Sunset Stampede

The Sunset Stampede — the operator now bills it as the Mystic Falls Laser Light Show, same show — is a free laser, light and dancing-water spectacle inside Mystic Falls Park, the 25,000-square-foot glass-roofed atrium at Sam's Town on Boulder Highway. Animatronic wolves, bears and eagles wake up around a multi-story waterfall while fountains and lasers run a roughly 10-minute set under the 10-story skylight. It's been a locals' favorite for decades, and it costs nothing — no tickets, no reservations, just show up a few minutes early.

Honest framing: this is charming, dated kitsch — closer to a 1990s theme-park lobby than a modern Strip production — and it's about 7 miles east of the Strip, so it needs a car or rideshare. Shows run at set times only (as few as three on weekdays), which makes it a poor spontaneous stop but an easy add-on to a Sam's Town evening: the Ram's Head Bar overlooks the park, and the casino's bowling alley and movie theater fill out the trip. The holiday version — hourly from late November through New Year's — is when a special trip actually makes sense.