Every time we visit Las Vegas, visiting Hoover Dam comes up as a top suggestion for things to do in the area since it’s only about 40 minutes away from the city. We finally dedicated a day to visit Hoover Dam, Lake Mead Recreation Area, and Boulder City and we have no regrets – it was one of the best day trips we’ve ever done. Seeing Hoover Dam is similar to seeing Mount Rushmore or the Golden Gate Bridge; I feel like it’s something that everyone should try to see once because it’s very unique, has a lot of history, and pictures don’t quite do it justice.

For the day trip, we left our Airbnb in Las Vegas around 7:45a, picked up Starbucks (a necessity for any drive, in my opinion), and then drove to Hoover Dam. It was a very full day; we:

• hiked the 8 mile Historical Railroad Trail
• ate the lunch we packed and had an ice cream bar
• looked through the Dam Visitor Center exhibits
• stopped at the Dam overlook
• did a Dam tour
• walked on Hoover Dam
• walked the whole Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
• went to Boulder City for some food
• headed back to Las Vegas

We made it back to Vegas around 6:30p and I feel like we were able to see and do everything we wanted to without feeling rushed. Despite the mid-August heat, it was actually a really relaxing day.

This post goes over the details of our trip and includes some general tips and information for visiting Hoover Dam.

Historic Railroad Trail

The history of the Historic Railroad Trail is unique; like the name implies, it’s 4 miles of where a railroad once was, and that railroad was used to bring in all supplies needed to build Hoover Dam. There was a lot of information about the railroad on signs along the trail, but not really any remnants of the railroad itself.

We started the day with the trail because we wanted to beat as much of the heat as possible – we started around 8:30a and finished around noon, at which point it was exactly 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside. There were signs all over the trail and at the trailheads warning about the heat and it really is no joke; we were fine because we brought plenty of water, had on light clothing and hats, and started early, but it easily could have been brutal. The trail is incredibly exposed to the sun and is definitely best to do any time of year except summer.

The official Historic Railroad Trail trailhead is in the Lake Mead Recreation Area and it leads all the way to Hoover Dam. We decided to hike it “backwards” and start at the Dam since we wanted to go to the Dam Visitor Center after the hike. It was a little difficult to find where the trail started from the Dam side, but it’s actually on the top (fifth) floor of the parking garage – at the back of the fifth floor, there are some signs and a ramp that leads to the top of the canyon and to the trail.

I really loved this hike – ignoring the heat, it’s an easy trail with very little elevation change, and it’s 8 miles round-trip. It’s a crushed gravel / dirt trail, so gym shoes / hiking shoes are ideal – sandals wouldn’t be great. The trailhead in the Recreation Area is next to the Lake Mead Recreation Area Visitor Center- we stopped there and looked through the exhibits for a bit and we picked up a couple of Clif bars to tide us over until we got back to the car for lunch.

Left: Lake Mead from Historic Railroad Trail
Right: Map of Lake Mead Recreation Area and surrounding areas at the Lake Mead Recreation Area Visitor Center

Some of the highlights of the trail are that:

• It goes through five large tunnels that the railroad used to go through; these were blasted into the canyon when they were preparing to build Hoover Dam
• There was a lot of wildlife – we saw a large lizard, bats in the tunnels, and three bighorn sheep
• It’s educational; there were:
  • Large pieces of the power plant that aren’t used anymore near the Dam side with information about each piece
  • Pictures of the view of Lake Mead from decades ago to compare to the current view, now that the water level is at historic lows
  • Informative signs about wildlife, the trail itself, and the railroad that used to be there
• The views of Lake Mead throughout the hike were really pretty – we stopped to take pictures a few times
• It’s a really wide trail so it never felt crowded – there weren’t a ton of people because of the heat, but there were a few other hikers and some mountain bikers
• You can start at either end of the trail and turn around at any point – since it’s not a loop, it’s easy to just do part of it. It seemed like a lot of the hikers were doing this when we were there – probably partially because of the heat and because there isn’t a ton to see after the tunnels
• There’s a “shortcut” near the parking garage which was nice to take on our way back. I think it cut off about a quarter of a mile

Top: Two of the five tunnels on the Historic Railroad Trail
Bottom: Three bighorn sheep

There were three drinking fountains on the hike – one at each end of the trail (near the parking garage and at the Lake Mead Recreation Area Visitor Center), and one about a mile and a half from the parking garage. The water in the fountain on the trail was pretty hot and I’d assume it also was at the fountain near the parking garage since they were both in the sun, but the one at the visitor center was cooler since it was in a covered area.

The only other thing to note is that there is a fork in the trail about a mile from the Lake Mead Recreation Area Visitor Center that leads to Hoover Dam Lodge – Resort & Casino. The map indicated that there is some kind of restaurant / cafe there, which could be nice for a break if starting from the Hoover Dam side.

Again, this is a great hike and helps make visiting Hoover Dam into more of a day trip – especially if the temperature is a little lower. If you want to hike it in the summer, my tips would be:

• Get there early. Don’t plan to hike the whole trail if you get there after 9a / 9:30a and temps are supposed to be in 90 -100 degrees F, especially if you’re not used to hiking in heat
• Double the amount of water you think you need, and ideally bring insulated water bottles with plenty of ice to cool down the water from the water fountain on the trail
• Bring salty snacks – sweet snacks don’t usually sound good in the middle of a hike and I’m always hungrier than I expect
• Wear lightweight clothes, hats, and sunglasses
• Wear and reapply sunscreen

Hoover Dam Cafe, Gift Shop, and Ice Cream / Coffee Window

After our hike, we stopped by the car to grab the food we packed – there were covered picnic tables by the cafe and gift shop so we sat there to eat. We poked our heads in the cafe and there were some tables inside; it seems like they mostly sold things like burgers, chicken tenders, fries, etc. We didn’t stop in the gift shop so I’m not sure what it was like.

Before we headed to the Dam Visitor Center, we stopped by the coffee and ice cream window – they had a variety of individually packaged ice cream treats like ice cream sandwiches, Drumsticks, ice cream bars, etc. Dom and I split a Snickers ice cream bar and it was the perfect post-hike snack.

Hoover Dam Visitor Center & Dam Tour

The Hoover Dam Visitor Center has a lot of security, presumably since it’s a power plant and it dams a huge body of water. There were airport scanners for bags and everyone goes through a metal detector.

We bought tickets for the Dam Tour, which is the power plant tour + a couple additional stops inside the Dam. We had about 45 minutes before the next tour started, so we watched the 10 minute video about the history of Hoover Dam, walked around the Visitor Center exhibits, and went up to the Visitor Center’s Dam Observation Deck before the tour started. The exhibits had a lot of interesting information about how the power plant works and how the Dam was built, and once we were on the tour the guides told us several times that our tour tickets would get us back into the Visitor Center if we wanted to look around more after the tour.

The Dam Tour itself was great – I think our guide was Amanda, and she said she had worked there for 14 years. The tour was on the Nevada side of the power plant and our guide gave us a detailed explanation of how it was built and how it operates today. After the power plant portion, we went into the dam and looked out of a vent that looks out from the dam, we walked through many hallways inside the dam, and we stopped by an incredibly steep staircase.

I think the power plant tour section was the coolest section of the tour; the additional parts that are exclusive to the Dam tour were interesting but not necessarily a must-do. It was $30 / person for the full tour while the power plant tour was only $15 / person, so just something to consider when getting tickets. We were glad we did the full tour since visiting Hoover Dam isn’t necessarily a repeat trip, though.

The tour ends on top of the Dam, so then we walked around up there – there are walkways on either side of the road and it was cool to walk around on top and look at both Lake Mead and the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. There is a plaque that marks the state line between Nevada and Arizona – our tour guide told us they had to remove the white line that used to mark the state line because it was causing too much of a traffic jam since people wanted to stop, get out of the car, and take pictures with the line, especially after the movie Fools Rush In came out, since it’s in the movie.

Top (Left to Right): Very steep staircase inside Hoover Dam, Lake Mead from the top of Hoover Dam; Dom on the Nevada / Arizona state line on Hoover Dam
Bottom (Left to Right): Jess on Hoover Dam; Inside the power plant

Walking the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

The only way to walk across the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is to park in the Bridge parking lot on the Nevada side – it’s about half a mile from the Hoover Dam Visitor Center and there were signs pointing to the turn. After parking, there are a few flights of relatively steep stairs (and alternatively, a very long ramp) to get up to the bridge from the parking lot. There were quite a few plaques with facts and information about the bridge as well as a plaque (similar to the one on Hoover Dam) marking the Arizona / Nevada state line. There is absolutely no shade on the bridge, so just something to keep in mind – it’s not somewhere fun to hang out in the summer but cool to walk on a bit to see the view of Hoover Dam.

One thing that was especially interesting about the bridge to me was that from 1935, when Hoover Dam was completed, until this bridge was completed in 2010, driving over Hoover Dam was the only way to cross the Colorado River in this area. Our Dam Tour Guide told us that on the busiest days, it could take up to 4 hours to get from Boulder City to the Arizona side of the Dam, which should only be a 15 minute drive. So, the new bridge lets everyone who isn’t planning to visit Hoover Dam to go a much faster route – it’s a three lane highway as opposed to the Dam which probably had a speed limit of 15 mph, has frequent stops for pedestrians, and is a single lane. I kind of can’t believe it took until 2010 for them to build an alternative route.

Top left: Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge from Hoover Dam
Top right: Hoover Dam from Bridge
Bottom left: Dom on the Bridge with the Arizona sign way in the background (it has red on it)
Bottom right: Dom near the bridge with Nevada sign

Boulder City, NV

We read a lot about Boulder City in the different exhibits while we were visiting Hoover Dam – the town was created to house the men working on the Dam in the 1930’s, along with their families. It’s a cute little town and I noticed there were some really nice houses, especially on the side of the town that faces Lake Mead since it’s a pretty view. Boulder City is only about 10-15 minutes from Hoover Dam, so we stopped there before heading back to Las Vegas.

We went to two local businesses in Boulder City and as we were leaving town to go back to Vegas, Dom and I agreed that it was the best quick stop in a town that we’ve made, possibly ever – we loved both of the places we went to and overall, it was just a really cute town to stop in after a very hot day at Hoover Dam.

Dam Roast House & Browder Bookstore

When we were in the parking lot at the Memorial Bridge, Dom said a smoothie sounded really good so we Googled places with smoothies in Boulder City. Dam Roast House & Browder Bookstore came up and we were so glad it did because in addition to smoothies, they sell all kinds of espresso / coffee drinks and, as the name implies, it also has a small bookstore – Dom and I both read quite a bit, so bookstores are always exciting for us.

It was incredibly cute inside – they had plants they were propagating on most tables, the decor was cute on the walls, and again, there was a cute bookstore area as well. I thought the menu was surprisingly large for a local shop and so many things sounded good – in addition to the menu on the wall, they had an extra espresso menu on the counter that had a list of not-so-secret menu items that were crafted by their baristas.

I ordered an iced s’mores latte and it was absolutely incredible – the latte was topped with whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs, and a roasted marshmallow. It was probably the best iced coffee drink I’ve ever had, and it was perfect for the day – my phone said it was 105 degrees when we were there. (The temperature could have influenced why it felt like the best iced latte I’ve ever had, but regardless – it was delicious).

Dom had a smoothie bowl, which is one of his favorite foods – he ordered the AB&J bowl which had a berry smoothie, plus additional strawberries and blueberries on top as well as granola, honey, and almond butter. He loved it, and on a hike in Red Rock Canyon (outside of Vegas) a few days later, he said he really wished there was one in Vegas that we could stop by.

Big T’s Cantina

Big T’s Cantina was next door to Dam Roast House and we thought it looked good when we walked by, so we decided to split a margarita and tacos after our coffee / smoothie stop. We were really glad we did because everything was delicious. The chips seemed really fresh, the salsa and margarita both had great flavors, and the cauliflower tacos were amazing – possibly the best cauliflower tacos I’ve ever had.

Misc. Details About Visiting Hoover Dam

• Vehicle Inspection: There’s a vehicle inspection stop about a mile from Hoover Dam – from what I read online, this was added after 9/11. It was quick – we just rolled down all of our windows, they asked if we had any firearms in the vehicle, they walked around the car, and they told us we were good to go. The truck in front of us did get asked to pull to the side, so not sure if there was a specific reason or if it’s random. The inspection stop wasn’t backed up when we arrived since it was so early, but there were probably 10-15 cars in line when we passed by as we were leaving in the afternoon
• Cost:
  • The parking garage on the Nevada side costs $10; this is the only parking area for passenger vehicles near Hoover Dam. Oversized vehicles park in lots on the Arizona side, according to the website
  • It’s an additional $10 to walk around the Visitor Center exhibits and access the Observation Deck, and a sign said there’s actually an audio tour available so I would bring headphones to be able to listen to it if you’re not doing a guided tour
  • The power plant tour is $15 / person and includes access to the Visitor Center exhibits and the Observation Deck. It looked like tickets could be purchased online, but they also sell them in person once you get through security at the Visitor Center
  • The Dam tour is $30 / person and includes the power plant tour and access to the Visitor Center exhibits and the Observation Deck. These tickets are only sold in person at the Visitor Center
• Additional Stops: There were signs for a few overlooks when we were driving to the Dam (we didn’t stop at any since we did the Historic Railroad Trail which seemed close to some of the overlooks) and there’s a parking lot for the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, like I mentioned earlier. Pretty much everything is on the Nevada side, from what I could tell – the Arizona side of The Hoover Dam didn’t seem to have any buildings or anything
• What to bring: Plenty of sunscreen, water, and snacks. The parking garage, ice cream / coffee window, Lake Mead Recreation Area Visitor Center, and Hoover Dam Visitor Center all took credit card so we never needed cash; I assume the cafe and the gift shop also take card
• Cell Signal: I didn’t notice if there was wifi in the Visitor Center, but I think I had cell signal the entire time we were there other than when we were inside the dam

About the Weather

There were signs all over our hike and near the parking lot that warned about excessive heat – the temperature did get to 105 F while we were there (again, this was mid-August). It’s definitely not ideal to visit in the middle of summer, but still worth going if you have a free day while visiting Vegas and want to get off the strip and see something very unique to the area.

If you are visiting in the summer, again, I can’t recommend enough to start the day early – I think the parking garage opens at 8a and the Visitor Center opens at 9a. Like I mentioned earlier in this post, I wouldn’t do the Historic Railroad Trail in the summer if you get there after 9a / 9:30a – it will be too hot, especially if you aren’t used to hiking in heat. There are a decent amount of water refill stations around Hoover Dam, so I would bring refillable water bottles to stay hydrated while walking around the Dam. Even being exposed for a 15 minutes or so while walking over Hoover Dam and for another 15-20 mins on the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge was a lot, so I was glad we had plenty of water.

Let me know if you have any questions about visiting Hoover Dam! Like I said, we’ve always seen it mentioned as something to do while visiting Las Vegas and we’re really glad we took a day to do it this year, especially with the stop in Boulder City.