5 places in Las Vegas where you can find snow, ice, Merlin and holiday lights
Las Vegas’ nighttime low temperatures remain well above freezing, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be seeing seasonal attractions complete with ice and snow.
For skaters, who could resist a glide across the ice overlooking the Strip? That’s just what the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is offering, starting Nov. 20, at its Ice Rink.
Each afternoon and evening through Jan. 10, skaters, snow showers and s’mores will provide holiday fun on the site of the resort’s Boulevard Pool. An all-day skating pass costs $20; admission is free for non-skaters.
On Monday evenings, holiday double features will be screened on the resort’s 65-foot-tall marquee beginning at 6 p.m. Christmas Day’s offerings are “Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed In at the House of Mouse” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” New Year’s Day will be celebrated with “Frozen” and “The Polar Express.”
Info: The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Ice Rink
Outdoor skating on real ice is also coming to the suburbs. Green Valley Ranch, just off Interstate 215 in Henderson, will debut its Winter’s Village on Nov. 24. Holiday pastries, cocoa and hot apple cider will be for sale rink side.
Hours vary by day, with extended opening times during the school holidays.
Info: Winter’s Village
At the opposite end of the 215 freeway, kids of all ages will be enthralled by Las Vegas Christmas Town, the first-ever wintertime offering at the Wet’n’Wild water park.
Sure, there will be skating, but guests atop inner tubes will also zip down a 100-foot slide covered with snow. Santa will pose for pictures at the “Cozy Cottage,” and a holiday train will carry passengers through a display of more than 3 million twinkling lights.
Tickets cost $20, whether purchased online or at the gate. The attraction is open Nov. 24 to Dec. 31 (closed Dec. 24 and 25).
Wet’n’Wild is located near the freeway’s Sunset Road exit.
Info: Wet’n’Wild Las Vegas
Back along Las Vegas Boulevard, the long-running Tournament of Kings dinner show at Excalibur takes on a festive theme with its “’Twas the Knight” holiday extravaganza starting Nov. 22.
Holiday-inspired music and poems will be added to the tale of a young man’s journey to knighthood. True to medieval times, the meal must be eaten without using utensils.
Tickets start at $73 including taxes and fees.
Info: Excalibur’s Tournament of Kings
There’s no charge to be awed by the holiday spectacle that arrives each December at the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens.
This year’s “Holiday Glamour” festival of flowers will open Dec. 2 and continue through Jan. 6.
While details of the display are still under wraps, a spokeswoman shared that magical elves will be spotted hanging lights and garlands on the 42-foot tree.
Guests will also be greeted by an “ice princess” 18 feet tall. She will be elegantly adorned with flowers including fresh hydrangeas and orchids.
The gardens are open 24 hours a day.
Info: Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden
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