The Hoover Dam is an amazing site to see, particularly from the top of the dam looking back at Lake Mead, and from the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (US-93) that runs above it. We planned to do the guided dam tour offered by the NPS, but it was shut down the day we went (Labor Day) because of a mechanical issue. But they still were doing the guided power plant tour, so we did that one instead. The tour was a ride down the original elevator in the dam, walk through a tunnel to the turbine room, then stand on a platform and talk about the turbines. That was it. I hope the full dam tour is better, because if I had it to do all over again, I would have saved my money and just walked across the dam and the bridge (which we did anyway), and both of those activities are free. But regardless, it's definitely something worth seeing because it truly is a marvel.
Spectacular views. Many photo opportunities. Ice cold water available in vending machines in aluminum souvenir bottles. Easy to navigate.
Amazing view. Stand in two states at once Arizona and Nevada. Two different time zone. you can park for $10 near visitors centerside. Self Tours $15 or $30. or just drive and park in several locations to take pictures.
We visited on our own, without a tour. We also did not take any of the tours at the dam. Unfortunately the visitor center was closed but we still enjoyed the visit. Parking was easy. Though it was a very hot day they did do what they could to provide cooling stations and there were easily accessible water fountains, etc.
Power plant tour ($15 / person). Arrived and the movie wasn’t working so immediately got into the lifts. The kids still had no awareness of what they really were seeing at this point, it made the assumption you knew what a dam was, how they are formed and why they are formed. The tour was informative but you had to have some knowledge (which hadn’t yet been covered at school by the 11 year old!) the 13 year old really grasped it and the size of it. In and out within 35 minutes and so we went back through security to request to see the movie… make sure you see it.
Take the opportunity if you can to visit the Boulder City historic museum which is far more informative and is a must to understand the scale of the project during its construction.
