Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Nevada → Hoover Dam

Location: Black Canyon Area, Las Vegas, Nevada

Time Required: 1-2 hours

Red Tape/Notes: Open daily 5am – 9pm, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Tours of the dam available daily from 9am to 5pm (except Thanksgiving and Christmas, obviously…because they’re closed). Tours of the Power Plant can be purchased online here; the more in-depth Dam Tour cannot be purchased online and are offered on a first come, first serve basis at the dam. So show up early if you want that. No ticket/tour is required to walk across and view the dam, but be aware that vehicles must pass through an inspection area before being allowed across the dam – find more information on their website, here.

What’s Nearby?: Bighorn Canyon, Weeping Springs Canyon, Secret Canyon, Goldstrike Canyon, Historic Railroad Trail, Colorado River Hot Springs Packrafting, Ringpin Canyon

Virtually everyone has heard of Hoover Dam, so if you’re here, you might as well drive across it and/or have a look. It’s free! You do have to drive through a security checkpoint, but as long as you’re not carrying fireworks or other questionable explosives (or driving a semi-truck), they’ll let you in. The closer parking areas cost money, but you can park farther away for free. We only had a few minutes while we were here, so we just did a brief wander around to see the dam, drove over to look at Lake Mead, and walked across the Memorial Bridge for views of the dam. It would be fun to come back and do one of the tours, though. The Power Plant tour can be purchased online, but the Hoover Dam Tour seems to be the better option, offering exploration into the lesser-known parts of the dam. These tickets are first come, first served, in person. We’ll see how hard it is to get tickets next time. We paddled up the Colorado to see Hoover Dam from the bottom as well, and it was nice getting both the top and bottom perspectives.

Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Nevada → Hoover Dam