Between the campground book-ends of Las Vegas Bay and Boulder Beach/Lake Mead RV Village, Lakeshore Drive runs along the west shore of Boulder Basin, the western arm of Lake Mead just above the Hoover Dam on the Nevada side.
A number of scenic overlooks and interesting stops make this 7-mile (11 km) stretch a pleasant drive (and, for the fit, an afternoon bike cruise) as part of a day trip from Las Vegas through historic Boulder City en route to the Hoover Dam.
While the drive is fine for an RV, and the scenic overlooks do offer RV parking, big rigs may find it hard to navigate the turnarounds, so leave the unit in the resort in Las Vegas or bring it along with plans to stop and make a day-and-night of it.
Coming from the north on the Lake Mead Parkway (564), park the RV at Las Vegas Bay (no services, $10/night), where the favorite sites back up against the canyon and Lake Mead.
From the south, take Highway 93 through Boulder City (worth a stop!) and settle under the salt cedars or white eucalyptus at Boulder Beach (no services, $10/night).
Both those campgrounds have washrooms but no showers and water for filling tanks. Or pop into Lake Mead RV Village, which offers 115 full-service sites a short distance from the beach.
Scenic Overlooks on Lakeshore Drive
The scenic overlooks, from north to south, are:
- Las Vegas Bay Scenic Overlook – Views of the bay and of Las Vegas Wash which flows into it
- Three Island Scenic Overlook – Gaze out at Saddle, Sentinel, and Black islands (and a number of smaller humps not normally visible when water levels are higher)
- Rocky Point Scenic Overlook – Take a walk out on the promontory for the best view
- 33 Hole Scenic Overlook – Not sure what this means, but it’s pretty
- Sunset View Overlook – Highlights the rock colors in the evening.
Other points of interest include:
- Fish Hatchery (closed for renovations in 2011-2012)
- Boulder Harbor and boat launch (open at the time of writing)
- Saddle Cove (boat launch closed at the time of writing due to low water levels).
Three hiking/biking trails are available off Lakeshore Drive as well:
- Bluffs Trail from Las Vegas Bay campground leads along the bluffs overlooking Las Vegas Bay and Las Vegas Wash
- Wetlands Trail follows a dry wash down to the flowing creek
- Historic Railroad Trail (from the Alan Bible Visitor Center at the south end) runs along an old railroad bed all the way to Hoover Dam.
Further south along Lakeshore Drive are Hemenway Harbor and marina and Lakeview Overlook.
Since the entire trip from end to end is around 11 miles (17 km), a tour of the scenic overlooks on Lakeshore Drive makes a short evening jaunt or a pleasant afternoon bike trip with a picnic along the way.
