High Roller

About High Roller

The High Roller is a giant observation wheel on the Las Vegas Strip, part of the open-air retail and dining district that sits between the main resorts around 3545 S Las Vegas Blvd. When it opened in 2014 it was the tallest observation wheel in the world, standing 550 feet high, and it still holds its own as one of the tallest anywhere. Rather than the open gondolas you might picture on an older Ferris wheel, it carries enclosed, climate-controlled glass cabins, which matters a lot in the Las Vegas heat.

One full rotation takes about 30 minutes, slow enough that you don't really feel the movement and have time to pick out landmarks in every direction. From the top you can see the length of the Strip, the surrounding desert, and the mountains beyond the city. Each cabin holds a group of people and stays level the whole way around, so there's room to move about and take photos through the glass on all sides. Some cabins are set up with a bar, where a host pours drinks during the ride, and those tickets are sold separately from the standard ones.

Day and night give you two completely different views, so it's worth thinking about which you'd rather have. Daytime shows the scale of the city and the desert around it, while after dark the Strip lights up and the wheel itself is lit. Sunset rides are popular for roughly splitting the difference, and those time slots tend to sell out first. The surrounding district has plenty of bars and restaurants, so it's easy to pair a ride with a meal, and the area is walkable from several of the central Strip hotels.