Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Lake Mead National Recreation Area stretches across the Nevada/Arizona border and surrounds the vast reservoir created by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. It is a landscape of desert mountains, open water and red rock shoreline.
Lake Mead was formed in the 1930s when Hoover Dam was completed during the Great Depression. The project brought electricity, water storage and jobs to the Southwest, reshaping the region’s economy and growth. The reservoir became the largest in the United States by volume and has long supplied water to millions in Nevada, Arizona and California.
The area was designated as the nation’s first National Recreation Area in 1936, established by the National Park Service to protect the newly formed reservoir and surrounding desert landscape while allowing public recreation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt supported the development of Hoover Dam, and the creation of the recreation area reflected the New Deal era’s vision.
Today, Lake Mead offers boating, hiking, fishing and exploration among desert canyons.
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