Can you say “elevators”?
Stroller-Friendly: No
Access to Family Amenities: Limited
Overall Child-Friendly: No
Time Spent: 6-8 hours
I’m not sure what I was expecting the first time our family set foot on the Las Vegas Strip, but one thing that didn’t come to mind was the elevators. The Strip is a multi-level affair, and it’s quite a trek, from one end to the other. During our family trip in May of 2023, we enjoyed taking in the vibrant mix of sights and sounds. But families traveling to Las Vegas with a baby, be warned: this won’t be a simple walk down the street. For that reason, I’m ranking the Strip toward the bottom of my ranking of baby-friendly spots in Las Vegas, at #13.
The best advice I can offer is to prepare, both mentally and physically, and know that it’s easy to wear yourself out in the heat. If you’re planning to pump and/or bottle feed along the way, be sure to choose a resort with a refrigerator and freezer, so you can pack baby’s milk on ice. And you will, of course, need some sort of portable pumping set up, like the Medela Pump in Style. My insurance covered this one, but I’m also curious about wearable breast pumps, like the Elvie or Willow Go.
Once you get on your way, hopping into resorts and restaurants is the best way to keep cool, and it’s likely what you already had planned. One helpful feature: Many of the resorts are connected indoors. In these cases, there’s no need to leave the air-conditioning at all.
But when you do need to venture out, be prepared for a bit of disorientation. Beyond the heat and the copious ups and downs, the route via elevator can become circuitous and confusing compared with the straightforward footpath. Keep an eye out for signs along the way. It’s clear that there are ways to minimize the number of elevator trips and street crossings, but even as a planning aficionado, I didn’t manage to solve this puzzle in advance.
It’s also difficult to choose between using a stroller and baby-wearing, as both involve pros and cons. Baby-wearing comes with the benefit of skipping the elevators and using the stairs. After nearly getting stuck in an old elevator in Paris, I’m not the world’s biggest elevator fan, so I can see the appeal of this option. The elevators along the strip are also far from clean and fresh.
That said, baby-wearing can become tiring very quickly. We ultimately opted to use our Evenflo Pivot Xpand Stroller. This helped prevent exhaustion and provided much-needed storage space underneath for my breastfeeding gear and our diaper bag. Our 10-month-old daughter was also free to doze uninterrupted by our movements when she needed a nap during long days of exploration.
Looking back, though, I do wish we had tried a hybrid option, alternating between our Infantino Flip 4-in-1 Convertible Baby Carrier and our stroller. Carrying a stroller up and down stairs isn’t exactly fun, but it’s more doable when baby isn’t inside.
Despite the indirect route, we were eventually able to access all the spots we set out to visit. The Strip certainly isn’t impossible for families with babies. It just takes a little extra footwork, navigation prowess, and energy.