tunnel trail

Perhaps the most popular tourist attraction in the vicinity of Las Vegas is the Hoover Dam¹. While we didn't tour the dam itself this trip, Kim and I discovered a fascinating way to get there – the Historic Railroad Trail.

The trail starts near the Lake Mead National Recreation Area entrance off of U.S. Highway 93 in Boulder City and runs 7.5 miles, round trip, to the dam². It is the last remaining segment of about 30 miles of railroad built in 1931 to move supplies and parts assemblies to the dam site during construction. The distinctive feature of this trail is its set of five outsized tunnels dug into the ridge to allow the track to be laid. Each tunnel spans approximately 300 feet and is 25 feet in diameter. They were scaled to accommodate the large equipment required by the dam.

Here is a map.

This photo of the entrance to tunnel 1 will give you an idea of the scale.

This is an interpretive trail with several signs along its length that direct your attention to items of historical, geographical, or ecological interest. As you might expect, a couple signs tell you something about the history of the line. Another identifies the mountains that surround Lake Mead, with the help of an annotated photograph taken from the viewpoint of the sign.

A view of Lake Mead and its marina from the trail. The distant mountains are identified by an interpretive sign at a different location from where you can see more of them.

The used parts boneyard is another interesting waypoint.

Your ultimate destination!

I couldn't end this post without including a couple photos from nearby Hemenway Valley Park, closer to town. We stopped to see the Bighorn Sheep who graze there, seemingly oblivious to the activity around them.

Tennis anyone? Really, who cares, say the sheep.

¹I prefer its original name, Boulder Dam. I don't believe that most presidents deserve to have anything named for them, except their homes or libraries.

²It's closer to 10 miles if you somehow lose the path and end up at the Miles O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge pedestrian crossing, as a certain couple, who shall remain nameless, did. Had it not been so windy, and a little late in the afternoon, I expect we could have gotten a marvelous perspective of the dam from the bridge.