Vegas chocolates & desert plants

Chocolate might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the desert, and it certainly isn't the first word most people associate with Las Vegas.

Let’s depart the downtown and head out to Henderson, one of Vegas’s suburbs. Depending on traffic it’s only about a 20 mile trip from downtown Vegas or a short 15 minute drive from Las Vegas Boulevard (aka The Strip) to visit Ethel M’s Chocolates and Cactus Garden. You can get here via the CATS public bus transportation system but be sure to check your route and transfer points out in advance. I’ll talk more about public transportation later.

Ethel M was founded by Forrest Mars, Sr., the patriarch of the Mars candy company (of Snickers and Milky Way fame). Mr. Mars retired from the family empire in 1976, but, not being the kind of person to put his feet up on the front porch, he decided to build a new factory where he could make fine chocolates the way he remembered his mother making them when he was a child. His mother's name was Ethel, and many of her recipes and methods are still used to create the confections named in her honor.

The Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Garden are open daily from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm, admission is free and tours are self-guided. If you’re lucky the production line will be operating and you’ll see how fine chocolates are crafted.

The Botanical Cactus Garden is co-located with Ethel M is only 15 minutes from the "Strip", on the way to Hoover Dam. In its 2.5 acres, you'll discover an arid landscape rich with over 350 species of cactus, succulents and desert plants from the Southwest and other deserts of the world. For more information on these sights please call them toll free 888.627.0990.

Photo courtesy of Ethel M chocolates