Ranger station Alpha and Mountain Shadows campground

Directly north of the 188 trading post is a large mountain range called the River Mountains. It has a lot of walking trails and the rock faces are colorful. I thought it was an interesting place, especially because it is surrounded by the cities of Las Vegas and Henderson to one side and Boulder City to the other, but you would not be able to tell. That is good for people who want to be able to have a mini-wasteland experience without driving hundreds of miles into the wastes.

Locations

# 109 – Deserted shack
# 110 – Mountain Shadows campground
# 111 – Ranger station Alpha
# 249 – Highway 93
# 297 – Las Vegas Bay Campground

Location Details

# 109 – Deserted shack – The River Mountains area has the expected number of dilapidated shacks laying about. The most intact one I found had evidence of bullet holes in the side, which always makes me feel uneasy. Especially since this was in a sort of canyon. I did not stay too long, just long enough to mince around and get a few photos.

# 110 – Mountain Shadows campground – In our world, it would be unlikely that there would be a campground in such mountainous and rugged terrain. With the exception of the aforementioned hiking trails, not much else exists in this general area. The closest equivalent I think is the River Mountain Loop Trail Rest Stop, which is around the same area and also includes a bunch of picnic tables!

# 111 – Ranger station Alpha – The real world equivalent I found for Ranger Station Alpha is a place called Boulder City VORTAC BLD 116.7, or on the map KRRI-FM Boulder City. It is a radio transmission faculty that acts as a navigational aid for airplanes. I think it is a good match for Ranger Station Alpha because it has such a great view of the surrounding area, and is functionally similar.

The way you can get here is by going to the Bootleg Canyon trailhead, parking and walking up. It is a long walk, though. You can drive up as well, it does not need 4×4 but the road has tight turns and is narrow. A quick hop over a fence will lead you to the place. There is a zipline company here, too, so seeing those advertisements is how you know you are in the right spot. I was coerced into doing a zipline at the LINQ on the Strip and I think that was enough ziplines for me, for forever.

There is also a ranger station literally next to Boulder City beach, so I will include it in this section, maybe as sort of a runner up.

# 297 – Las Vegas Bay Campground – This location was cut from the final game but is based on a real world location of the same name. I drove through the camp site and it seemed nice. The sign said only $20 which is a great deal so close to Lake Mead.

# 249 – Highway 93 – In our world as well as the game, Highway 93 curves around Boulder City and into the 188 Trading Post area before heading north into New Vegas and the central area of the map. In our world there is Highway 93 and Business Highway 93 – separate highways – which confused me a little bit. So keep that in mind if you are planning your own adventure. Also I do not think there is a Highway 93 sign in-game. If someone finds one, please let me know. I spent way, way too long in-game searching!