Hoover Dam Discovery Tour

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I convinced my husband to make the trek out to the Hoover Dam. Thanks to fellow Unilocalers, we were well-​informed going in of where to park to avoid the $ 10 parking fee, and I was excited to go on the Dam Tour. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, the Dam Tour (which is the Power Plant Tour + 2 extra stops in the Dam) was «sold out» (which was weird, since later we were asked if anyone had the wristbands to go on it), so we just did the Power Plant Tour for $ 15 each. As you walk in, your group’s photo is taken on a green screen by a very nice photographer. They take this photo and later impose it on a few cheesy backgrounds they try to sell to you at the end of the trip. The tour itself starts with you sitting in a small theater watching a very old video about the Dam. Then you go into an elevator crammed with a bunch of other people with an elevator operator who will repeat «welcome welcome welcome» over and over (the kids in our elevator were imitating him and some guy yelled «can we just get one more welcome please?»). He takes you down to an area of the power plant and you walk through a tunnel (which is probably the coolest thing you’ll do the whole time) to a room with windows into two turbines. The tour guide calls you in the middle of the room and has a board with a layout of the power plant and points to stuff, a bit of a snooze. You go back into cramped elevator and go see another part of the plant, where the speakers are blown out on one side so you can barely hear what the tour guide is talking about. Then you go back into the elevator and get access to visitor center exhibit and said cheesy photos. There’s also an observation deck, which will give you a very good view of the dam itself and the bridge. That’s what you get for $ 15. I would have been happy skipping the power plant tour, but I guess it’s nice to support the project. I really want to know if those 2 extra places you go to in the dam tour are worth $ 30 and are more exciting/​entertaining, since that tour comes with a safety warning.
What I took away most from the tour is that we’re still in a drought and we all should make a stronger effort to conserve water, but you can see that from looking at the low water levels without paying the $ 15.

Every time I visit Las Vegas I always visit Hoover Dam, but this is my first time doing the tour of the dam and it was totally worth the cost. Don’t miss out on this awesome tour.

Yes, the Hoover Dam is a must-​see. Make sure you park inside ($ 7 per car) and walk to the outside. There you can walk the full length of the dam, view its immense depth from the top, gasp in horror at the receding waterline of Lake Mead, marvel at the beautiful art deco architecture and design. If you choose to just drive through the bridge (doesn’t cost anything), you won’t be able to see anything as they built barriers along the side to prevent any gawking unless you have a neck like a giraffe. Trust me, I’ve done both, so fork over the $ 7. The oohs and aahs will be worth it.
We did the full dam tour ($ 30 per person) but we didn’t care for it much. Skip it unless stuff like turbines and power plants excite you. Ehhhh. We just like pretty views, so just go to the visitor center and on to the observation deck.

Just go see the damn Dam! Worth the price of admission. This is definitely a place to visit if you have a little time to go while in the area. I came here with my family after a trip to Las Vegas and it was really worth the extra drive to the Hoover Dam. You get a gorgeous view of the Nevada/​Arizona border against the backdrop of the beautiful blue water & sky. The scenery is really amazing.
The actual tour is very informative and they take you down to the area where you can see the entire structure holding all of that water back. And on the other side– Lake Mead & the Colorado River. Unfortunately, you don’t actually get to touch the water which would be pretty cool on a hot summer day.
Overall, I highly suggest making a little side trip if your heading to Vegas or you’re in Arizona, because it’s so worth seeing how big it is and parting with the money spent taking this tour.
Just do it.

HIGHLY recommended! On the way from the Nevada side, stop and walk up to and across the Bypass Bridge from a free (I think) parking lot on the way to the Dam. It’s 69 steps or a series of gentle ramps, with displays about the building of the bridge and spectacular views of the Dam, Lake Mead and the Colorado River.
We took a bus tour from Las Vegas — a mistake recounted in my review of the tour company elsewhere, but our Groupons were a gift, so I am thankful that they got us to this wonderful place. The bus tour was mainly a mistake because I wanted more than the 2.5 hours allotted for our visit and the shorter Power Plant tour. Next time we will drive ourselves, get the requisite reservations and background checks for the longest tour and have time to see the exhibit museums. There are also trails in the area, one through the old railroad tunnels visible from the Lake Mead overlook. If you don’t have much time, I believe your only cost to walk the Bridge and Dam will be parking in the structure next to the Dam. There are many informational plaques on the Dam walk, too, and the Art Deco work is an inspiration.
Even at the beginning of March, we were quite warm by early afternoon, so I am not sure I would make this trip in the middle of summer, but the tours and museum exhibits would be comfortable anytime. This was a highlight of my most recent Vegas visit.

AWESOME TOUR and experience, but shorter than the tour we took in 1991 that would take you to the base of the dam. That tour is available with a background check by the Bureau of Reclamation and a 6 week lead time in the tourist season.
We took the 30 min power plant tour and got a military discount since we’re veterans — NICE!
We had a nice time on the very interesting and educational tour with 75 of our closest friends, then got a nice view of the dam from the overlook :)
The tour comes with free admission to the cool interactive exhibits where the experiences of the men who worked to build the dam came alive!
WELL WORTH THE COST AND THE TRIP FROM VEGAS

Just past Boulder city on Hwy 95. ‘Opted for the mini tour as the next full tour was about 3 hours from when we arrived. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and had a loud enough voice to engage all of us who took the tour… About 30 – 45 people. It cost $ 10 for parking and with a military discount, the shorter tour was $ 12 each. We watched a short film about the building of the dam and proceeded to go via elevator 54 stories under the dam. Our ears were popping as we descended. You could definitely feel the difference in cooler temperature down below in the caves. We learned that the workers back in the 30’s made $ 4 a day, and if they called-​in sick, they lost their job. The electrical turbines were huge and because it was the weekend, they only had 2 generators working. The high water mark was made during 1983 when the snow runoff filled lake Mead. Apparently, there are two buried towns of which one is supposedly visible. I didn’t see it. The dam supplies 7 states with energy but does not supply the casino corridor in Las Vegas. The dam straddles the Arizona/​Nevada border. This is a federal security site with check points and x-​Ray screening like an airport. No knives or fire arms permitted. The gift shop had your usual fare of souvenirs and though we did not patronize it, they also sell food. Only about 30 – 45 minutes from the Las Vegas casino corridor. A once in a lifetime event. I had a great time. The employees were friendly and helpful.

Interesting history — self guided tour would have been better. Just basic facts recited during the power plant tour and you get to go down to see the turbines. There was more time spent getting in elevators and lining up «just so” — rather than history about the dam. Save the money.

Very informative tour. Friendly and funny tour guide. $ 10 parking. For the electric plant tour, $ 15 for adults $ 12 for children.

We arrived here at 10:00am and weren’t able to get a full tour until 1:00pm, so we opted for the mini tour.
It was very informative and interesting. It starts with a brief video about the dam which lasts about 10 minutes. Then you are led to a line where you wait for your tour to begin. The take you down the elevator into the depths of the dam. You get to see all the workings and information about how it was built. The our guides are entertaining as well– as dam entertaining as you can be about a dam tour. LOL
After the tour concludes you are allowed to walk outside and see the dam from a great viewpoint. Awesome time to take pictures and really enjoy the massive beauty of this place. There is also a small exhibit inside which tells you more about how Hoover Dam was built and what it took. It is so amazing that people built this place so long ago and the horrendous conditions they had to endure. just standing outside in late July– temperatures topped 106 but in the sun it felt like 120.
Once you are done exploring the inside exhibits and views, you can wander outside and walk the dam. Beware that when you leave the dam touring area, you cannot return, it is a one way only exit.
I recommend bringing lots of waters and hats, as the heat made exploring the dam outside almost unbearable.
After checking the outside of the dam, we walked over to little souvenir shop and bought some items. By that time, we were hot and starved, so we stopped at the small deli/​snack shop at the dam and snagged a table to eat lunch. Beware it can get very crowded. We ordered a small deli sandwich and some chicken tenders/​fries for the kids.
TIP: Bring your own bagged lunch and sit on the shaded areas/​benches during your walk of the dam to really enjoy the experience. There is a Subway on your drive in to stop at.
This was a memorable, amazing visit and is one of those places you see that you will remember forever.

Hoover Dam is a good place to visit when you’re in the Las Vegas area since it is only 40 minutes away. We did the shorter power plant tour which shows you the power generating facility. The tour guides were great with some «dam» jokes and it gets a little cramp in the elevator ride when you are pretty much shoulder to shoulder. But it is a short ride (5 – 7 seconds). Be sure to go to the top floor at the end of tour where you have a great view of the dam from top and the Tillman bridge. Overall, it is an good tour and a good place to visit.

A great diversion from Las Vegas, only about an hours drive from the city, but well worth it. I took the $ 15.00 tour, and enjoyed the trip. The tour guide was amazingly knowledgeable, and all the staff I encountered were very friendly and helpful. Be sure to walk across the whole dam, because the views of it, and from it are pretty spectacular. The kids I saw there seemed to enjoy, and so did «this» kid.
And, be sure to walk up on the new bypass bridge where you get great photo opportunities of the dam as well.
The only thing I was annoyed at was the $ 10.00 parking fee at the visitor center and adjoining parking lot. But, if you drive over the dam to the Arizona side, and go to the lots just past the dam (#s 10 and 11), parking is free, and you get an opportunity to walk across the whole thing — about 10 minutes for most people.

Hoover Dam is an engineering marvel, and you owe it to yourself to pay it a visit when you’re in the Las Vegas area.
If you have access to a car, I highly recommend driving yourself rather than taking a tour bus from Las Vegas. It’s only about 40 minutes from Las Vegas, well-​signed, and easy to find. There’s plenty of parking ($ 10 as of this writing). If you drive yourself, you can take things according to your own schedule (especially important if you plan to take in a show in Vegas that evening, as we did!).
That said, you’ll want to get there fairly early to beat the tour bus crowds and to be sure to get the tour you want. We got there at 11:00 a.m., parked and passed through security relatively quickly, and were able to get tickets for the 1:00 p.m. dam tour. This gave us plenty of time before the tour to see the introductory movie, grab a bite to eat (the little café makes a very good grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough), and take a leisurely stroll through the exhibits before settling into the designated waiting area 15 minutes prior to our tour, as advised.
There are two tours available: The power plant tour for $ 15 (which is relatively short, and just shows you the power generating facility on the Nevada side) and the dam tour for $ 30 (which includes sites within the dam structure itself). I highly recommend taking the full dam tour… it’s utterly fascinating!
A word about the claustrophobia warnings you will see just about everywhere before the tour: If you’re moderately claustrophobic, as I am, don’t be put off. It really depends on what form your claustrophobia takes. If, like me, you’re mostly bothered by being in restricted spaces where you can’t move freely, you’ll be fine. There are three elevator rides on the dam tour, all in good-​sized elevators, with no more than 20 people. It’s a little tight, but not uncomfortably so… no more so than a ride in an average department store elevator on a relatively busy day, and the rides are short. Once you’re in the power plant, you’re in passages that are wide and brightly lit, or in full-​sized rooms. Inside the dam itself, you’re mostly also in reasonably wide (as in too wide for me to touch both sides at once), well-​lit passages with plenty of headroom. There are two places where a really tall person might have to bend his/​her head a bit (Neither of us did. I’m 5’4″ and my husband is 5’9″), but they’re optional (worth doing, though, if they don’t make you uncomfortable… one gives you a fantastic view and photo op and the other gives you a look at the infamous «stairway to heaven» and «stairway to hell.»). If you don’t feel comfortable going down them, you can just wait in the main passageway until your tour is ready to move on.
One of the things that impressed me was the beautiful attention to detail inside the dam itself. Hoover Dam was built during the height of the Art Deco period, and Deco details are everywhere, from the beautiful brass gates and doors to the mosaics in the priceless terrazzo floors. No reason a utilitarian installation can’t also be beautiful!
The Dam Tour ends on top of the dam, with fantastic views down the Colorado on one side and up Lake Mead on the other. It’s worth taking in the short (about 10-​minute) old school demonstration in the original tourist facility on the top of the dam… it’s a bit cheesy, but the topographical map demonstration of the areas benefited by the dam really is interesting.
Of course, you can visit the dam without going on a tour at all. You can go on top of the dam, visit the exhibits, snap pics of the face of the dam, etc. If you can make time for the tour, though, it really is worth it.
By the way, you may be thinking that you can give visiting Hoover Dam a miss, because it seems that that you can see the dam as you drive past on the Tillman Bridge en route to Arizona. No can do. The walls on the bridge are too high… if you’re hoping to see Hoover Dam from the road, you’ll be out of luck! If nothing else, take the time to drive down, park, and take a look at this fascinating piece of American history!

We ended up doing the powerplant tour because the Dam tour was not offered during our visit.
The Dam itself is breathtaking and impressive and certainly worth a visit. As for the tour, meh. Interesting enough but not something I would ever do again and I don’t think I’d recommend it. The movie at the beginning was probably the most interesting part and the views from outside are more impressive than what you see on the inside. I would recommend you save your money, go watch a video or two on youtube about the hoover dam.
One legitimate complaint about the experience. I’m native English speaker and could not understand about 50% of the tour guide’s talk. He had strange pronunciations, voice inflections and would mumble and slur his words together, particularly at the end of a segment.

The Hoover Dam is an immense and fascinating structure — it’s no surprise that many consider it to be one of the top manmade wonders of the world. From the outside, it’s a gigantic concrete shell with deco architecture. But what goes on inside?
There are two different tours, as many other reviews have mentioned — one is longer and more expensive than the other. What the Bureau of Reclamation’s website does not tell you is that they don’t run the longer full tour (which explores a few additional passageways) in inclement weather. So when we visited on a grey and drizzly day, the only option open to us was the shorter power plant tour.
We started with the typical tourist-​trap green-​screen photo-​op, viewed a 10-​minute film, and then went down into the bowels of the dam in a pair of large elevators. There were two major stops — the large «penstocks» that move an insane volume of water through the dam, and the giant room with the generators. Our tour guide was pretty quirky — he had a strange rhythm of speaking that started every sentence slowly and then ended it so quickly that it was just a jumble of words. Seriously, this guy was a sketch comedy character if I’ve ever seen one, wooden pointer stick and all. At the end, you go back up and can spend as much time as you’d like in the Visitor Center and the viewing deck. Your ticket also gets you into the original Visitor Center, which has an awesome old-​school lights-​and-​sound show that explores the Colorado River and its series of dams. I don’t think a lot of people visit this building, but it’s pretty cool if for no other reason than the meticulous models of the topography and landmarks of the western United States.
The structure of the tour seems somewhat backwards — the film would have much greater impact if you saw it at the end and got the big picture of the Hoover Dam’s history and benefits. It’s also a tour that focuses entirely on the positive aspect of the dam and doesn’t really address the HUGE environmental impact of «taming» the Colorado River. But I suppose it’s no surprise that a government-​run tour would be full of pro-​dam propaganda!

This was probably one of my top 5 favorite things during my stay in Las Vegas.
From our hotel (Palazzo), we conveniently rented a car and drop the fairly short ride to the Hoover Dam (about 45 minutes).
We got there, drove across it once, then drove back and parked. Parking was $ 7.
I really wanted to do the full Dam Tour (for $ 30). However, when we got there around 11:15, the lady at the desk told us the next available Dam Tour wouldn’t be until 1:30pm. I really wasn’t planning on waiting around for 2 hours. We had things to do after all.
I was a bit confused, because I thought even the full tours were ongoing. We found out later that there were plenty of other people that weren’t pushed off until 2 hours later… I was a bit upset.
Step 1 — everyone gets to watch a short Dam movie. It was interesting.
Step 2 — wait in line. We had to wait for 2 more tours to clear the elevator shafts before we were allowed on. This isn’t too bad, but it would’ve been nice if someone had told us why we were standing there waiting. We were just left to wait and were confused why the people that were in the movie with us and right in front of us in line got in on the earlier tour. But whatever…
Step 3 — you go down… FAR in the elevator. I forget how many stories, but it was a lot!
Step 4 — you get to see the actual power plant. That was cool
Step 5 — make a trip to the visitor center and the observation deck. Make sure you go up to the Observation Deck, because that has a fantastic view.
I’m giving the tour 4 stars, just because it’s the Hoover Dam. The tour guide was good, but the organization of the whole thing could use a little refresher.

If you have never been to Hoover Dam and you are gonna do the tour, might as well do the 30 dollar one.
Here’s the breakdown:
Visitor Center Admission — $ 8 for all ages. 3 and under free.
Power Plant Tour — $ 11 for all ages. Senior/​Junior/​Military — $ 9. 3 and under free.
Dam Tour — $ 30. Power Plant Tour +2 extra stops in the dam. Yes, 3 and under free.
Why I recommend the 30 dollar one is because everything is included. Not only do you have access to the Visitor Center and Power Plant Tour, but you break off from the regular group and go even deeper into the dam.
When you go down the winding corridors and hallways, your tour guide will tell you a whole boatload of facts and rich history that translates into a lot of great stories. What stuck out to me was that officially, 96 people died on the work site. Unofficially, about 140. Our tour guide explained that if you didn’t die at the work site, it wasn’t considered an official death. So if you got sick and died in the hospital or at home, it wasn’t official and you were not awarded any benefits. This sounded kind of morbid but hay, it actually happened and those were the rules set forth.
Besides the dialogue, I asked some questions. Like when I read how the Great Wall of China was built that they buried the workers that died inside the actual wall. Likewise, my question applied to the dam. I got a big fat «NO!». Then I asked were there any paranormal activities, ghost sightings or just any overall weird happenings. Again, the answer was no. Lastly, Megatron was not the reason they built the dam. Although you gotta give them props for doing that considering how they fit it in the timeline of the movie.
Overall, I was genuinely impressed and at the same time overwhelmed by the info and history of this marvel. The only thing that took the one star away was that our tour guide was lame. Yes he knew what he was talking about and guided us safely. It was his monotone voice and overall attitude like it was just a job to him. I actually had to crack jokes and make some funny remarks just to get some life out of our group. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want him to get fired, thus not mentioning his name, but at least be more outgoing and be attentive to your group.

This is a great DAM tour of an awe inspiring structure. For more DAM jokes get the Vegas Vacation DVD with Chevy Chase…
It is hard to imagine how complex and difficult it was to build Hoover Dam. As an engineer, I was fascinated by the process. My 10 year old son was fascinated by the sheer size of Hoover dam. Most people will enjoy this tour.
Give yourself plenty of time to travel out from Vegas, it takes at least an hour and it could take much longer once you enter the Hoover Dam area. We waited at least 30 minutes at a vehicle security checkpoint before entering the parking area. Parking is also limited so you may spend some time hunting for a parking spot.
The tour takes you into the heart of the dam. It is way underground, 80 stories below the surface of the earth. I saw a few people in our tour group have mild anxiety attacks due to claustrophobia.
From a scheduling perspective, allow at least an hour for travel to Hoover dam, 2 hours at the dam and an hour to travel back to Vegas.
It’s is a good DAM tour…

Hoover Dam might as well have been built by aliens. It came in at/​under budget, exhibits the finest craftsmanship to this day (still perfectly-​aligned aluminum door frames, art deco touches everywhere, Italian mason-​crafted tile work with incredible detail, itself telling the stories of multiple Native American tribes in the area), and collectively inspiring even the most jaded visitor through sheer magnitude.
If you have the opportunity for the 2+ hour VIP tour, often led by the direct descendants of those who built the dam, take it. Wear comfortable clothing — those louvered grates on the face of the dam are at the ends of crawlways. Presuming the tour doesn’t change, you’ll get to crawl along one to see where «Kilroy was here» was written 80 years ago.
The tour we were on had foreign power company officials as guests. They asked pointed questions about power generation over existing lines to the west (California). The guide pulled no punches, noting that overtransmission does happen to meet demand, at the expense of a higher possibility of illness for those in close proximity to those lines. Striking candor. Your mileage may vary.
This dam is one of the wonders of the modern world — at minimum, take the nickel tour, and bring a camera. At best, try the tour above. It’s worth the extra money, and then some. From concept to construction to present-​day production, this place is a trip.

The Dam tour was surprisingly damn good!
The only reason I went on this tour was because the bf kept bugging me about it. He’s a typical guy. amazed by how things are built… blah blah. I really didn’t care much. I was fine with just driving there, taking a few pictures. But I played along and agreed to check out one of the «7 Wonders of the World.»
We were greeted by a very knowledgeable and animated tour guide that opened with, «Hello I’m your Dam guide.» :) The first portion of the tour
full 1 hour guided tour was the Powerplant tour. They briefly go over how the dam works and see the generators – that part was okay. All the good stuff happened during the last 30 min where you really got to go deep into the damn and see how it was built, the cracks that were made and really hear the history behind it all.
*Tips*
–Get there EARLY!!! Parking lot opens up a little after 8 and the tour office opens at 9. Tours fill up really quick.
–DO NOT go on the tour if you are claustrophobic! The small tunnels and stale air can definitely make you anxious.
–I suggest going on the FULL guided tour – not just the Powerplant tour.
–Wear shoes – it gets a little slippery in the tunnel area.