Hoover Dam: a Las Vegas day trip
Need to get away from the neon lights and smoke filled casinos of Las Vegas? Take a trip out to Hoover Dam for an escape into the Mojave Desert and marvel at a modern architectural masterpiece. Straddling the border of Nevada and Arizona, Hoover Dam is a feat of engineering and art-deco. The Dam was built during the Great Depression in order to harness energy from the Colorado River. The construction also sought to protect the nearby communities from the river’s frequent flooding. Its about a 45 minute trip out of Vegas and you can easily spend some time there for a morning before returning to the city by early afternoon. Definitely visit early in the day before the Mojave heat becomes too great if you’re visiting at a warmer time of year. It gets hot out in the desert.
The Basics
- Where? Off Highway 93, Nevada 89005, United States of America. There’s no street address, but you’ll easily be able to find directions here.
- When? 9.00AM – 5.00PM (November – March), 9.00AM – 6.00PM (April – October)
- How much? Admission to the visitor’s centre and site is $10USD. Further tours are available for purchase that go inside the Dam.
- How to get here? No public transport available. Either rent a car or take an organised tour from Las Vegas.
- Website: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/
I visited Hoover Dam as part of an organised day trip while staying in Las Vegas. The trip was convenient, as we were picked up on an air conditioned shuttle bus out to the dam, with audio commentary playing throughout parts of the trip to give a bit of insight into what we’d be seeing at our destination. The trip also included a stop over by Lake Mead, the lake that was created by the Dam and now is the largest man-made reservoir in all of the United States.
About Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam was originally called Boulder Dam before being renamed after President Herbert Hoover in 1933. Construction on the Dam began in 1931, and the project brought thousands of workers out seeking employment. The influx of workers resulted in nearby Boulder City growing to accommodate the population boost in the area. Working conditions were testing to say the least – imagine temperatures in excess of 45 degrees Celsius! Beyond that, the scope of the project was beyond any concrete building in history. In fact, so much concrete was used to build the Dam that it had to be poured block by block so that it would solidify in place.
Despite all this, the Dam was actually completed ahead of schedule by 1936. Two years ahead of schedule AND under budget! Considering how long construction projects seem to take these days, that’s definitely impressive. Perhaps banning casinos in Boulder City did achieve the desired outcome after all – no distractions for the workers. President Franklin D Roosevelt made the trip to Vegas for the grand opening (the first time a U.S President had visited the city) and today Hoover Dam remains a landmark of national pride and significance.
Beyond all that, Hoover Dam continues to provide hydro-electric power to locations across Nevada, Arizona and California. That’s a lot of energy from one massive Dam.
Touring the Powerplant
My organised trip to Hoover Dam included a guided tour of the powerplant facility. If you’re not visiting the Dam as part of a group, you may want to look into organising this in advance in case tickets sell out. The standard tour runs for about 30 minutes and takes you down fifty stories into the Dam’s tunnels. Here you’ll see the super-sized commercial generators that provide all that energy.
The tour does involve navigating through some tight corridors, so you might want to think twice if you’re severely claustrophobic, but it wasn’t too bad. We had a very enthusiastic guide that was able to tell us all about the history of the Dam.
If you’re wanting to take this tour, you can purchase your tickets online 90 days out from your trip. There is also a more comprehensive tour that lasts an hour. It takes you further inside the Dam’s inspection tunnels, but you can only purchase tickets for that one on the day. The 30 minute tour costs $15, while the hour tour is $30 (USD).
Walking across the Dam
After exploring underneath the Dam, there’s still plenty more to see. The Dam offers scenic views looking out from the top of the Dam wall down the Colorado River far below. If you have time, I’d recommend a stop by the Hoover Dam Museum to look back at the Great Depression and the conditions faced by workers who ventured out chasing the American Dream at this bleak time in history. If you’re only stopping by for a short time however, you’ll want to spend your time walking along the Dam and see some of the key sights.
One thing that was noticeable when I visited, was the discolouration of the surrounding cliff faces of Lake Mead when looking out from the Dam. The area above the lowered water level looked incredibly dry. The massive tide mark serves as a stark reminder of the droughts affecting this part of the United States. While I understand the water level has increased slightly since my visit, Hoover Dam hasn’t reached full capacity since 1998.
The Figures of the Republic Statues
While Hoover Dam is an architectural monument of achievement, there was also great loss suffered during its construction. Sadly 96 workers died during construction of the Dam. They are remembered by the bronze winged Figures of the Republic statues standing on top of Hoover Dam. The statues are beautifully crafted, even if their bronze coating has turned to a greenish hue through years of elemental exposure. At the time of construction, they were the largest bronze sculptures in the world, further adding to the sheer enormity of Hoover Dam.
The Intake Towers
As you walk along the Dam’s length, you’ll notice four large towers that jut out from the main structure. These towers draw water from Lake Mead into the Dam’s power plant so that electricity can be generated. If you’re interested in learning more about the Intake Towers, stop by the Nevada side of the Dam for an audio presentation about their role in the Dam’s operations.
There are two towers on each side of the Arizona-Nevada state border, and it was cool to walk to the point where the two states met. Of course I had to run across to the Arizona side to say I had (technically) been to another state! The tower closest to the border on each side bears a clock, showing the time in its respective state. Nevada is an hour behind Arizona during some parts of the year. Didn’t think you’d be getting to time travel at Hoover Dam did you?
Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
Almost as impressive as Hoover Dam itself is the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. Since 2010, this bridge has stood high above the Colorado River, overlooking the Dam. The bridge was constructed to allow interstate traffic flow with the Dam itself closed to traffic due to security concerns. The bridge received its name in tribute to an individual from each border state – former Nevada Governor Mike O’Callaghan and former Arizona Cardinals player turned US Army Ranger Pat Tillman (who lost his life in Afghanistan in 2004). While you can make your way up to the bridge for some brilliant views of the Dam, looking at the bridge from the Dam itself is not too shabby a sight either.
A stop on the way back to Vegas
On the way back to Vegas, we stopped briefly at the Lake Mead Overlook. Its a nice spot where you can really appreciate the enormity of Lake Mead and take plenty of photos. Our time here was a bit restricted due to the bus overheating as we were leaving Hoover Dam, but if you get the chance, take a bit of time exploring the Lake Mead surroundings. The Lake Mead Recreational Park is a popular swimming, boating and hiking destination. While we made our way back to Vegas after taking a few photos, you could easily combine some time here with Hoover Dam as a full day tour.
Overall, I enjoyed visiting Hoover Dam. Its an easy trip to organise from Las Vegas, and a way to get away from the often hectic and noisy casino surroundings. Don’t get me wrong, I love Vegas’ glitz and glamour, but sometimes its nice to escape it for a few hours. If you’ve got a spare day, make the trip out to Hoover Dam. Its worth your time. If I were to visit the Dam again though, I think I’d look into renting a car so I could spend more time in the area, particularly to some water activities on Lake Mead.
Have you been to Hoover Dam and the surrounding Lake Mead area? Do you have any tips or memories from the area? Leave all your comments below – I’d love to hear from you.