Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam on the Nevada–Arizona border is a 221-meter (726-foot) Art Deco arch-gravity dam, about 48 km (30 miles) southeast of Las Vegas near Boulder City. The crest is roughly 379 meters (1,244 feet) long. Construction began in 1931, and the dam was handed over to the federal government in 1936; it holds back the Colorado River to form Lake Mead. Architect Gordon Kaufmann designed the exterior details, and two clocks on the intake towers show Nevada and Arizona time.

The Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opened in October 2010, offers a view from above. Its arch sits about 270 meters (890 feet) above the river, the bridge is 579 meters (1,900 feet) long, and it has a walkway for pedestrians and cyclists; there is a parking area on the Nevada side. If you simply drive across, you will not see the dam. Through traffic now uses the bridge, but the road over the dam can still be driven to reach the parking lots and facilities on the Arizona side.

Important for RV travelers: according to the Bureau of Reclamation, RVs, oversized vehicles and vehicles with trailers must park on the Arizona side, and all vehicles are screened at the checkpoint and may not stop on top of the dam (as of October 2026). The visitor center and tours operate daily; Lonely Planet describes a power plant tour of about 30 minutes and a dam tour of about one hour. Tours often sell out, so arrive early.