In 1992, Jared and Heather Fisher were assigned a UNLV student marketing project in which they were tasked with developing a hypothetical business serving an untapped market. Thirty-three years later, the pair’s effort has stood the test of time as Escape Adventures, a Las Vegas-based nature touring company that’s best known locally for hosting guided mountain biking and hiking trips through Red Rock Canyon, Lake Tahoe and beyond.
While they started with just two bikes and an idea, the Fishers’ business has since grown into an enterprise equipped with more than 500 rental mountain bikes and a sister retail cycling shop, Las Vegas Cyclery, in Summerlin.
All in all, Jared Fisher estimates that they’ve taken more than 100,000 people on guided tours. By far the most popular destination is Red Rock Canyon, which he calls “the gem of Nevada.”
“In my personal opinion, it’s even more unique than Lake Tahoe. When I first started, it was already known as a world-renowned rock climbing destination, but mountain biking was kind of in its embryo stages,” he says. “It was starting to become more popular in the early ’90s, but it hadn’t taken off too much yet. At the time, I saw it as a tourism need that we could fill.”
Back then, the mountain biking infrastructure at Red Rock was sparse, he explains. “There was only one very lightly ridden trail, if at all. We basically had to work with the [Bureau of Land Management] and local land managers to develop more wild trails. Over the years, they just kept expanding. And then, of course, Las Vegas boomed,” he says.
In a swelling metro with expanded access to outdoor recreation destinations, can the average Nevadan still benefit from signing up for a guided tour?
“It sounds biased, but I honestly don’t think there’s a better way to do it,” Fisher says. “First, having a professional guide takes away all the worrying and guesswork. They can give you a full education on the vegetation and geology you’ll see, all while taking you out on the best ride possible. And because you’re all taking one van and sharing bikes, it’s also a more sustainable experience.”
For more information on tours, visit escapeadventures.org.