Adventure is in here somewhere

Las Vegas

When I first heard that the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa offered an amenity called an “adventure spa,” I knew this was the place for me. Finally, I thought, a Vegas resort for people who find more excitement riding a mountain bike than riding a casino stool.

Images of an REI store with blackjack tables and cocktail waitresses in hiking boots floated through my mind. I saw mountain bikes weaving between the slot machines and bartenders serving energy drinks in Nalgene bottles.

The resort, built by Station Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas, is about 10 miles west from the Strip. But more important, it is only six miles from Red Rock Canyon.

From the outside, it looks like another high-end Vegas property: massive water fountains and palm trees, rust- and adobe-colored walls and that ubiquitous desert-modern architecture. But I had faith. I knew out here appearances could be deceiving.

Inside, it seemed like a mall. There were 10 restaurants, a 72-lane bowling alley (including 12 VIP lanes), a 16-screen movie theater and a child-care center that charged by the hour. All of which centered on a few thousand slot machines, blackjack tables and craps tables.

As far as I could see, I was the only one stomping through the place in scuffed hiking boots and a backpack. I searched for the trail head to the adventure spa but couldn’t find one. I lacked a GPS, but I was able to call out. The receptionists at the massage salon downstairs picked up.

I suppose I was a little disappointed to learn that the same people who book the Thai rubdowns and pedicures also arrange the kayak trips and bike rides. It seems the adventure spa is more of a concept than an actual place.

I checked into my room, which was, simply put, luxurious. I had a 42-inch plasma television, a Bose sound system with iPod connectivity, a terry bathrobe and slippers, a martini bar and another flat-screen TV hanging over the bathtub. Now, this could be a real adventure.

After a typical day and night as an outdoors writer for The Times (you know, rock climbing, mountain biking, indoor sky diving, kayaking and sleeping under the stars), I returned to my room and pampered myself with a 25-minute Swedish massage, a sauna and a steam bath for $102, including tip. I had dinner at Terra Rossa, one of the resort’s 10 restaurants, where I spent $50 on a plate of meat lasagna the size of a phone book. But to be fair, I was hungry.

All in all, I hadn’t placed a single bet yet somehow I had already spent more than $400. I guess this is the whole idea, and though I shouldn’t be surprised, I did feel slightly cheated. This was no more an adventure than what I might have found back on the Strip.

So I called David Bert, who is in charge of the so-called adventure spa. He’s a kindred spirit, an outdoor enthusiast who hosts a public radio show on back-country travel in Nevada.

The adventure spa, at least for the time being, is mostly a booking agency, a concierge service to the outdoors, putting its guests within reach of about 197,000 acres of desert and canyons in Red Rock Canyon, and Lake Mead and the Colorado River. That sounded promising, but why was I the only one in hiking boots?

The spa, Bert told me, is still a work in progress. Over time, the resort plans to increase its visibility by adding a storefront with kayaks and bicycles hanging on the wall. “We are taking baby steps,” he said.

It shouldn’t have surprised me, but the spa is just one of many strategies for luring visitors to Vegas away from the Strip. According to Bert, the resort hopes the spa will attract at least 10% of the resort guests. He hopes a national marketing campaign this fall will boost those numbers, as would ski and snowboarding trips to nearby Mt. Charleston, if all his plans work out.

Gamble? Get a facial? Climb a canyon wall? I guess it makes sense. It’s all the same to the resort operators. In fact, the latest campaign is to persuade guests to book a massage or a facial treatment after their outdoor adventure. “What we are saying is, ‘Let us beat the crap out of you in the outdoors and then let the masseuse make you soft and squishy.’ ”

Rates for double rooms start at $159 a night.

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Planning this trip

ROCK CLIMBING

Guide Mike Ward works for Mountain Skills Rock Climbing Adventures in Red Rock Canyon. $105 to $230 per person (rate depends on size of the group); (505) 776-2222, www.climbingschoolusa.com.

What to take: Wear comfortable, flexible clothes. Dress in layers because the temperature can change dramatically. Take a hat and wear sunscreen. Pack a light lunch and plenty of water.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

McGhie’s Bike Outpost rents dual-suspension mountain bikes at 16 Cottonwood Road, Blue Diamond. The rates are $35 per day; (702) 875-4820, www.bikeoutpost.com.

What to take: Pack plenty of water, snacks and sunscreen.

INDOOR SKYDIVING

Flyaway Indoor Skydiving is at 200 Convention Center Drive, a few blocks from the Vegas Strip; (877) 545-8093, www.flyawayindoorskydiving.com.

What to expect: Training and preparation take about 35 minutes for a three-minute flight. Cost: $70 for the first flight.

OVERNIGHT KAYAKING

Several outfits offer kayaking trips along the Colorado River. Kayak Lake Mead is a family-run business that operates out of White Hills, Ariz. $150 per person, including kayak and paddle; (928) 767-3061, www.kayak lakemead.com.

What to take: Waterproof sandals, shorts and a light jacket are good for daytime; bring warm clothes for night. Pack a sleeping bag, a small tent, food, water, sunscreen, bug repellent. All must fit into the hull of your kayak.

On travel.latimes.com

What’s it like to scramble around Vegas outside of the casinos? Check out the photo gallery at latimes.com/24hourvegas to see more of the action in the great outdoors.