Is it safe to walk the Las Vegas Strip at night?

Generally, yes, on the main stretch: the center Strip is crowded, lit and patrolled until well past midnight. The real risks are petty ones, plus the quieter ends of the Boulevard and the side streets.

It is one of the better times to walk it, too: the heat is gone and the lights are on. The resort corridor has its own police patrol, and every casino door has security.

What actually happens

• Pickpockets in dense crowds at the fountain rail and on the pedestrian bridges
• Aggressive sellers: card-slappers, water and CD sellers, costumed characters who turn a photo into a demand for $20
• Drunks, and the occasional scam that starts with "excuse me, friend"

Keep your phone in a front pocket, say no once and keep walking, and agree a price with any character before the photo.

Where to pay attention

• North of Fontainebleau and Resorts World toward The STRAT, where the sidewalks get quiet and the motels start.
• The Boulevard between The STRAT and Downtown: not a walk to do at night. Take the Deuce or a car.
• Side streets east and west of the Strip (Koval, Paradise, the lanes behind the resorts, the rideshare lots): where incidents happen, mostly late and mostly involving people who were drunk.

Use the pedestrian bridges. Jaywalking the Boulevard is illegal, and it is how tourists actually get hurt here.

Downtown

The Fremont canopy is bright and patrolled at all hours. Fremont East is fine as a bar district but thins out late, and the blocks beyond it get quiet fast, so ride to the door.

Solo women walk the Strip at night in large numbers; the usual rules apply: watch your drink, book the car from inside the casino, stay on the main corridor. Distances and bridges are in can you walk the Strip.