Unwind at scenic Lake
Water sports including fishing, kayaking, and canoeing
Hiking trails and panoramic views
Canyons and rare flora & fauna
The Voice of Canada News:
Lake Mead, Nevada, is located on the Colorado River, about 25 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. It is the largest manmade reservoir in the United States and when at its fullest, boasts 759 miles of shoreline, is 532 feet deep, has 247 square miles of surface, and has an astounding 28 million-acre feet of water. The dramatic mountain ranges that surround Lake Mead, coupled with some of the most remarkable sunsets in the world, make for a picture-perfect getaway no matter the season.
Photographer: Sydney Martinez
Water sports
From scuba diving opportunities for a World War II Boeing B-29 Superfortress to a sunken city similar to that of the famed Atlantis, the largest manmade reservoir has a lot more to offer than just boating. Lake Mead is broken into a number of different bodies of water, ideal for boating and water sports, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, sunbathing, and some of the nation’s best sports fishing. Kayak to one of the many sandbars on Lake Mead or simply lay out and soak up the sun on your own private stretch of sand before diving for a peek of the eclectic collection of fish, underwater rock formations, and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress (which makes for a pretty neat photo-op), along with two other smaller planes.
Hiking
If you’re looking for an easy hike near Lake Mead, the Railroad Tunnel Trail is just for you. This dog-friendly hike is about 7.1 miles out and back, and takes hikers up a former railroad grade. The beautiful views of Lake Mead are panoramic along this hike. You’ll discover five large tunnels that were once part of the now-gone railroad route that went from Hoover Dam and Boulder City.
Witness the great canyons, scenery, and rare flora & fauna
Several paved roads that offer access to endless recreational pursuits, including the Lake Mead Scenic Byway, bisect the expansive surrounding desert. Visitors will be delightfully surprised to find deep canyons, steep cliffs, colorful rock formations, dry washes and more. The magnificent scenery of Lake Mead, NV, begs to be explored, hiked, biked and photographed.
The spell-binding landscape is also home to the junction of three of the nation’s four desert ecosystems: the Mojave, Great Basin, and Sonoran Deserts. This means that Lake Mead National Recreation Area is home to a variety of plants and animals that simply can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
Explore the abandoned city
In 1865, pioneers started settling around the Colorado River. As farms, homes, and stores were steadily constructed, the town of St. Thomas was born. By 1938, the last resident had finally rowed away, as the city was engulfed by the rapidly rising waters of what would later become Lake Mead. While the city is no longer underwater, visitors can still take tours to explore the remains of the abandoned city.
