Documenting - Lake Mead - Echo Bay

It did not take long after my parents moved out to Las Vegas in 2000 for me to find Lake Mead; I can’t remember a trip out to visit them that did not include at least driving out to Boulder City to the overlook. Being a Minnesota girl I have a need to be around water.

After coming out to Vegas in 2015 to help my parents I of course started finding myself out at the lake more and more, exploring different bays and beaches, there is a lot to cover inside Lake Mead Nation Park.

I was drawn to Echo Bay from the first time I found the road, the hotel there had such a wonderful design, I don’t remember if the ramp was open on my first trip there, but the hotel and restaurant were still doing business.

In 2017 I got out there again and found it well, closed, deserted, and dried up. I was lucky to have my camera gear with me that day so I set off for a walk down to the once busy marina. There was little left outside of the structures that once floated on the water to welcome boats.

When I last made it out there most of it had been removed, the boat launch was moved further out. I was glad to see the area still being used; the hotel is closed and does not look like it will ever operate again. Perhaps it will be removed by the park or it will be left to go back to the desert not unlike other locations inside the park I plan to share in later blogs.

If you make it out to Las Vegas take a day to get away from the strip and check out the lake. If you have seen it before it is not the same and won’t be the next time you get out there. Watch for blogs to come sharing other natural areas you can enjoy around the Las Vegas area if you want to take a break from the slots.