Heat Beaters

When the thermometer hits triple digits in Las Vegas, most people duck into air-conditioned casinos or plunge into the nearest pool. But there are loads of other ways to beat the heat in a city that simmers throughout the summer.

One of our favorite places to chill out is the Las Vegas Ice Center. The two-rink arena offers ice skating for all ages as well as pickup hockey games for adults and stick-and-puck practice sessions for kids. Visitors with Olympic aspirations can also try figure skating lessons.

Pole Position Raceway offers a whole different brand of rush: electric go-karts careening around a quarter-mile air-conditioned indoor track. “These aren’t the karts that you remember as a kid,” Pole Position president Ken Faught said. “These karts are capable of 45 mph, offer impressive acceleration, and we allow up to 13 racers to compete in side-by-side-action at one time. It’s arguably the closest thing to real racing that most people will ever experience in their lifetime.”

For a decidedly windier experience, check out Vegas Indoor Skydiving, a vertical wind tunnel with enough upward oomph to hold a fully grown adult in simulated free fall. With padded walls and a mesh trampoline floor, there’s plenty of latitude for even beginners to attempt somersaults and other aerial acrobatics. Skydive solo, tandem or with a group of friends.

The coolest place to chill out indoors could very well be Qua Baths & Spa at Caesars Palace — particularly the Arctic Ice Room therein. Cooled to a crisp 55 degrees and bathed in soft blue light, the space sits beneath a domed ceiling with twinkling lights that resemble the night sky. Every few minutes the ceiling releases a gentle flurry of snowflakes that alight on your bare arms and legs. But heated benches and floor keep the room from feeling uncomfortably cool.