Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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lake. There are also many miles of unpaved roads within the recreation area. If you have
a high-clearance or four-wheel-drive vehicle, these roads can take you to some of the least
visited shores of the two lakes.
VISITOR INFORMATION
For information, contact the
Lake Mead National Recre-
ation Area,
601 Nevada Way, Boulder City, NV 89005 (
&
702/293-8906;
www.nps.
gov/lame), or stop by the
Alan Bible Visitor Center
(
&
702/293-8990
), between
Hoover Dam and Boulder City. The visitor center is open daily from 8:30am to 4:30pm
(closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas).
DAM, LAKE & RIVER TOURS
Standing 726 feet tall, from bedrock to the roadway atop it, and tapering from a thick-
ness of 660 feet at its base to only 45 feet at the top,
Hoover Dam
(
&
866/730-9097
or 702/494-2517; www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam) is the tallest concrete dam in the West-
ern Hemisphere. Behind this massive dam lie the waters of
Lake Mead,
which at 110
miles long and with a shoreline of more than 550 miles is the largest artificial lake in the
United States. To learn about the construction of Hoover Dam, stop in at the visitor
center, which charges an $8 admission for anyone over age 3 and is open daily from 9am
to 5pm (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas). Guided tours of the dam cost $11 for
adults, $9 for seniors and children 4 to 16. Tickets, which include visitor center admis-
sion, can be purchased online. More extensive tours of the dam cost $30, and are offered
only on a nonreservation basis. Parking is an additional $7. Including a tour, it takes
about 2 hours to visit the dam.
If you'd like to tour the lake, call
Lake Mead Cruises
(
&
702/293-6180;
www.lake
meadcruises.com) to book passage on the
Desert Princess
paddle-wheeler. These cruises
leave from Lake Mead Cruises Landing, off Lakeshore Road on the Nevada side of
Hoover Dam. Day tours, which go to the dam, last 1
1
/
2
hours and cost $24 for adults
and $12 for children 2 to 11. Other options include dinner cruises ($49 for adults, $25
for children) and brunch cruises ($39 for adults, $18 for children).
One of the most interesting ways to see remote parts of Lake Mohave is by sea kayak.
Desert River Outfitters
(
&
888/KAYAK-33
[529-2533]; www.desertriveroutfitters.
com) will rent you a boat and shuttle you and your gear to and from put-ins and take-
outs. The trip through Black Canyon ($60 per person with a four-person minimum)
starts at the base of Hoover Dam and is the most interesting route. (
Note:
This trip
requires advance planning because a permit is necessary.) You can also paddle past the
casinos in Laughlin ($35), through the Topock Gorge ($50), or around Lake Mohave
($35). Raft trips through Black Canyon are offered by
Black Canyon River Adventures
(
&
800/455-3490
or 702/294-1414; www.blackcanyonadventures.com). The 1-day
rafting trips, on big motorized rafts, are an easy float through a scenic canyon and cost
$83 for adults, $80 for children ages 13 to 15, and $51 for children ages 5 to 12. If you're
not a paddler, this is a great way to see this remote stretch of river—it's definitely a high-
light of a visit to this corner of the state. This company also has a marina where it rents
a variety of motorboats.
15
GETTING OUTSIDE
Swimming, fishing, water-skiing, and powerboating are the most popular activities in
Lake Mead National Recreation Area. On Arizona shores, there are swimming beaches at
Lake Mohave's Katherine Landing (outside Bullhead City) and Lake Mead's Temple Bar
(north of Kingman, off US 93). Picnic areas can be found at these two areas as well as
