Categories: TRAVEL

Hoover Dam Day Trips from Las Vegas

Las Vegas-Hoover Dam tours can be found in all shapes and sizes. A few examples are helicopter, bus, and airplane. It’s your call. Each of these is a fantastic way to enjoy this iconic landmark while visiting Sin City.

The dam is located a mere 45 minutes from Vegas. For 75 years, this unique arch-gravity structure has been single-handedly taming the Colorado River. The dam epitomizes what it means to be huge. Check out these factoids:

1. It’s the second tallest dam (726.4 feet) in the United States ranking just behind the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state.

2. It’s 1,244-feet long. The dam crosses formidable Black Canyon and connects Nevada with Arizona.

3. It’s 660-feet thick. Before the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge opened in Oct. 2010, the top of the bridge was a two-lane road on which 13,000 to 16,000 cars crossed daily. And just how popular is the dam? Upwards of 10 million travelers see it each year via bus, airplane, and helicopter.

Bus tours are the most economical way to see the Hoover Dam. Trips include hotel pick up and drop off and lunch. The motor coach goes through Henderson and Boulder City, NV, and then along Lake Mead National Recreation Area before descending into Black Canyon. Here’s where your Hoover Dam tour begins, and it may include:

1. Walking the top of the dam from Nevada to Arizona.

2. The official U.S. VIP Discovery Tour of the Interior (takes you to the bottom to see the turbine generators at work).

3. Full access to explore the Visitor’s Center’s fabulous exhibits, observation deck, and movie room.

It’s possible to bundle a helicopter flight, plane ride, or boat cruise into your bus tour package. Trip duration for the basic bus package is 3.5 hours.

Helicopter and airplane air tours are also available. Flights leave from Las Vegas every day of the year. The flight plan includes Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. Choppers fly at a lower altitude than planes, which route themselves past Hoover Dam as they make they’re way to the Grand Canyon. Tour duration ranges from 3.5 hours to 5.5 hours. Both packages bundle free hotel shuttle service.

Book your tour to Hoover Dam in advance. There are two reasons for this: 1) It’s cheaper; and 2) you’re guaranteed to get a seat. For the cheapest prices, I strongly recommend you purchase your tour online. Sometimes its best to buy directly from the tour operator. Yes, it sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s the business that’s running the tour that will sell it to you at the lowest price.

Hoover Dam tours make for a great excursion from Las Vegas. No matter what your budget, there’s something for everyone. The most economical are bus tours Helicopters are ideal for getting a true bird’s eye view of the dam. Airplane tours include the dam as part of the flight to the West Rim. Hoover Dam’s been fascinating visitors for years. See it from the ground or the sky. Either way, you’ll have a very satisfying experience.