Lake Mead National Recreation Area, America’s first national recreation area, provides visitors the opportunity to swim, boat, hike, cycle, camp, and fish. With striking landscapes and brilliant blue waters, the nation’s first national recreation area spreads across 1.5 million acres of mountains, canyons, valleys, and two vast lakes — Lake Mead in Nevada and Lake Mohave in Arizona.
President Calvin Coolidge signed the authorization to build Hoover Dam in 1928 to provide electricity and water for desert city residents. The structure is 70 stories tall and 660 feet thick and is so well engineered that it’s said it would outlast the water supply in the largest manmade reservoir in the United States. The entire job was completed in just five years with the aid of 5,000 workers.
The dam also created 140 miles of shoreline split between Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. It was first called the Boulder Dam Recreation Area in 1936.
