Hoover Dam Visitor Center & Tours

I’ve always wanted to go here and on this trip, we made it happen. We did the self-guided tour which allowed us access to the exhibits and overlook area. After that we walked across the dam and took in the sites. Really a construction marvel. Even more impressive knowing it was completed in 1935. Overall, a great experience.

The Hoover Dam is an essential 5-star day trip from Las Vegas and a profound engineering marvel. Walking across the top of the dam (free access) offers stunning 360-degree views of Lake Mead and the Black Canyon of the Colorado River. Plan to arrive early or late to avoid the largest crowds and the midday desert heat. The dam is an impressive blend of history, engineering, and dramatic scenery.

We stopped by Hoover Dam on our way from Arizona to Nevada, since it was perfectly along the route. There was no fee for parking, and plenty of available spaces. We arrived after the guided tours had already ended — but honestly, based on reviews I had read, I wasn’t too interested in the tour anyway. The size and scale of the dam are truly impressive. I also read up on the history and was amazed at how quickly it was built and how much power it generates — really fascinating stuff. We spent about 20 minutes here around sunset, just taking in the views. If you drive just 7 minutes away, there’s another scenic overlook where you can watch the sunset — and let me tell you, it was absolutely stunning. 🌬️ Just a heads up: it gets very windy and extremely hot, so come prepared

This Vegas trip was all about experiences. 100% recommend visiting the Hoover Dam! I was not that impressed with the guided tour, but still glad I did it. It is one of those things to do, just to say you did it. I was flabbergasted but the size of the dam. IT IS MASSIVE! It is as wide as it is tall, at the base of the dam. It takes 2 300-ton cranes to lift one of the generators. The Statue of Liberty weighs under 300 tons... THAT IS CRAZY! During the tour, you get to look through one of the air vents and see some of the generators. You are mainly walking through tunnels. I will definitely be back but will skip the tour next time.

Worth the $25 to take the Guided Power Plant Tour, to go inside & 550 ft below the surface to see the actual Turbines & inner workings of the Dam. Last time we visited was about 20 yrs ago, & now so much more to see, incl Memorial Bridge! Definitely worth a visit to see this marvel of engineering, esp when it was actually constructed in the 1930's!

It was a beautiful experience. The view is nice from the overlook tower. We took a power plant tour and bought tickets at the visitor center. The best part is that all the tours are inside.outside was 110F, so this was a blessing. Their exhibit is nice and very informative. Definitely recommend visiting this place. Overall, it took 3.5 hrs for us to complete everything, including lunch They also have covered parking for $10. Cafeteria is best. I was able to get veggie wrap, and that was tasty, too 😋

I visited this area as part of a tour. I only did the short version of the Hoover Dam tour which included the short clip, the brief walkthrough of how the dam worked when we went inside and looked at the cave walls and big tunnels, and then we went up an elevator to understand how the generators worked. Other individuals opted for a longer tour to see more of the inside of the Dam. Although my tour was 30 minutes in total including the movie, the guide was informative. The gift shop souvenirs were pretty cheap compared to Vegas souvenirs, and the Museum they had there was really neat. Although it was small, it was interactive so you could press buttons and take photo ops. Overall, it’s a neat place if you’re looking to learn more about the history of this architecture.

If you plan to visit Las Vegas or the Grand Canyon, definitely add the Hoover Dam to your itinerary. We took the Power Plant Tour and really enjoyed learning about the fascinating history behind this architectural marvel. It’s absolutely worth the visit!

Hoover Dam is a 'Must See' when you are looking for site seeing things to do in Vegas OFF the Strip. We moved here in 2019 but still hadn't gone. I went with our youngest son & we took a neighbor (both 24, both Engineers) and had a FANTASTIC time. It was a last minute trip so we didn't leave time for any Tours but we'll go back again for that another time. I ALWAYS want to know how things work, so do our kids. We homeschooled our kids and it was really enjoyable to have our son 'School' me, so to speak. We'll dig a little deeper next time about the history of the dam (my job) and how it works (our son's job). There is nothing more satisfying than watching your grown kids use THEIR knowledge to help you get a better understanding of something/anything! We went on 12/26/24. We arrived about 1:00 and they were JUST closing down the visitor parking lot for people who just wanted to walk across the bridge to have a look.

Amazing place!!!! DO THE TOUR!!!! The views above the dam are amazing in itself. To hear and read about its history is really neat.

I really enjoyed the tour beneath the visitor's center, exploring the caves and pump house used to transfer water from the Colorado River. Be prepared to do a lot of walking to and from the parking area and along Lake Mead. The weather was perfect and not too cold for this time of year. I would recommend this to anyone who drinks water!

My first time seeing Hoover Dam and I was truly amazed!! Although is was over 100 degrees that day I was glad we were able to see it!

The Best Dam Thing Visitor center for the amazing--and world famous--Hoover Dam. The Good: *Security check-point to get in TSA-style: empty your pockets so your possessions get X-rayed and walk thru a giant metal detector. Don't pass? Get ready for a colon cleansing. :) *10min video on the history of the dam *After the video you can continue on an additional 10min photo tour or be allowed to enter the visitor center. *Beautiful viewing platform on the top *Small museum with additional info on the Dam and the people who built it. *All the staff are friendly and very helpful. The Meh: *$10 entry fee for all (3 & under are free) The Ugly: *Gifts and souvenirs are in a separate building from the visitor center. Which I suppose is good if you want to skip the $10 entry fee and just buy your tchotchkes and be in your way. Tldr: Don't be a cheap bastard and cough-up the cheddar to visit. It's a must!

The dam is impressive but the gift store personnel need some customer service training. I get that the store has hours of operation but don't close the door on me at 5:01. I came many miles to get one thing - not shop or hang out. It would have taken me 1 more minute to purchase and leave instead of being confronted with a rude person with no customer service attributes.

Great exhibits, and explanations on how and why it was built. We took the tour last time 10 years ago so we just wandered around the Visitor's center. They must have remodeled it because it looked a lot different than before.

Do not bother. Paying $10 a head to walk through a taxpayer-funded building that took less than 15 minutes to see, including the 10-minute 1960's diorama about how great the Colorado River is, is a waste. And that is after you get subjected to a TSA-like security screening to enter the building? The overboard security requirements were put in place after 9/11 under the presumption that terrorists would try to blow up the Hoover Dam?? You cannot park anywhere close without having to pay $10. The Lake Mead overlook prior to the Hoover Dam parking garage and several FREE overlooks along Interstate 11 will give you far better selfie shots than the top of Hoover Dam - for FREE. One of the Interstate 11 overlooks will allow you to walk out onto the Pat Tillman bridge and get front on pics of Hoover Dam. Save your $10/head visitor center fee and the indignity of being pawed by the rent-a-cop security force. You can get an entire car load of folks into Red Rock park for $18 and have a guided tour of part of the Nevada Test Site for free. Vegas locals never visit Hoover Dam on their own.

I am very confused to as why the tour times (hoover dam) is not on the website. I showed up at 10:45am and was told I had to wait 3 hours before the next tour which was at 1pm. Ridiculous. They also should put what to bring and what to expect when going on a tour here. Overall, they should put the tour times on the website. Disappointed.

I mean it's cool and the views are nice but we paid $10 to park just to be told the visitors center is closed. It was 3:55 and the lady we paid to park said it closed at 5:30.... So a waste of time, money and gas.

So the reason for the two stars is how we were treated in the so called visitor center. We we're just exploring and didn't realize all of it was pay for. You also have to go through security like the airport. My hubby made a comment that we all knew what to do because the guard was being so aggressive. The made the guard pop off! Seriously, my husband is a War Veteran Marine and gave his life for this country, he's not disrespectful. I then couldn't help it because he would've thrown him out. I said my two cents. Terrible experience. Take VISITOR out of the title because you treat everyone like hostiles. We ended up not doing the tour and just walked out.