Located just outside Las Vegas, Nevada, sits a 700-foot-tall, arch-gravity Hoover Dam that for nearly 75 years has tamed the mighty Colorado River, converting its entire flow into hydro-electricity for three states. Exploring this National Historic Landmark is open to the public at large: Bus, helicopter, and plane sightseeing tours take you right into the heart of this engineering marvel, delivering an experience that will be remembered for a lifetime.

Hoover Dam bus tours are by the far the most popular and economical way to see the dam. Packages include hotel pick up and drop off. The standard route is to head east from Las Vegas, through Boulder City, and into the Lake Mead National Recreation Recreational Area. From here, you will descend slowly down into Black Canyon until you arrive at the dam.

En route, most tour buses feature either live or taped narration about the Henderson, NV, Boulder City, NV, the Dam’s construction, and Lake Mead. In case you miss something during the “real thing,” here are some essential Hoover Dam facts:

  • Dam height: 726.4 feet, which makes it the second highest dam in the United States behind the Grand Coulee Dam based in Washington state.
  • Dam length: 1,244 feet. The dam spans Black Canyon and the Colorado River and connects the states of Nevada and Arizona.
  • Dam thickness: 660 feet. In addition to holding back the river, the structure features a two-lane road, which, before 2001, was frequently used by trucks to haul freight
  • Traffic across the Dam: 13,000 to 16,000 per day
  • Annual number of visitors: 8 to 10 million
  • Named after Herbert Hoover, the 31’st president of the United States. He was the commerce secretary at the time of construction.
  • Number of workers who died during construction: 112

Expect to spend about two hours at the Dam, either guided or self-guided. It is, however, recommended that you consider taking the Hoover Dam Discovery Tour, which is free and includes access to the Movie Room, Exhibit Rooms, and Observation Deck. Highly recommend is a visit to the Generator Room, which requires and additional small fee but should not be missed.

In addition to the guided tour, there’s plenty more to see and do, including:

  • Strolling from the dam from Nevada to Arizona and back
  • Photographing the “Winged Figures of the Republic,” a pair of bronze statutes placed on top of an astrological chart done in the Art Nouveaux style
  • The Old Exhibit Building – Pristine architecture from the late 1940’s
  • The Nevada Intake Tower: Get up-close to the mechanisms that convert water to electricity

For the ultimate Hoover Dam Tour, add on a helicopter ride, a plane flight, or boat trip. Flight times for both helicopter and plane are usually 20 minutes and provide one-of-a-kind views of Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and tributaries of the Colorado River. Or take a leisurely cruise on Lake Mead, floating to close-up spot in front of the Dams river-water-intake structures.

Hoover Dam tours take an average of five hours. If you upgrade your bus tour with a flight or cruise, expect to add an additional 1.5 hours. Any way you cut it, Hoover Dam, which is one of the elite Modern Wonders of the World, is a must-see attraction when visiting Las Vegas.

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