300lbs (27kg – 136kg) and be a height of 3’4″-6’8″. Riders 12 years of age and under must be accompanied by a ticketed rider 13 years of age and over. Riders under the age of 18 must have a Parent or Legal Guardian sign the FLY LINQ Waiver of Liability.

Renowned for its impressive residencies and incredible shows, Las Vegas offers a wide range of entertainment options for any age.

Some of the more kid-friendly options include:

See all of your favorite celebrities and characters immortalized in wax at Madame Tussauds. From Muhammad Ali and the Kardashians to Marvel Superheroes, you will find legendary life-like figures in every themed room for you and your kids to pose and interact with.

If you need a break from the crowded and chaotic Las Vegas Strip, take a short trip to the scenic respite of Red Rock Canyon. Located 30 minutes away from the Strip by car, this beautiful, arid stretch of land was Nevada’s first National Conservation Area and it’s now one of the most popular in the country, with over one million annual visitors.

Mandalay Bay Resort is home to not only the impressive Shark Reef Aquarium, featuring a walk-through underwater tunnel that showcases over 100 sharks and 14 different exhibits, but also an incredible man-made beach complete with lazy river and wave pool.

Stop by the Mirage to see a beautiful garden and dolphin habit, where you can catch dolphins doing tricks with the trainers, an underwater viewing area, and see and learn about a selection of big cats that reside in the garden, including leopards, lions, panthers, and tigers.

At M&M’s World, you and your family can explore four floors of chocolatey goodness, complete with a free movie screening and the option to create your own personalized M&M’s.

Don’t miss another incredible chocolate shop across the street—Hershey’s Chocolate World. At this place, you’ll find a nearly-800 lb chocolate-replica Statue of Liberty, a place to customize your own chocolate bars, and you can even star in a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup TV ad.

Who doesn’t love to wander the halls of a natural history museum? This educational option is a Smithsonian affiliate (so you know it’s good) and has a range of exciting exhibits to entertain everyone. Make sure you don’t miss the Marine Life Gallery.

If your family is the outdoorsy type, a trip to the Valley of Fire is in order. Just 50 miles northeast of the Strip, Valley of Fire State Park is only a 1 hour drive from Las Vegas. Spend the day exploring and hiking through this beautiful, scenic state park, or hop onto an SUV tour and see this place from the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle.

Located a short 10 minute drive from the Strip, you will find the Fremont Street Experience. This incredible experience has lots of fun (and often free!) things for families to enjoy, including:

Pack some excitement into your itinerary with a flight in the vertical wind tunnel at Vegas Indoor Skydiving.

Children must be at least 40 lbs to fly, with a parent or legal guardian present.

Enter the Pinball Hall of Fame to explore and play over 200 pinball and vintage arcade games from the 1950s-1990s. It’s free to enter and games are typically $1 or less to play.

Inside the Silverton Hotel, you’ll find a 117,000 gallon aquarium full of thousands of tropical fish, three species of stingrays, and—even more impressive—mermaids! Catch the interactive feeding shows daily at 1:30 PM and 4:30 PM, and if you stop by between Thursday and Sunday, make sure you stick around for a Mermaid Swim.

If you’re worried about bringing your kids to Las Vegas—don’t be! There’s lots of family-friendly activities and entertainment for you to check out both in and outside of the city.

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