It’s Worth Half A Day To Visit Hoover Dam

I visited Hoover Dam in February of 2000 as a side trip of my stay in Las Vegas (which was a side trip of my stay in California!).

If you’re in Las Vegas it’s worth half a day to visit Hoover Dam. The drive is approx. 90 minutes, most of which is a very scenic drive. Particularly the last 15-20 minutes which are spent slowly circling a very narrow and winding road. The colors of the rocks here are beautiful.

Before entering the visitors center make sure you don’t bring the following with you, as they are not allowed on the tour: bags of any kind, backpacks, camera cases.

The tour itself costs approx $11 per adult, for the standard tour. You could also take a more detailed tour for around $20.

First we were taken to a room where we were shown a video on the history of Hoover Dam. If you have children with you they could become restless during this part. We then waited for our guide to arrive. He was well informed and enthusiastic about what he was telling us, which always makes a difference in any tour. There’s nothing worse in a tour than following a guide who’s merely regurgitating paragraphs from a guide book!

First, we were taken down the turbines and outside the base of the dam briefly, then back inside to where we learned how the dam works. It was interesting to hear how important the dam was to the area. Now again if you have small children, or find educational commentary boring, you’re probably going to become impatient.

You can use your camera in here but the best photos can be taken at the very top of the lookout. We were lucky enough to have the sunset coming over the rocks and dam as we took pics.

Our guide spoke of how so many men died building the dam and as he finished the tour and we gazed at the dam a feeling of awe set in. You could feel the history all around. The pictures in the visitors centre of the men working in unbearable heat stuck in my mind as I watched the giant cylinders. A man made wonder that truly does stick in one’s mind long after the tour has ended.

P.S. Take a moment to put one foot in Nevada and the other in Arizona on the bridge over the damn!