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Hoover Dam is one of the greatest engineering marvels of modern history. It’s just a short drive from Las Vegas and within the boundaries of Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Introduction to Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam was built in the midst of the Great Depression to harness the waters of the Colorado River. Construction was carried out by Six Companies, Inc., between 1931 and 1936. It involved thousands of workers and cost 112 lives. A total of 3,250,000 cubic yards (2,480,000 cubic meters) of concrete was poured with 582 miles (937 km) of cooling pipes placed within. The Colorado River had to be diverted to complete the project. The dam was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Hoover Dam is 726.4 feet (221.4 meters) high, 1,244 feet (379 meters) long, and 660 feet (200 meters) wide at the base. The spillway has a capacity of 400,000 cubic feet per second (11,000 cubic meters per second). Behind the dam is Lake Mead, which has a surface area of 247 square miles (640 square kilometers) and a maximum depth of 590 feet (180 meters). It’s the largest artificial lake in the United States.
The original name of the dam was the Boulder Dam, but it was renamed after President Herbert Hoover in 1947. The dam’s generators provide power areas of Nevada, Arizona, and California. It’s also a major tourist attraction.
Visiting Hoover Dam
To visit Hoover Dam, you can take an organized tour from Las Vegas or drive there yourself. A parking garage is located at the entrance and the fee is US$10 (as of February 2025). It opens at 8am.
Admission to the visitor center only is US$10 (as of November 2023). It’s open daily except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day from 9am to 5pm. (Note: the visitor center exhibits and observation deck are currently closed for renovation, and are expected to reopen in Spring 2025.) For more info on visiting Hoover Dam, check the official website.
Tours of Hoover Dam
There are two different types of tours. The Dam Tour is an in-depth one hour tour that explores lesser known parts of the dam. Tickets cost US$30 (as of February 2025) and are available on-site only on a first come, first served basis.
The Power Plant Tour lasts 30 minutes and only visits the power plant. Tickets are US$15 for adults, US$10 for kids age 4-10, and free for kids under 4 (as of February 2025). They’re available for purchase online, and it’s possible to upgrade to a Dam Tour if available when you arrive.
On both tours, you watch a short film about the history and construction of Hoover Dam. Then visitors are ushered into the correct group for their tour to begin.
Some important notes: Dam and Powerplant tours may be cancelled without notice. It’s also best to get there at 9am if you want to make sure you get the dam tour. On my first visit, we arrived around 11 and the next dam tour was at 2pm. On my second visit, we arrived at 9am but unfortunately, the dam was unexpectedly closed for tours.
Hoover Dam Visitor Center
The visitor center features an observation deck at the top and an interesting museum on the ground floor. The museum explains the history and technical aspects of the dam’s construction and includes a few interactive displays. There’s also a detailed model of the construction site.
Power Plant Tour
On my first visit, we did the Power Plant Tour. We rode down the elevator and walked through some dark tunnels until we reached the power plant. While viewing the power plant, the guide explained how the dam works and generates power. After that, we rode back up the elevator for a walk across the dam.
The guide pointed out the commemorative plaques on the two elevator towers that sit on the Nevada and Arizona sides of the dam. He also explained the significance of the relief panels created by sculptor Oskar Hansen (1892-1971) that decorate both towers. One celebrates the building of a nation and the other highlights the importance of the dam to the area.
We walked to the Arizona side where we stopped at a plaque placed in 1955 declaring Hoover Dam one of the seven wonders of modern civil engineering. The plaque indicates the border between Arizona and Nevada.
From there, we had the chance to look at an arm of Lake Mead. The guide then explained the function of the four intake towers that are connected to the dam by a bridge.
Monument Plaza
To wrap up the tour, we visited Monument Plaza, which was completed on December 17, 1937. The centerpiece is Winged Figures of the Republic. It was dedicated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 and created by Oskar Hansen. It features a 142-foot flag pole flanked by two 30-foot-high (9.1 meter) winged figures. The figures rest on a black diorite base.
On the floor is a map depicting the Northern Hemisphere sky at the moment of Roosevelt’s dedication of the dam. This was intended to help future astronomers calculate the exact date of dedication. Also on the floor are the seals of the states that benefit from the dam.
A row of memorials and dedications is next to Winged Figures of the Republic. The largest is a memorial to the workers who died during construction of Hoover Dam, also designed by Hansen. A compass with signs of the zodiac is nearby.
Mascot Tomb
Walking back to the parking garage, we came across the tomb for a dog that was Hoover Dam’s mascot. The dog was found by construction workers as a puppy and followed them to and from the worksite every day. On February 21, 1941, he was killed when a truck that he was sleeping under rolled over him. Workers created a gravesite for him the same day.
Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
Finally, don’t miss the views of the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which is 1,500 feet (460 meters) downstream from Hoover Dam. It rerouted traffic away from the top of the dam and opened on October 16, 2010. It has a span of 1,060 feet (323 meters) and stands 900 feet (274.3 meters) above the river. The bridge is named for Mike O’Callaghan (1929-2004), Governor of Nevada from 1971 to 1979, and Pat Tillman (1976-2004), an American football player for the Arizona Cardinals who enlisted in the United States Army and was killed in Afghanistan.
The bridge was the first concrete-steel composite deck arch bridge built in the United States and features the widest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. It’s also the second-highest bridge in the country (as of February 2024). If you have extra time, there’s a viewing platform at the bridge for excellent views of the dam. The parking lot is on Hoover Dam Access Road.
