//
Photo: McMahan, David - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Though not regularly visited, this is actually the largest national wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states. Coincidentally, it overlies part of the Nevada Test Site, so you can't just wander too willy-nilly, although the latter is quite distant. But this refuge's visitor center and trails will introduce you to aspects of the Mojave Desert ecosystem that are framed by some rather tall desert peaks, with a chance to see bighorn sheep and other species and even a yucca forest if you hike far enough.
The Desert National Wildlife Refuge is a protected wildlife refuge, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, located north of Las Vegas, Nevada, in northwestern Clark and southwestern Lincoln counties, with much of its land area lying within the southeastern section of the Nevada Test and Training Range. The Desert NWR, created on May 20, 1936, is the largest wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states of the United States, encompassing 1.615 million acres (6,540 km2) of the Mojave Desert in the southern part of Nevada. The refuge was originally established at 2.25 million acres. In 1940 840,000 acres were transferred to the Department of Defense.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
For the more serious fossil bed hunter (see Floyd Lamb below for more accessible viewings).
A pleasant oasis with ponds and tules and also the Tules Spring Ranch with some roaming peacocks and Pleistocene fossil exhibits.
Skate and BMX park, sports fields and dog park. Includes the AMP, an outdoor amphitheater/ concert venue.
If time permits, and you don't mind watching a movie on your vacation, consider a visit to West Wind Drive-in; especially if visiting from out of the country where drive-ins are infrequent. And for an added bonus; it's normally a double-feature, so you get two movies for the price of one.