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Hoover Dam
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72 reviews for Hoover Dam
Wow - an amazing feet of American ingenuity and diligence. And all built during the Great Depression. Kinda makes you wonder why we can't achieve high marks like that anymore...
Anywho - the Hoover Dam (formerly "Boulder Dam") is HUGE, and the HUGE construction project that they're building to circumvent the 93 is a pretty amazing feat in its own right.
We took the Power Plant Tour (the Dam tour was, like $40 per person! Oh, and parking is $7 = rather annoying), and we actually all really enjoyed the hour tour, then the self-tour around the dam, and then across to the Arizona side - we just had to do it, it was right there!
Great view of the tamed Colorado river on one side, and Lake Mead on the other.
Hint - do NOT wear a light skirt or dress to visit the Dam - it's a wind tunnel up there, and there are plenty of peep shoes available in nearby Vegas!!
Another hint: if you plan on visiting on a weekend, go early (before 11am) or later (later than 3pm), because otherwise, the traffic is intense and frustrating.
One more: yes, they have a "cafe", but it's nothing to get excited about, so eat before, after, or bring your own lunch.
Would highly recommend a visit to the Hoover Dam! Feel American, know the country's history, and spend a nice few hours enjoying the great land.
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So my son and I are passing through on our Man Trip to the Machine Gun Shoot and I think, "I should show the boy Hoover Dam, very manly, one of the Wonders of the Modern World," etc. etc. I remember taking the tour back, oh sheesh, back in the early 1980's.
So we're winding down the highway, slowly inching forward, because of the Security Checkpoint. Now, let me just warn you if you're a terrorist- don't even THINK about getting past security. These guys are professionals, trained killers is what they are.
Snapping back to reality, if I wanted to take out Hoover Dam it would be simple. I've never seen a more useless checkpoint. They just wave us through, they don't even talk to you. What are they doing, just looking for turbans? A complete waste of time and money. All they do is slow down traffic. I've seen Agricultural Inspections stations that have a better chance of stopping terrorist attacks.
Parking is $7- cash only. Traveling without cash? No Hoover Dam for you. Borrow some money from the security guards.
The web site says two tours- the Electrical Plant ($11) tour, and the Dam Tour ($30). Tours are every half hour. For some reason, we would have had to wait two and half hours to go on the Dam Tour and we were on a schedule, so we had to take the Electrical Plant Tour.
Don't do that.
You spend most of your time going into elevators with a bunch of lousy tourists and walking down tunnels, and waiting for other tour groups to pass and use the elevator again. You get to see two things, the power plant and one of the penstocks. Whoopee.
Not impressed. The dam itself, of course, is superlative and amazing and all that. The touring of same leaves much to be desired. I am hoping the Dam Tour at more than twice the price is actually worth the money.
My first 5 star review ever!
Few reasons why the Hoover Dam deserves 5 stars:
- It is the coolest thing, men made, I saw in my life.
- There were 112 deaths associated with the construction of the dam.
- It is breathtaking, huge and unrealistic.
- Cost: $49 million ($736 million adjusted for inflation from 1936 to 2008)
- Generators at the Dam's Hoover Powerplant began transmission of electricity from the Colorado River to Los Angeles, California 266 miles (428 km) away on October 26, 1936
- It is right on the border of NV & AZ
- It is right on the Colorado lake, where you can go fish or do all kind of water sports.
- When completed in 1936, it was both the world's largest electric-power generating station and the world's largest concrete structure.
Wait! That's not all!
The Hoover Dam has a tour every hour where a group of people are allowed to get inside of the Dam through its elevators and special paths! It is really worth it, I found it absolutely not boring, they give you all the info & statistics and you get to see the real deal inside, the caves, the whole structure, the turbines and what not.
One tip: Before driving over there make sure you gone to the bathroom, got your water, snacks and enough gas in your car.
Traffic can be bad & you may be stuck in traffic in middle of the desert for over an hour.
Have fun!
Yalla Bye.
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If your curious enough to read a review you should make the attempt to drive out. Once you leave the city the drive and views of the lake are amazing. The BF and i stopped a few times to take pictures. Yeah you may hit a little traffic but your surroundings make it worth the time you spend. As said before, the check point is an annoyance... but it helps build the anticipation. We pulled in from the Nevada side to avoid the huge tour buses. Its hard to explain what you see when your pulling up to the parking structure. Simply amazing! Yeah you'll have to pay to park, and pay to take the tour... but DO IT! Yes you'll have to wait in a few lines to explore the tunnels and museum... that's a sign that its gotta be good!
Pretty fascinating place for a lot of the reasons already written about. I simply went here because I was curious and it was so easy to do on the way from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, and I am happy I did. The tour is well worth it, and is fairly priced at about $9. It is informative and surprisingly fast, but it gives you a nice overview and a lot of details as well. Plus you can get way down into the damn and understand how it works and how it was designed which gives a better appreciation of it.
I wish I had had more time to be able to more fully look at the museum, as it seems like a lot of care was put into it, and it was very well done from what I saw. Being able to look at it though was a fascinating sight though, and the pictures of it really don't do it much justice. The fact that it was manmade just adds a lot of the fascination...at least to me.
I've been to Las Vegas several times, but have only went to the Hoover Dam once. I can almost guarantee that the next time I go to Las Vegas, I will definitely go to the Hoover Dam. I would like to spend more time and read more and attempt to more fully contemplate what a remarkable achievement this dam is.
A "dam" good time, ho ho ho. One of things you have to see before you die. California would never have figured out how to build this.
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Is this a Gawd Damn? Is this a damn damn? How many dam jokes can be made while on the damn damn tour? I don't know the answer to that, but what I do know is that my family sure made a hell of a lot of them!!!!
This is a great place to check out if you are in the area. In the middle of the damn you can stand in two separate states simultaneously. I literally saw a man step across the border and reset his watch stating "Where you're standing it's this time and where I am it's this time." What and idiot!!!
Very impressive.
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How can you go to Vegas and not go see the Hoover Dam. Getting there and back isn't fun but like everyone says it's just one of those places you have to see, even it's just once.
I didn't do the tour, just parked ($7) and walked around to check it out.
Also, if you have time, check out the Hoover Dame Store, their slogan is that they have "the best dam gifts in the west". The people who worked there were hilarious or at least they amused me. They try to throw dam into every sentence and then when you're leaving they say "have a dam fine day". That stuff kills me.
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THE most beautiful place I have seen in this country! Natural or otherwise. I was so impressed by this man-made massive landmark that honestly it's probably the only thing I remember about Vegas!
They also have great tours and the staff who work there are so knowledgeable! Make it a point to go there and see EVERYTHING that has to do with this. You will not be disappointed!
I'm not too keen on sightseeing, and seeing that it was labor day, it was one of the experiences i would like to do over to get a better view of the technology about this place
It was super hot.
We were stuck in traffic for a long time to pass through
The security checkpoints are kinda scary
I wish we had gone on a tour of the inside
The water looked green and icky.
OMG TRANSFORMERS SHOT HERE!
and.... whats with the gold doors?
I have always found the historical part of the Hoover Dam intresting. The video they show before the tour stinks. Honestly, the tour guides stink as well.
No matter, you can get alot out of it just walking on top and walking around it. The tour information is simple stuff that's listed on wikipedia or it's site anyways.
I enjoyed the design and engineering aspect of it. Prices, not so much. Parking is like $7 and the sub-par tour is $11 each. Don't pay for the $30 tour because they just take you further into the dam but the same substance of information.
Tip: Much better to see when they first open. Less crowds. This place is swarmed with people and makes Route 93 sooooooo slow. If you come at night they do not permit foot traffic, but the pictures are much better at the observation points if you have a decent camera with good night qualities/selections.
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DAM!! THIS DAM THING IS EFFING HUGE....
I visited the Hoover Dam and I have to say WOW! This man made dam was MASSIVE! I was in awe of this American marvel! When we first got there, we took the Hoover Dam tour which allows you to watch the history video of the dam, a guided tour down in the tunnels to see the pipes and turbines and then you are off to walk around on your own! I would suggest purchasing the tour to the tunnels, it's well worth it!
As you walk around it's just amazing to see the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead! You learn the history that 96 men died creating tis dam and that 56% of the power for California comes from this dam! It's sad to see that the water level is low and it forces you to think about conservation!
I appreciate taking this tour and seeing the dam!
YOU NEED TO DO IT!
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The dam is huge!!! alot of history near by too. took some good photos.
I certainly hope you still don't believe in the old wives' tale that Hoover Dam was built to harness the Colorado River to generate electricity. No, no ...sheer propaganda. We all know it was constructed to hide a giant energy cube from outer space that turns everyday vehicles into evil, murderous robots. Transformers, y'know. Of course, they were almost discovered when Superman saved the dam during a massive earthquake where he neglected to save Lois Lane. Men.
Hoover Dam is so ripe with cinematic possibilities that it is a must-stop if you're in this part of the country. In the depths of the Great Depression, it took hundreds of otherwise unemployable men four hard years to complete this daunting slab of concrete. They say there is enough concrete to build a two-way highway from San Francisco to New York. They say a lot of stuff like that in order to impress you, kinda like a bad http://match.com profile description. Not that I would know.
If you look closer at the detail, you can appreciate the art deco touches that lend a historical majesty to the structure. Before 9/11, they used to offer a great hard-hat tour that took you into the bowels of the operation, but now you'll have to mingle with the rest of us plebeians on the standard discovery tour. Beware that they are likely closing the roadway over the top of the dam when the Hoover Dam Bypass is completed in 2010, but the way federal funding has been evaporating ...well, take your time.
Hey, you should read my recent article on Hoover Dam as the SF Travel Examiner ....I'm here to fascinate, don't cha know?
http://www.examiner.co...
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Wow.
Sometimes, we can actually build something right.
I know, damns are a controversial source of energy. But they didn't have wind as an option back then, and it is still way better than coal or nuclear.
Even if you are just driving by, it is awesome (real sense of the word) to just look over the edge.
But you should take the tour. Educational and interesting without being stuffy.
Parking can be a @#$%^.
You may have to park in a lot as much as a mile away and then walk. In the summer heat of 100+, that can suck.
Every American should visit at least once.
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It's impressive alright, but I guess I was spoiled by seeing the Three Gorges Dam in China first.
China alwaaaaays has to go and one up people, don't they. Someone builds a wall, they have to build the GREAT wall. Someone builds a gigantic dam, they have displace a giant chunk of their population to build an even bigger one.
Whatever China. Whatever.
Yes, it was dam impressive. There, I said it.
But the best part was the short film shown before the tour...especially the part where the genius masterminds of engineering were brainstorming about how to harness the power of the river and brilliant Hoover draws a straight line perpendicular to two wavy lines and comes up with the idea of the dam. So archaic! I actually laughed out loud.
The second best part was pretending to take a photo in an attempt to distract any security personnel as my boyfriend rolled two quarters down the dam. Of course, we were fools thinking we'd actually be able to follow the coins as they made their way down. Did I mention the dam is a bazillion feet high? Silly Californians.
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This is something one would come to visit once, and once is enough.
I first came here 15 years ago with parents and don't remember much about it... this time I got to learn more about the history and the architecture of the dam. it's just one massive block of concrete that was ingeniously built for the benefit of water and electricity resources. It was built in 1930s and under budget and ahead of schedule, something modern day engineering does not see much..
still, very impressive sight to see, make sure you get there early in the morning or they run out of tour tickets until the afternoon... ~~ about a 2 hour drive away from LV strip given no traffic.
The Hoover Dam was cool until I saw some jackass laughing while he dangled his young screaming child over the edge. You would think that a place like this wouldn't need suicide barriers like the Golden Gate Bridge, but there's always SOME IDIOT (in this case, a psychopathic father) trying to ruin a good thing.
Anyhow, this was a fun way to spend a few hours away from all the temptation, alcohol, spending and sin, doing something a little more cultured. We had a ghetto rental (that's a WHOLE different story, where they didn't even ask us for a driver's license) and we came in the late afternoon and were delayed by traffic and missed the daily tours, which wasn't entirely disappointing. There's a ton of monuments, statues and signs, honoring the workers, politicians and bills all around the dam explaining what brought the project to life, which are all outside and free to see. The Nevada-Arizona stateline is right in the middle of the dam, which also the intersection of two timezones. There was a ton of traffic driving in so if you're coming from Las Vegas, just park in the Nevada side lot to avoid getting stuck on the Arizona side for a long time when trying to leave.
It's a cheesy but necessary little detour should you have a rental or the time or have never been. The Hoover Dam is big, important (as I'm sure you'd learn in the tour) and pretty breathtaking, though I'm not sure I got over the horrific joke that one dad was trying to pull. Not cool.
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While perhaps not as glamorous as say, anything on the strip - Hoover Dam is worth the trip.
I had never realized the water was the main reason for the dam, not the electricity. +1 for education baby, yeah.
Its a pretty impressive spot, sited between two sheer faces of Black Canyon. The bridge they are putting in over it only adds to the wow factor of mega engineering projects. I wish they had a set of stairs or elevator so you could check out the whole thing from river level, that would be cool.
Some of the tour vids were a little too hyberbolic for my tastes, but over all its worth taking it just to see the belly of the beast.
Oh, if you plan on taking the tour, leave your food in the car. We lost our yummy organic trail mix at the security gate. Damn them!
(har har)
An engineering marvel. What makes it more spectacular is a project like this would never see the light of day in today's world. There is too much bureaucratic red-tape, fanatical tree-huggers, and impending cost over-runs. As a former SoCal resident, I am glad we built it (and the Calif Aqueduct).
I took my Mom and aunt to do the tourist thing, turned out that I enjoyed it way more than they did. Definitely a must see, but not in the middle of summer, it gets VERY HOT.
Spongebob says if you pay for the Premium Tour package, you can see the "Megatron" model they used in Transformers the movie! Really!
Hoover Dam!
I flew over you when I went to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas when I was 9. You're a big dam!
You helped build the city of Las Vegas with the mob.
I threw up about 5-8 times on the small ass airplane from all the turbulence air that your surrounding afternoon desert heat throws up into the sky.
I hope you break and turn Las Vegas and the rest of the desert into a lake.
But didn't you break before, or did Superman turn back time and put you back together again?
Thee end.
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So the plan was to grab a van and trek it to the dam for a day away from the Las Vegas strip
It was worth the scenic drive. The dam is a pretty magnificent site to see. We walked around for bit, were able to read about the history and take some great pictures.
It was nice to get away from the strip for a bit and relax.
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This place is a must to stop-by if you're ever in Las Vegas or any surrounding city. I visited for the first time this past week, while I was staying in Vegas with my family. We didn't have anything to do (we were bored with shopping and feeding ourselves to death), so we decided to go to Hoover Dam on a whim.
The approximate time to get there from Vegas is about 30-40 minutes, except we didn't actually arrive until maybe 60-90 minutes later because traffic was just amazing (sarcasm) and they're building a new bridge over the mountains near the dam (to lessen traffic). I assume traffic will always be terrible from 1:00-5:00 pm, because that's will most people go and the traffic exists in the first place due to pedestrians over the dam.
The new bridge they're building is really high up and actually pretty scary looking. I mean, I myself would be too scared to drive over it. Parking is $7, and then you walk down over to the Dam. I didn't go in myself, but access to the Visiting Center is $8/person. The dam itself is pretty massive and cool since it covers two time zones (Nevada and Arizona). Like I said before, if you've never visited, then it's a must-see. Actually, even if you've seen it before, it's still a chill place to go to with your family and friends if you have nothing else better to do.
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On a trip to Vegas, I decided to take the usual tourist bus trip out to Hoover Dam. Well it was not worth the ride in my opinion. If it wasn't for the Grand Canyon, this day would have been a waste.
Call me a curmudgeon, but it was underwhelming and just gets an "A-Ok" in my opinion. I mean it looks cool in person, and of course I snapped a pic, but after 2 minutes, you are wondering to yourself, "when can we get going, I'm bored."
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Although the dam is pretty impressive, I would NOT recommend going there in the middle of the day or towards the afternoon. It's incredibly hot hot HOT - and you'll get dehydrated fast. Plus, the traffic can be a bit much.
Your best bet is probably going in the morning sometime. But hey, if you're in Vegas and want to see some of the nearby sights, you should go.
Plus, if you have two hours I hear the tour is pretty interesting. If you're into that sort of thing...
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The Dam is pretty cool to look at. Been here a couple times now. Haven't done the tour or anything.
That new bridge they are building above the dam looks pretty interesting. It is very, very high up. I wonder how people will feel when they actually drive across it when its completed.
It is pretty close to Vegas. Always, always go early in the morning. The earlier you go,the less traffic you hit. It gets congested pretty nastily as its just one lane each way for miles. I think it took us maybe 4+ hrs round trip once when we left from Vegas around noon.
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My friend and I made a day trip to Hoover Dam from Las Vegas on a gorgeous Saturday in February while our wives spent our hard-earned money in Sin City. There are not enough superlatives to describe this 20th century engineering marvel. Almost as impressive was the view of the ongoing construction of a bypass bridge that is being erected about 1500 ft downstream of the dam and that looms high above it.
The Saturday morning traffic was light and we encountered no delays. We parked at the convenient garage located on the Nevada side right next to the visitor center. The price was a bit steep ($7), but if you object to this, other savvy Yelpers have pointed out you can drive across the dam and park on the Arizona side for free. It's obvious that the United States considers the dam a strategic terrorist target and the security around the place reflects that. After we passed through the metal detector, we had the choice of purchasing $11 tickets for the power plant tour or $30 tickets for a longer tour that goes into the dam itself. We opted for the $11 tickets. For most tourists, this should be sufficient.
Before the tour, we were herded into a theater where we watched an old black and white promotional film that spoke about the project in glowing terms and painted Herbert Hoover as some sort of saint. Most of us remember Hoover as the scapegoat for the great depression. What you may not know is that Hoover was the Secretary of Commerce who brokered a water use agreement between the western states that allowed the dam project to move forward. He became President in 1928 and construction activities began in 1931. Before a single gallon of cement was poured, about two years were spent creating infrastructure and roads for this massive project, raising a new town to house workers, and building huge earthen dams and diversion tunnels to keep the Colorado river away from the site. The actual dam construction took about three years and finished two years ahead of schedule. It remains a great testament to American can-do-ism during trying times.
During the power plant tour, you're taken down a long elevator shaft into the bedrock next to the base of the dam. Walking in tunnels toward the power plant, in some places you can see the natural seepage of water into the rock formation brought on by the incredible water pressure being exerted by Lake Mead. You also get to see one of the bypass tunnels that were used to divert water around the dam site during its construction. Our tour guide was well trained and entertaining. We heard an overabundance of "dam" jokes and other shtick, but when asked serious questions, it was obvious he knew what he was talking about. The huge turbine assemblies in the power plant were fascinating to see.
Afterwards we spent about an hour looking at all the exhibits in the visitor center. It is time well spent. The biggest takeaway message for me was that, if we were to start the project today, it would never happen. First of all you'd never get past the environmental impact assessment hurdle. The dam has significantly impacted the development of the Southwest United States and given millions controlled access to water they wouldn't have otherwise, but it's also drastically changed the ecology of the Colorado river. Second of all, back in the thirties in the midst of the depression, the goal was to get the thing going and built regardless of potential safety consequences to the workers. Hundreds died during its construction in ways that would be completely unacceptable today. One thing should be noted: not a single worker was buried in cement since only 6" were poured at a time to help control the cooling of cement during curing.
We also learned that the dam wasn't officially named Hoover Dam until 1947. There is an interesting story here. It was called Boulder Dam because one of the early proposed locations was in Boulder Canyon; however, the dam was actually built in Black Canyon. What they don't tell you at the Visitor Center was that the reason it took so long to name the dam after Hoover was pure partisan politics. FDR and Hoover hated each other. When FDR entered office, he had his Secretary of Commerce, Harold Ickes, remove Hoover's name from the project. It wasn't until FDR died that Congress passed a resolution restoring Hoover's name.
Regardless of what the dam name is, it is really cool to stroll across. We did that next. I was surprised that there weren't any barriers preventing a suicidal idiot from climbing onto the ledge and tumbling over to his or her death until you got to the middle of the span. There are photographic opportunities in abundance to be found during a walk across the dam and back (both on the downstream and Lake Mead sides). It's hard to imagine how immense it is until you're perched on top, looking over the side. WOW!
We spent a total of about three hours at Hoover Dam and it was a major highlight of my Vegas trip.
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When I was in Vegas I decided I wanted to get off the strip for a while and take a trip to the Hoover Dam. Wow I was so impressed with the tour and gallery as well with the innovation that went on when building this. My favorite thing I learned was that because the dam is so huge that they were afraid that the cement would not dry for like 100 years. So someone came up with the idea to put metal piping between the blocks of cement and running cold water through them to chill and hence solidify the cement. Man I wish I thought of that!
Not a bad price for the tour, not that far from Vegas, maybe 45 minutes max but well worth it to get a bit of a break!
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Kind of underwhelming. I was expecting that the dam would be spectacular and it was just alright. Regardless, the bf and I took a lot of pictures here, but a lot of them didn't come out so great, as there isn't a whole lot of contrast between the concrete of the dam and the rocks. We lost a sense of scale, as the dam didn't seem all that big, with the exception of the spillway.
We didn't end up taking the tour, but I couldn't see how it would be more interesting than just tooling around up at the top. Free parking is on the Arizona side of the dam.
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Hoover Dam Rocks!@!! Go Early in the Day. Go in the Morning if you are traveling from Las Vegas. The highway gets very congested.
Take good walking shoes and carry your own snacks and water.
I love the sheer mass of this dam.
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I took the $11 tour and thought it was fair since it included admission to the visitor's center as well. I am glad I read reviews on here and TripAdvisor that said to park on the Arizona side in the free lots and walk across the dam, since you'll be doing that anyways. The $7 charge for parking seems outrageous.
There is a diorama show in one of the older buildings across from the main visitor's center. That show takes you back to the 60s. It is basically a topographical relief map with labels and various lights spotlight spots on it while the narrator reads a very long script. Think old high school science films.
Whatever you do, get there EARLY. I went in June on a Sunday morning and was there by around 9AM and by the time I left around 11:30AM, there were traffic jams and bumper to bumper traffic coming to the dam. Sucks to be late starters.
Verdict: Worth a visit if you have a rental car and are in LV and have about 30 minutes each way to visit one of the engineering marvels of the 20th century.
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You might catch flack for leaving the casino to go to Hoover Dam, but take the trip, it's worth it. There are two tours, the $11 one and the $30 one which takes you into the dam itself. We did the latter and found it worthwhile.
The view was great, and the tour and video were informative. I would have liked more information on the dam's environmental impact though.
We had two tour guides. The one who showed us the power plant was a little hokey, making dam jokes and all. But the one who took us into the dam (Scott) was fantastic.
so many people died for this monstrosity, and then I learn a worker ran over a stray dog on the damsite killing him dead too Youch!
I am imagining a field of wind powered alternative energy source windmills in the desert leading up to this horrific tourist trap. When you go, be sure to turn on your local AM radio. It saves you valuable $$, tells you the info you need so you won't need to take the tour.
Pack a lunch and for added fun, ask at least 3 groups of strangers why they chose to drive here.
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THE TOUR:
Hoover Dam Tour $30
YIPPEEE:
Much cooler than Discovery Tour
If your a ferret like me you'll luv going through the service tunnels
BOOO:
Parking $7, BUT:
go past visitor center and over to Arizona side there are
lots for free
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"Take all the damn photos you want," our tour guide exclaimed. Or was it, "take all the dam photos you want...." I don't know. One of those. We took him up on both. $25 gets an adult in to the exhibition building, a short video about the construction of the dam, and the dam tour itself with 2 stops inside the dam.
This was a worthwhile tour. There's nothing like immersing yourself in the thick concrete walls of history and seeing this awe inspiring manmade creation. Getting to go inside the dam was totally worth the $25 tour price. Looking out from the louvered tunnel and seeing the world from that vantage point can only happen from one place on earth.
Some of these dam figures impressed me. In no particular order:
The Hoover Dam is one of the seven engineering wonders of the world.
They don't have cracks or leaks. Those are seams and that is called seepage.
855,000 metric tons of cement was used to build the dam.
There is also 3,250,000 cubic yards of concrete in the dam.
The terrazzo tiles and mosaics that make up the floors and line the hallways were all hand laid.
It took an average of 3250 men a day, working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 5 years to build the dam.
A flunky could cook food all day for the workers and was paid 50 cents.
The dam is 726.4 feet above bedrock.
The base of the dam is 660 feet thick, narrowing to 45 feet thick at the crest.
When you see earthquake monitoring equipment and you are inside almost 660 feet of thick concrete tunnel, it doesn't matter what religion, if any, you are. You are praying that nothing at all of a tragic nature occurs during the next half hour because while amazing and awe inspiring you seriously don't want to get stuck inside here.
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Wow! I was amazed at what we tiny fragile humans are capable of. Hoover Dam is unbelievably incredible. Beyond the scenic beauty of the gorge, the sheer feat of erecting such a massive structure makes me think:
Dam it! Dam it all! Let's go build more dams! the more the merrier!
Put this on your bucket lists, folks. It's a must see, like the Paris Hilton video. It'll leave you thinking, "wow, I wonder how many men it took to get that gaping crevasse got all plugged up".
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I love coming here!! I was there last summer when it was 120 out . I took the hard hat tour below the dam, and it was still just as hot. I have been coming here for twenty years now.
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It's a dam. Beavers have been making them since the beginning of time. I get it. You get it. BUT this particular dam -- well, it's damn impressive. It's engineering genuinely leaves you in awe ... considering it was built right smack in the middle of the depression.
It's right smack in the border of Nevada and Arizona -- so you definitely want to come here if you're ever on your way to Vegas or going to Lake Meade. Make sure you take the guided tour -- it's worth it. Plus, you'll understand why it's a big freaking deal.
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The last time I was in Vegas my buddy thought it would be cool to visit the Dam, since we had a rental and it was so close. The drive isn't that bad, but you have got to make sure you don't go during a peak time like so many other people have said. We went there in the afternoon and I swear it was gridlock the ENTIRE way in, until we were parked. Parking for $7 isn't cheap, but we didn't realize you could park for free on the Arizona side at the time.
As far as landmarks go, it's pretty cool to hang out for a bit and take in the scenery. It's absolutely gorgeous out here, and some of the architecture is brilliant. If you're like me and don't gamble... then you need to find something to do other than shop and see shows at some point. This is an interesting little side trip to take, unless architecture and history bore you to tears.
