The Evel Knievel Experience Is Opening In Las Vegas

Evel Knievel was a daredevil legend in the 1960s and 1970s, and he continues to inspire today. Personalities like Travis Pastrana not only break his amazing records, but also break their bones almost as much as he did. Visitors to Las Vegas will soon be able to explore his legacy for themselves at the Evel Knievel Experience, opening on June 27.

The attraction is part museum, part interactive experience. It started as the Evel Knievel Museum in Topeka, Kansas, featuring artifacts from Knievel's history. Topeka isn't exactly a tourist hotspot, so it's packing up, moving, and expanding to a new location in the downtown Las Vegas arts district. Exhibits include some of the motorcycles he jumped, and the jumpsuits he wore while doing it. The helmet he wore when he jumped the fountains at nearby Caesar's Palace in 1967 is on display. He came up short on the landing and spent 29 days in a coma, so it's no exaggeration that this helmet saved his life.

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Also on display is Big Red, Knievel's Mack truck and trailer that transported him, his crew, and his bikes from one show to another. Big Red is not only a major part of Knievel's history, but the Evel Knievel Experience as well. After its restoration, the original idea was to turn it into a rolling memorabilia exhibit until they decided to build the museum in Topeka instead.

My favorite artifact on display is the X-2 Skycycle, which famously tried, and failed, to jump across the Snake River Canyon in 1974. As a side note, much of that jump ramp still exists in Twin Falls, Idaho. I visited it in 2022, but I didn't try to make the jump myself. Eddie Braun already did.

It's not just about artifacts and memorabilia, though. The rebrand to "Evel Knievel Experience" emphasizes the interactive exhibits beyond Knievel's old stuff on display. A virtual reality jump puts you on a motorcycle and simulates a death-defying jump over 16 cars. The jump planner lets you set up your own virtual jump and see if you can make it, without the risk of broken bones. But if you're into broken bones, a "Bad to the Bones" exhibit lets you explore the numerous injuries Knievel collected over his career as well.

The Evel Knievel Experience doesn't open until June 27, but tickets are already available on the website. I was born a little too late to grow up with Knievel as one of my childhood heroes, but I definitely want to visit the next time I'm in Vegas. I thought the closest I'd ever get to understanding what it's like to jump the Caesar's Palace fountains was when Travis Pastrana spontaneously explained the Indian Scout FTR750's mid-air handling characteristics to me. Now anyone will be able to take a VR ride and experience Knievel's wild jumps for themselves.