by Tracy Blankenship

Created on: September 01, 2009   Last Updated: September 04, 2009

Travel experiences: The Hoover Dam

Located a mere 30 miles from fabulous Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam is a great day trip suitable for all ages. Construction was completed in March of 1936, and it has been ever since, an engineering marvel, set in an amazing canyon of stark desert beauty.

It is easily reached by car from Las Vegas, heading east and south on Highway 95/93 towards Kingman, AZ. After leaving Nevada's fastest growing city of Henderson, you climb a small hill at Railroad Pass and enter a valley with views toward Searchlight. Look for the glint of a solar collector farm to the south along the Searchlight road (another trip!), just past a dry lakebed, popular with dirt bikers and motocross racers.

Watch your speed when entering Boulder City, the only town in Nevada where there is no gambling and the electricity is cheap because of its historic association with the dam. You can make a left turn to stay on the highway or go straight to go through the scenic old-town area of Boulder City. Either way will get you to the dam.

Dropping down out of Boulder City you get your first look at Lake Mead. Decreasing water levels have revealed structures previously submerged, and have left a large "bathtub ring" of mineral deposits around the shoreline. On the left now is the entrance to the Lake Mead Recreation area, another area worth exploring and not a bad day trip (stay on the highway to go straight to the dam). There is a fee for entering the area, but it is nominal and is good for up to five days. Right at the visitors center, visible from the highway, is a trail which winds along the lake, and takes the hiker through a series of short tunnels made when the dam was under construction and a train carried supplies from Boulder City and back. This trail is about 5 miles and is mostly level. If you are ambitious you can walk this trail further all the way to the dam, or out and back for a shorter excursion.

Keep your eyes peeled for bighorn sheep on the hills around the lake. They aren't white, fluffy things, they are tough and closer to dirt-color. Sometimes the flash of sunlight on their horns will give away their position high on the hill's crest.

The road gets twisty as it traces the hills down into the canyon. Construction of the new bridge can sometimes delay traffic. From the Nevada side you will have to make a left turn into the parking garage, not an easy feat at certain times of the day. Check the dam's website for times of lower traffic, and just be prepared to be patient during the weekends.

When at the dam, you can buy admission to the visitor's center, with or without a tour to the power house. The truly cheap can walk along the dam and marvel for nothing at something. The vista from the dam's top is remarkable, not for those with vertigo. It's a nice stretch to walk from the parking garage to the far side, water on one, steep wall of concrete on the other. It's often windy, hang on to your hat.

A trip to Hoover Dam is a pleasant morning trip from Las Vegas, and can be explored at a number of different levels, literally.

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