While visiting my uncle in Las Vegas, during my 2022 road trip, one of the things I wanted to do was visit Hoover Dam, because I wasn’t allowed to enter during my previous visit. As I checked-out what was nearby, I noticed that Lake Mead National Recreation Area was in the same area, so I proposed to my uncle that we hike part of these trail that passes through multiple tunnels that were built to allow the passage of a railroad back in the day. The railroad is gone, parts of which can be seen cast aside below the trail, but the tunnels remain. During the entire out-and-back hike, Lake Mead, already severely low in the spring of 2022, can be seen down below in the north. The tunnels were cool, both figuratively and physically, and a bit unsettling at times to pass through. Some of the entrances and exits featured shipping containers, open on both sides, that let you pass through the threshold without, I’m presuming, worrying about rocks falling on your head and killing you. While I didn’t expect to pass through more than three tunnels, due to the length, some specification on the hiking app was incorrect and we made it through all six of them. While the hike out was uphill and breezy, the return was all downhill under the sun with not much of a breeze at all.
AllTrails Recording
Image Gallery
- Lake Mead Lake Mead could be seen in the north during the entire hike.
- Entrance to the First Tunnel
- Entrance to the Second Tunnel
- Exit of the Second Tunnel
- Tunnel Surface Coating Here you can see the coating that was used on the surface of the tunnel to help prevent pieces from breaking off.
- A Fortified Exit Here you can see the fortifications in-place at the exit of a couple tunnels.
- Lizard Along The Trail My uncle spotted this guy literally walking up and down the wall along the southern side of the trail.
Video Gallery
- Walking Through Historic Railroad Tunnel Just a quick view around the front and back of the Hoover Dam.
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