Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Arizona, Nevada
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
7 h fully dark
Hikes
Easy–Strenuous
🟢 🔴
Crowds
very high
Open today
Open
Entrance
$25
Harmful Algae Bloom
A Harmful Algae Bloom has been confirmed in recent water samples taken from the Nelson's Landing and the Cottonwood Cove areas on Lake Mohave. To reduce health risks, the National Park Service recommends recreators limit body contact with these waters when algae is present. Please click here for pictures of this dangerous cyanobacteria and contact the Park at 702-293-8990 for updates on this advisory.
Official NPS alert →Bacteria Levels at Arizona Hot Springs
Fecal bacteria in water samples taken from Arizona Hot Springs frequently reach high levels, which can transmit human diseases. To reduce health risks, the National Park Service recommends recreators limit body contact in these waters, clean after use, and to never put your head under water at hot springs. Please contact the Park at 702-293-8990 for updates on this advisory.
Government Wash Campground Seasonal Heat Closure May 15 – September 30
The Government Wash campground will close on May 15th to vehicle access and overnight camping to assess and manage area improvements and protect visitors and staff from extreme heat risks. The campground is anticipated to reopen for overnight stays on October 1st. It will remain open this summer to non-motorized vehicle access for daytime, non-camping related activities.
Official NPS alert →Seasonal Trail Closures Due to Extreme Heat May 15 – September 30
Goldstrike Canyon, Arizona Hot Springs, Liberty Bell Arch, White Rock Canyon, and Lone Palm trails will be closed for visitor and first responder safety. Please check the park website, social media, and weather for updates before visiting. Arizona, Goldstrike, and Lone Palm hot springs remain open and accessible by water.
Official NPS alert →Experience outdoor thrills, striking landscapes, and brilliant blue waters. This year-round recreation area spreads across 1.5 million acres of mountains, canyons, valleys and two vast reservoirs. Visitors come here for scenic drives, biking, hiking, boating, fishing, camping, and much more.
Entrance fees
$25.00 — Entrance - Private Vehicle
$20.00 — Entrance - Motorcycle
$15.00 — Entrance - Per Person
$15.00 — Entrance - Non-commercial Groups
$0.00 — Entrance - Education/Academic Groups
$25.00 — Commercial Entrance - Sedan
$50.00 — Commercial Entrance - Van
$60.00 — Commercial Entrance - Mini-bus
$150.00 — Commercial Entrance - Motor Coach
Hours & seasons
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please note that while the majority of the park is accessible at all hours, our Visitor Center operates on a specific schedule. Be sure to plan your visit accordingly, as the Visitor Center is open during designated hours to provide you with valuable information, maps, and assistance from our knowledgeable staff.
Generally open:
winterspringsummerfallHours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 7022938990
✉ LAKE_information@nps.govConditions
Typical crowds: very high
Weather now: ☀️ Clear, 104°F
☀️ 108°/91°
☁️ 108°/90°
☁️ 109°/86°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
58%
Feb
63%
Mar
84%
Apr
97%
May
100%
Jun
96%
Jul
95%
Aug
84%
Sep
81%
Oct
81%
Nov
66%
Dec
60%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Live conditions
Things to do
🔴 Hike the Lone Palm Trail · 4.3 mi · 1000 ft gain · Duration represents the time it would take to complete the entire trail roundtrip.
Hike the White Rock Canyon Trail · 6.5 mi · 20 ft gain · Duration represents the time it would take to complete the entire trail roundtrip.
🔴 Hike the Goldstrike Canyon Trail · 5.3 mi · 1000 ft gain · Duration represents the time it would take to complete the entire trail roundtrip.
🔴 Hike the Arizona Hot Springs Trail · 5 mi · 20 ft gain · <p>Duration represents the time it would take to complete the entire trail roundtrip.</p>
Hike the Liberty Bell Arch Trail · 5.5 mi · 1000 ft gain · Duration represents the time it would take to complete the entire trail roundtrip.
Hike the Lake View Trail · 4.7 mi · 115 ft gain · <ul> <li>Duration represents the time it would take to complete the entire trail roundtrip.</li> </ul>
Hike the Callville Summit Trail · 9 mi · 349 ft gain · Duration represents the time it would take to complete the entire trail roundtrip.
🟢 Drive along Northshore Road
Campgrounds
Boulder Beach Campground ↗ · 135 sites · first-come · dump station
Boulder Beach Group Campground ↗ · 5 sites · dump station
Callville Bay Campground ↗ · 52 sites · first-come · dump station
Callville Bay RV Park · 5 sites · hookups
Cottonwood Cove Campground ↗ · 45 sites
Cottonwood Cove RV Park · 72 sites · hookups
Echo Bay Campground · 52 sites · first-come · dump station
Echo Bay RV Park · 55 sites · hookups
Katherine Landing Campground · 173 sites
Katherine Landing RV Park · 24 sites · hookups
Lake Mead RV Village ↗ · 115 sites · hookups
Las Vegas Bay Campground · 85 sites · first-come · dump station
Temple Bar Campground · 71 sites · dump station
Temple Bar RV Park · 10 sites · hookups
Willow Beach Campground · 9 sites
Willow Beach RV Park · 28 sites · hookups
Visitor centers
Lake Mead Headquarters Information Kiosk
Lake Mead Visitor Center
Accessibility
4 accessible campground(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Lake Mead National Recreation Area — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
Trail profile
Each dot is a trail — distance vs. elevation gain, by difficulty.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
Passport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Lake Mead Headquarters Information Kiosk
🎫 Lake Mead Visitor Center
Places to see
33 Hole Scenic Overlook
Black Canyon Wilderness
Boulder Beach
Boulder Harbor Launch Ramp
Callville Bay Launch Ramp
Cottonwood Cove
Cottonwood Cove Launch Ramp
Echo Bay Launch Ramp
Hemenway Harbor Launch Ramp
Katherine Landing Launch Ramp
Lake Mead Marina
Lakeview Scenic Overlook
Audio & media
🎧
🎬
🖼
Learn more
Recipients of the 2014 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards
The National Park Service is pleased to congratulate the recipients of the 2022 George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service.
The National Park Service congratulates the regional recipients of the 2023 Excellence in Volunteerism Awards. These nominees embody the values of service, engagement, and stewardship fundamental to our national parks.
The beige women’s wardrobe is one of the most misunderstood National Park Service (NPS) uniforms. It’s also the uniform that usually gets the most attention—despite being worn for only three years. Many incorrectly believe it dates to the 1960s and featured miniskirts and go-go boots. The fact that it is the one least like the standard green ranger uniform wasn’t an accident.
How do fish get up the mountain? By horse, of course! When is a plant not a plant? When you plant a fish! What? No, those aren’t nonsensical kids’ jokes. Photographs from the NPS Historic Photograph Collection will help explain.
When the climate changes enough, the vegetation communities growing in any given place will also change. Under an expanded bimodal climate zone, some plant communities in western national parks are more likely to change than others. National Park Service ecologists and partners investigated the future conditions that may force some of this change. Having this information can help park managers decide whether to resist, direct, or accept the change.
This year, for the first time, the NPS hired a shared paleontologist to support multiple parks in the same region. Dr. Aubrey Bonde was selected as the Southern Network Paleontologist to support five parks throughout Southern Nevada and California.
Bats are amazing animals and a formidable force against insect pests, but a nasty fungal disease is killing them. A coordinated national response brings hope.
Ranger School
Park-grounded courses you can learn with the Ranger.
1st Grade Virtual Field Trip - Who Lives Here?
Open →
2nd Grade Virtual Field Trip - Nature's Neighborhoods
Open →
3rd Grade Virtual Field Trip - Amazing Adaptations
Open →
4th Grade Virtual Field Trip - Growing Communities
Open →
5th Grade Virtual Field Trip - Exotic Invaders
Open →
How Lake Mead National Recreation Area connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
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Activity
Topic
State
Campground
VisitorCenter
PassportStamp
Trail
ThingToDo
Alert
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