Boulder City · RedAwning

Hoover Dam726-foot Art Deco arch-gravity dam in Black Canyon — completed 1936, 17 generators, 4 million tons of concrete, 30 miles east of Las Vegas

The 726-foot concrete arch-gravity dam in Black Canyon on the Colorado River — completed two years ahead of schedule in 1936 by Six Companies Inc. for $49 million. The dam holds back Lake Mead (the largest reservoir by volume in the United States), generates roughly four billion kilowatt-hours a year through 17 turbine generators, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1985. The Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, opened in 2010, carries U.S. 93 across the canyon 880 feet downstream of the dam crest.

Hours today9:00 AM – 5:00 PMThursday hours
TicketsFrom $15Powerplant Tour — Adult
LocationBoulder City, NevadaHoover Dam Access Rd
Official siteusbr.govPlan your visit

1936Completed
726 ftHeight
17Generators
~7MAnnual visitors

Construction on Hoover Dam — originally Boulder Dam — broke ground in 1931 in Black Canyon, 30 miles east of Las Vegas, 8 miles upriver from Boulder City. The Bureau of Reclamation contracted Six Companies Inc., a consortium of six Western construction firms (Bechtel, Henry J. Kaiser's company, Morrison-Knudsen, Utah Construction, MacDonald & Kahn, and Pacific Bridge), to build a 726-foot concrete arch-gravity dam. They diverted the Colorado River through four 56-foot tunnels, poured 4.36 million cubic yards of concrete in 230 interlocking blocks (each cooled by an embedded steel-pipe refrigeration system to prevent thermal cracking), and topped out two years ahead of schedule on May 29, 1935. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the structure on September 30 of that year; full power generation came online in October 1936.

The dam holds back Lake Mead — at full pool, 247 square miles of reservoir surface and the largest reservoir by volume in the United States. Water released through the dam's 17 hydroelectric turbines (in two parallel powerhouse wings) generates roughly 4 billion kilowatt-hours annually, distributed 56% to Southern California, 25% to Nevada, and 19% to Arizona. The Art Deco design — Gordon B. Kaufmann's exterior streamlined-classical motifs, Allen True's terrazzo-floor tile patterns, and Oskar Hansen's two 30-foot "Winged Figures of the Republic" bronzes — is unusually polished for a federal infrastructure project. National Historic Landmark designation came in 1985.

Plan three to five hours from Las Vegas. Drive U.S. 93 east through Boulder City; the dam exit (Nevada-side) splits off two miles before the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge — vehicle inspection at the security checkpoint adds 10–20 minutes in summer. Powerplant Tour ($15) tickets are same-day only at the Visitor Center desk; Dam Tour ($30) sells out by lunch in peak season. The dam crest is a pedestrian-only walk now (since the 2010 bridge opening) and is free to cross to the Arizona-side parking lot for the iconic upstream-face photo. Best photos: morning light on the crest from the Memorial Bridge pedestrian walkway, late afternoon on the upstream face from the Arizona overlook.

Dam Crest Walk
The 1,244-foot crest of the dam — open to pedestrians 24/7, free, with Lake Mead behind you and a 726-foot drop on the downstream face. Two state lines run across the crest; the bronze "Time Zone Plaque" near the Nevada intake towers marks the boundary between Pacific (Nevada) and Mountain (Arizona) time. The streamlined Art Deco intake towers (four total, two per state) are the most-photographed feature.
Powerplant Tour
A 30-minute guided tour ($15) departing from the Visitor Center desk every 15 minutes, 9:00 AM to 3:45 PM. The elevator drops 530 feet through solid rock to the Nevada-wing generator hall; eight 130,000-horsepower turbine units run in a row, each painted bright safety yellow. Tour groups stop at a single observation gallery — no walking through the gallery itself for security reasons.
Dam Tour (deeper access)
A one-hour tour ($30, 8+ only) limited to about 200 visitors per day — same-day tickets at the Visitor Center desk, arrive before 10:00 AM in summer. The deeper tour adds the inspection tunnels inside the dam wall (you walk through the dam itself), one of the four diversion-tunnel intakes, and a viewing platform at one of the original 1936 ventilation shafts.
Visitor Center & Observation Deck
A three-floor 1995 round-tower visitor center on the Nevada side ($10 admission separate from tours). Top floor is a 360-degree open observation deck above the Memorial Bridge — the iconic dam-crest view. Middle floor displays the original 1931 construction time-lapse film, a working hydroelectric turbine cutaway, and a topographic relief model of Lake Mead.
Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
The 1,900-foot concrete arch bridge that carries U.S. 93 across Black Canyon, opened October 19, 2010 — at 880 feet above the Colorado, the longest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. Pedestrian access is via a separate sidewalk on the upstream side; the walk gives the iconic dam-crest photo angle no other vantage offers. Free, open daylight hours only (gated 5:00 AM–11:00 PM).
Winged Figures of the Republic & Memorial Plaza
On the Nevada-side overlook plaza, sculptor Oskar Hansen's two 30-foot bronze "Winged Figures of the Republic" rise from a black diorite base inscribed with a star map of the night sky over the dam at the moment of FDR's September 30, 1935 dedication. The terrazzo plaza floor — designed by Allen True — uses Native American–inspired geometric patterns; rubbing the figures' toes is a long-running tradition for good luck.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
The reservoir behind the dam — 247 square miles at full pool, 759 miles of shoreline at maximum — is managed as Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Boulder Beach, the Boulder Basin, and Hemenway Harbor are 10–15 minutes north of the dam off Lakeshore Road; boat rentals at Las Vegas Boat Harbor start at $295/half-day. The famous "bathtub ring" on the canyon walls marks past high-water levels; current pool is roughly 165 feet below the maximum.
Art Deco Details
Gordon B. Kaufmann's 1930s industrial-Art-Deco styling defines the entire complex — fluted concrete intake towers, the streamlined Nevada-side spillway gates, the bronze relief medallions of the Bureau of Reclamation, and Allen True's Native-American-pattern terrazzo floor in the elevator-tower lobby. The on-crest brass compass-and-time-zone monument and the "Bullets through Boulder" memorial to the 96 workers who died during construction are the two anchor pieces.

Open hours

Visitor Center closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The dam crest road (U.S. 93 Old) is open to pedestrians 24/7 — sunrise and sunset crossings are unrestricted and free. Vehicle traffic was rerouted to the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge in 2010; the dam crest is now pedestrian-only on the upstream sidewalks.

Monday9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
ThursdayToday9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sunday9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Note · Last Powerplant Tour ticket sold at 3:45 PM, last Dam Tour at 3:15 PM. Visitor Center elevators close to new arrivals at 4:30 PM. Parking lot stays open until 6:00 PM.

Ticket pricing

Per-person admission. Buy in advance to skip the gate line.

Powerplant Tour — Adult$1530-minute guided tour of the Nevada-side generator hall
Powerplant Tour — Senior (62+) / Military$12Same access as adult tour
Powerplant Tour — Child (4–16)$12Children 3 and under free
Dam Tour (deeper access)$301-hour tour, 8+ only, includes inspection tunnels
Visitor Center only$10Three floors of exhibits + observation deck
Parking — Garage$10Top-deck garage, $10/vehicle, indoor surface free

Powerplant Tour tickets are timed-entry, sold same-day only at the Visitor Center desk — arrive before 11:00 AM in summer to avoid sellouts. Dam Tour ($30) is also same-day only and limited to about 200 visitors per day. The dam crest itself is free to walk year-round; only the interior tours and Visitor Center exhibits are ticketed. No backpacks larger than 18" × 18" × 18" allowed; large bags must stay in the car.

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