What is the Hoover Dam?
Located 30 miles from Las Vegas on the Nevada-Arizona border, Hoover Dam—completed in 1936—created the country’s largest reservoir. The dam was built to hold back the flow of the Colorado River to provide water and electricity to cities across the Southwest. The dam created Lake Mead, a recreational area covering 248 square miles popular for boaters and hikers.
Is the Hoover Dam worth visiting?
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. It’s a dam. What is there to see? Well, honestly, a lot. Not only can you see the dam from the roadway but you can also go behind the scenes and see its inner workings on a tunnel tour of the hydroelectric power plant. An engineering marvel, the impressive 726-foot-tall concrete structure was once the world’s tallest dam and is an incredible structure to see and tour.
What’s the best way to see the Hoover Dam?
Take a dam tour. Hoover Dam has a couple of options for seeing the history and exploring the tunnels and power plant.
Where is good to eat near the Hoover Dam?
While you’re out that way, be sure to visit Boulder City. The small main street is packed with vintage shops, diners, and brew pubs, as well as bighorn sheep who come to graze in Hemenway Park. They’re so famous they even have their own ram cam.
Check out more things to do in Las Vegas.
