Address: 601 Nevada Way (Park Headquarters)
Pricing: $5 car (1-5 days) $20 annual pass; other fees appl
Phone: (702) 293-8990
Hours: Park: daily 24 hours; Visitor Center: daily 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
How To Get There:
From Las Vegas, take 93 South to Boulder City and follow to Lake Mead. Or take Lake Mead Pkwy off 215 or 95 in Henderson. Or from north Las Vegas, take Lake Mead Blvd.
Parking:All outdoor lots (some paved, some dirt)
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Lake Mead: Mojave's boating, camping mecca
When it comes to fun in the sun, you won’t want to miss the boat on one of the Las Vegas area’s most popular day trips. With its shoreline stretching approximately 500 miles into the Mojave Desert, Lake Mead is a man-made lake created in 1936 when the natural flow of the Colorado River was first blocked by the Hoover Dam.
One of the largest artificial lakes in the United States, Lake Mead's the fifth most-visited unit of the National Park Sysyem from amongst its 391 units. .About 8 million visitors each year come here to boat, fish, water ski, swim, camp, picnic and explore.
Lake Mead is the centerpiece of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which also includes Lake Mojave to the south and the surrounding desert east to the edge of Grand Canyon National Park and north to Overton, Nev.
The best way to see the blue lake, surrounded by barren mountains, canyon tops and plateaus, is, of course, by boat. Many of Lake Mead's sandy beaches, secluded coves and narrow canyons are only accessible by water. With water temperatures averaging 78 degrees in spring, summer and autumn, the clear lake's ideal for swimming.
The Las Vegas Boat Harbor Marina is the closest of the lake’s four marinas to Boulder City. It has two general stores and two restaurants where you can dine inside or outside at the water’s edge.
The easiest way to get to Lake Mead from Las Vegas is to go through Boulder City. As you travel down its main street, you will soon see Lake Mead. Lakeshore Road (which becomes Northshore Road) skirts the western side of the lake for 60 miles and is the access road for three marinas (all concession-operated) on the Nevada side of Lake Mead.
A good way to learn about the lake is to visit the Alan Bible Visitor Center a few miles west of Hoover Dam and pick up a map and information on activities. You can rent a boat and jet skis at any one of the marinas, or take a jaunt around the lake on the Desert Princess, a 100-foot paddleboat offering noon, 2.p.m..and 6:30 p.m. sightseeing cruises daily and a 10 a.m. Sunday Brunch cruise. The 6:30 p.m. cruise is a dinner cruise.
Also offered are two types of Black Canyon/Willow Beach Adventures. The half-day non-white-water raft trip begins at the base of Hoover Dam and goes 13 miles downstream. It's the only way to get into the Hoover Dam security zone by boat.
Smooth sailing!
- by Bobbie Katz, Las Vegas Reporter for HelloMetro
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