People Have Discovered the Haunting "Edge" of Las Vegas — "It's Giving Truman Show"

There are an extraordinary number of quirks to the state of Nevada, especially outside of the four-plus-mile stretch of road that we call "The Strip." From a first-of-its-kind bakery to breathtaking mountainous trails filled with snow, to oddities like startling sculptures in ghost towns and a haunted clown motel, the Silver State isn't short on attractions.

Amid the water crisis in Las Vegas, construction of residential areas must stop somewhere. For locals, we call these places "The Edge."

TikTok users have been shocked to discover the jarring boundaries of residential areas of Las Vegas and the vast, comparative nothingness of the desert. If you have not yet heard of or visited the areas comprising "The Edge," you are in for an exciting lesson on one of the more recently viral quirks about which the City of Las Vegas, and the state of Nevada, proudly boast.

As is the case with some inside secrets, you aren't likely to find accurate results Googling "The Edge Las Vegas" — rather, you'll discover results for a steakhouse or the master-planned community of Mountain's Edge. Instead, we turn to TikTok, where aerial and ground-view videos depicting the boundaries of Las Vegas have collectively garnered millions of views.

"The stuff [TikTok] gets obsessed with is so bizarre," user Deadhead1974 astutely commented.

While major cities around the valley, including Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Henderson, each contain residential boundaries that jut up against the desert, it appears from user ijustinwill that one of the viral videos depicting "The Edge" is located near the Regency at Summerlin 55-plus neighborhood, beside the Desert Hills mountain range.

For reference, not too far down the road is one of the best vegan restaurants in all of Las Vegas, Tarantino's Vegan.

"I remember when none of those houses didn't exist up the mountains," TikTok user thaiirish wistfully commented. Indeed, in just a few short decades, Las Vegas and the surrounding areas have seen booming growth, from an untouched desert to thriving communities.

For CAST Principal Brett Rather, the number of scenic areas in the valley where residential areas end and the desert landscape begins is part of what makes Las Vegas so beautiful.

"It's amazing that within 15-20 minutes you're on the outskirts," Rather tells Green Matters exclusively. "It's scenic, it's peaceful, and you can drive just five minutes from some homes and see the stars in the sky. “There’s something mesmerizing about the contrast you experience in Las Vegas—one moment you’re standing inside a sleek, modern home, and the next, you look out and see nothing but endless desert and towering mountain ranges.

"It's giving Truman Show," TikTok user Misantrophe said.

For many users scrolling through videos of The Edge of Las Vegas, it is fascinating to learn that Las Vegas extends far beyond the boundaries of The Strip (which is actually in Unincorporated Clark County) and, throughout various key parts of the city, flashing lights are replaced with tumbleweeds beside majestic mountains.

As TikTok user Jazmin comments, "Give it two years and they’ll be building an Amazon warehouse and a Starbucks behind your home smh." Despite the confusing nature of a residential block ending and a startling emptiness just beyond your home, the comment attests to Las Vegas' persistent growth.

Still, Rather said, residents can find the type of experience they desire: the frantic energy of the Las Vegas Strip, or the tranquility beside a mountain.

"It’s a reminder that just 20 minutes from the electric pulse of the Las Vegas Strip, you can find absolute stillness," Rather said. "It’s almost surreal how this global city — renowned for its nonstop energy — is surrounded by such vast, untouched tranquility. It makes you pause and realize: Las Vegas doesn’t just exist in the middle of the desert, it thrives in it.”