What's on in Las Vegas (Vegas), United States through the year

Peak crowds — CES, New Year's Eve on the Strip

• Festival

  CES

  4–12 Jan · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The tech show takes the whole convention economy for a week in early January: room rates triple, taxi queues run to an hour, and the Strip is on business hours. Source ↗

Still on: Red Rock timed entry (1 Oct – 31 May), Desert hiking season (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually)), New Year's Eve on the Strip (28 Dec – 2 Jan)

Busy — Super Bowl weekend

• Festival

  Super Bowl weekend

  5–12 Feb · usuallyNational holidayCrowdedBook early

  The sportsbooks are standing room from Thursday and the city runs near full whether or not the game is played here. Rates for that Saturday are set a year in advance and do not soften. Source ↗

Still on: Red Rock timed entry (1 Oct – 31 May), Desert hiking season (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — March Madness, Spring break in United States

• Nature

  Desert wildflowers

  1 Mar – 15 Apr · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  A wet winter puts flowers across Red Rock and Valley of Fire for a few weeks in early spring; a dry one produces almost nothing. Source ↗

• Festival

  March Madness

  15 Mar – 8 Apr · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  The opening days of the college basketball tournament are the busiest hours the sportsbooks get, with seats claimed at opening and a queue outside from breakfast. Midweek prices behave like a weekend. Source ↗

Still on: Red Rock timed entry (1 Oct – 31 May), Desert hiking season (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — March Madness

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Desert wildflowers (1 Mar – 15 Apr (usually)), March Madness (15 Mar – 8 Apr (usually)), Red Rock timed entry (1 Oct – 31 May), Desert hiking season (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Electric Daisy Carnival

• Festival

  Electric Daisy Carnival

  14–25 May · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Three overnight sessions at the speedway north of town in the middle of May, with a few hundred thousand people shuttling out from the Strip after dark and back at sunrise. Rooms and rides both spike. Source ↗

Still on: Red Rock timed entry (1 Oct – 31 May)

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Extreme heat

  1 Jun – 10 Sep · usually

  Three months when the desert around the city is genuinely dangerous on foot after mid-morning, and heat warnings run for days at a time. Source ↗

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  North American monsoon

  1 Jul – 15 Sep · usuallyRisk

  Summer moisture builds into short violent storms that flash-flood the washes and canyons around the city, often from rain that fell miles away.

Still on: Extreme heat (1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Extreme heat (1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)), North American monsoon (1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Extreme heat (1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)), North American monsoon (1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Rule

  Red Rock timed entry

  1 Oct – 31 MayBook early

  The scenic drive requires a booked slot for entry between eight and five from October to May, released thirty days ahead. Before eight or after five needs none. Source ↗

• Season

  Desert hiking season

  15 Oct – 15 Apr · usuallyTrail season

  The half of the year the canyons work: Red Rock, Valley of Fire and the Mojave within a couple of hours, cool by day and quiet midweek.

Peak crowds — Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Thanksgiving break in United States

• Festival

  Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix

  19–21 NovMotorsport weekendCrowdedClosures

  Three nights of racing on the Strip in late November. Sections of Las Vegas Boulevard close for weeks around it and room rates go to their yearly peak. Source ↗

Still on: Red Rock timed entry (1 Oct – 31 May), Desert hiking season (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — National Finals Rodeo, New Year's Eve on the Strip

• Festival

  National Finals Rodeo

  3–12 DecMajor festivalCrowded

  Ten nights of rodeo at the Thomas and Mack in early December, which fills the city with a different crowd and books out the off-Strip hotels. Source ↗

• Holiday

  New Year's Eve on the Strip

  28 Dec – 2 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedClosures

  Las Vegas Boulevard shuts to traffic in the evening and several hundred thousand people walk it for the casino-roof fireworks at midnight. The single dearest night of the year for a room. Source ↗

Still on: Red Rock timed entry (1 Oct – 31 May), Desert hiking season (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))