Created by Hoover Dam and designated in 1964 as the first National Recreation Area in the country, Lake Mead NRA spans nearly 1.5 million acres across two states — and where you should go within it depends heavily on whether you're headed for the Nevada side near Boulder City or the Arizona-adjacent Lake Mohave section further south.
Two Very Different Halves
The park splits into a northern section around Lake Mead itself (closer to Las Vegas and Boulder City, home to the Alan Bible Visitor Center) and a southern section around Lake Mohave (Katherine Landing and Cottonwood Cove, nearer Laughlin/Bullhead City). They're far apart within the same park boundary, so decide which end fits your day-trip radius before planning.
A Shrinking Lake
Lake Mead's surface elevation has dropped significantly since the historic mid-2022 low point, with a partial recovery since from strong snowpack years — worth knowing before you go, since low water has exposed features and changed some shoreline access compared to older photos and guides.
Getting Oriented
Start at the Alan Bible Visitor Center near Boulder City if this is your first visit — it has a park-wide relief map, wildlife exhibits, and staff who can tell you about current trail and road closures. The park has nine entrance stations in total, with the most commonly used being Northshore Road, Lake Mead Boulevard, Lake Mead Parkway, and the Boulder City approach.
Explore More at Lake Mead — Already on LvLocal
Lake Mead is enormous, and this site already has detailed guides covering specific spots and activities within it — this overview is meant to help you decide where to start.
Camping
- Boulder Beach Campground — the closest developed campground to the Alan Bible Visitor Center and Hoover Dam.
- Callville Bay RV Village, Echo Bay Campground, Cottonwood Cove Campground & RV Resort, Las Vegas Bay Campground, and Lake Mead RV Village cover the rest of the developed and RV-resort options.
- Government Wash Dispersed Camping — the free, no-facilities option for boondockers.
Kayaking & Fishing
- Kayaking Black Canyon & Emerald Cave and Kayaking Lake Mead at Hemenway Harbor — the two main paddling routes on the Nevada side.
- Fishing Lake Mead — striped bass, largemouth bass, catfish, and more, with current Nevada license info.
- Trout Fishing Black Canyon at Willow Beach — the one cold-water trout fishery in the area, near Hoover Dam.
Hiking
- Black Mesa: A Panoramic Summit Above Lake Mead
- Callville Summit Trail
- St. Thomas: A Ghost Town That Rose Nine Times From Lake Mead — a submerged-then-resurfaced ghost town, one of the more unusual hikes in the park.
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam Tour & Visitor Center covers visiting the dam itself in detail — including its current visitor-access status, which you should check before planning a trip there.
Book a Guided Trip
- Bus tours to Hoover Dam and the Lake Mead area: Grand Canyon Tour Company, Gray Line Las Vegas, Grand Adventures Tours, National Park Express, Max Tour LLC.
- Las Vegas ATVs runs off-road tours to the Lake Mead/Colorado River area.
- Vegas Trail Ride offers horseback rides near Lake Mead.
(Some of the guides linked above are still in draft while we review them — the links will resolve as soon as they're published.)
Practical Advice
- Time your visit around the season, not just the day — summer heat here is genuinely dangerous, and some trails close for safety.
- Decide which half of the park (Lake Mead vs. Lake Mohave) fits your trip before you go — they're both technically "Lake Mead NRA" but far apart.
- Start at the Alan Bible Visitor Center for orientation if you're not sure where to go first.
Bottom line for a first-time visitor: this is less a single destination than an entire region — use the links above to pick a specific activity and site rather than trying to "see the whole park" in one visit.