Photo: Lake Mead NP, Canoe Launch (Some rights reserved)
Quick links: Headlines
Editor’s note: Part of this feature – see wildflowers – was edited with the use of Gemini AI.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area, is the USA’s fifth most popular national park unit with more than 7 million visits a year. Explore more with Planeta.com’s do-it-yourself Las Vegas Water Tour. // El Área Recreativa Nacional del Lago Mead es el quinto parque nacional más popular de Estados Unidos, con más de 7 millones de visitas al año. Explora más con el Tour Acuático por Las Vegas que puedes hacer tú mismo de Planeta.com.
Google Maps
goo.gl/maps/WEbF3pAsbeounGgx5
Be aware – For the first time since the park was created in the 1930s, a federal water shortage has been declared for Lake Mead, including mandatory water cutbacks that will impact Arizona, California, Nevada, and Mexico.
Key Links
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
News
Plan your visit
Things to do
Virtual Museum
Song Dog Native Plant Nursery
Facebook
Flickr
YouTube
Questions // Preguntas
- What would locals like visitors to know about Lake Mead and nearby communities? // ¿Qué les gustaría a los lugareños que los visitantes supieran sobre el lago Mead y las comunidades cercanas?
- Is the park dog-friendly? // ¿Se admiten perros en el parque?
- Are there videos about the park’s biodiversity, history, and recreation opportunities? // ¿Hay videos sobre la biodiversidad, la historia y las oportunidades recreativas del parque?
Bathtub Ring
A high-water mark or “bathtub ring” is visible around the shoreline of Lake Mead. The bathtub ring is white because of the leaching of minerals on previously submerged surfaces. The bathtub ring generates automatic attention and you’ll notice that many of the restroom facilities are located further from the water’s edge than they used to be.
History
With the creation of what would be named Hoover Dam, Lake Mead was first established as the Boulder Dam Recreation Area in 1936, administrated by the National Park Service. The reservoir created by the damming of the Colorado River became Lake Mead, named after Elwood Mead, the Bureau of Reclamation commissioner at the time.
Amenities include campgrounds, hiking and biking paths, and boat rentals.
Headlines
Who gets the last drop? – CNN
Volunteers Are Being Invited To Live In America’s Deadliest National Park
Lake Mead, nation’s deadliest national park, is becoming even deadlier
Lake Mead visitor spending drops by $94 million in one year, according to report
What does the new historic water deal mean for Nevada and Lake Mead?
As Lake Mead water level rises, vertical speedboat returns to the water
Lake Mead before the lake
Lake Mead: See what extreme drought has exposed – CNN
Las Vegas turns on low-level Lake Mead pumps designed to avoid a ‘Day Zero’
Human remains found at drought-hit Lake Mead for 4th time since May
Lake Mead’s water levels sink to lowest since 1937
Lake Mead’s decline points to scary water future in West
‘The pie keeps shrinking’: Lake Mead’s low level will trigger water cutbacks for Arizona, Nevada
7.5 Million People Visited Lake Mead National Recreation Area in 2018
Elsewhere on the Web: Bird and Hike
Bird and Hike
Be Lake Friendly
Boating
boatinglakemead.com
rental-rates
Historic Railroad Trail
Originally, the trail was part of 30 mile railroad track connecting the Hoover Dam and Boulder City. These tracks were dismantled in 1962, and the current multi-use trail was established in 1992 with connection to the Hoover Dam in 2007. The trail is made of level hardpacked fine gravel and features vistas of Lake Mead and Boulder Basin. Fve tunnels – each approximately 25 feet wide – offer shade.
nps.gov
Virtual Hike
Wildflowers
Spring (February through April) brings significant color to the trail with numerous desert blooms.
Additional Species: Other documented wildflowers include Desert Chicory, Desert Trumpet, and Fremont’s Pincushion.
Splashes of Color: Hikers may observe Brittlebush (bright yellow), Globe Mallow (orange/red), and Scorpionweed (purple).
Rock and Cliff Plants: Species like Rock Nettle and Rock Daisy grow in more rugged areas.
Rare Displays: In favorable years, the elegant Desert Five-spot can be seen along the side trail leading toward the Hoover Dam Lodge.
Willow Beach
nps.gov
willowbeachharbor.com – Facebook
wagwalking.com
Kingman Wash
Bird and Hike
Wikipedia
Stray Notes
- The top of the white ring is about 140 feet above the current lake elevation.
- The last time the lake was at full capacity was in 1983.
- Albeit artificial, Lake Mead is Nevada’s only lake with an exit to the sea.
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area is the size of the state of Delaware.
Amazon.com
Colossus
Wikipedia
Lake Mead
Nearby
Planeta.com