If you’re road tripping through the southwest United States, you may find your visit starting in Las Vegas. While you could immediately head to the Grand Canyon, you can squeeze in some sightseeing first. Look at taking a less direct route and instead going from Las Vegas to the Hoover Dam to the Grand Canyon.
Las Vegas’s McCarran Airport offers direct flights to more than 100 different American cities. Because of this, it’s no wonder why so many road trips of the American Southwest use this airport as the start and end destination. When my mom and I took our southwest road trip, we used Las Vegas’s airport as well. After one quick night in a hotel, the next day we set off on our adventure.
You can definitely just drive straight to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas. The most direct route between McCarran Airport and Tusayan takes about four hours. For people on a time crunch, you’ll likely just push straight through. However, if you have just a little time, you can make one easy sightseeing stop.
Getting from Las Vegas to the Hoover Dam is pretty easy. In just 40 minutes, you can drive between Las Vegas’s McCarran Airport and the Nevada-Arizona state line. This is where you’ll find the Hoover Dam, as well as some great scenery.
This is one of the most incredible feats of engineering. At over 700 feet and weighing more than 6.6 million pounds, this massive dam generates nearly 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydro-electric power annually. That’s enough power for 1.3 million people across Nevada, Arizona, and California.
For those wishing to stop and tour Hoover Dam, it’s actually quite easy. You’ll exit Interstate 11 at Highway 172. From here, you can follow the signs directly to Hoover Dam. You will pass through a security checkpoint, but this was a breeze. We just had to roll down the windows to allow offers to take a quick look in our car to verify we didn’t have any weapons. Continue driving until you come to the parking lot to your right.
From this parking lot, it’s a short walk up a series of ramps to a bridge overlooking the dam. This bridge is actually connected to Interstate 11, but there are tall, solid concrete walls protecting you from car traffic. But it’s here that you’ll find some of the most impressive views. It’s from the bridge that you really get the sense of how massive Hoover Dam is.
You can walk across this bridge, which spans the Colorado River and connects Nevada to Arizona. Although, don’t feel like you have to walk the entire length since you cannot exit on the Arizona side. In my opinion, there’s only one benefit of walking the entire bridge. Most people stop directly in the middle of the bridge. If you go just a bit further, you’ll likely be able to get some better photos that aren’t full of strangers.
After you take your photos on the bridge, you can return back to your car and drive across the dam (into Arizona). Exit the parking lot and turn right, continuing on Highway 172 past the Visitor Center and over the dam. There is no parking on the dam itself. However, after you cross the dam, you will find several parking lots on the other side. If you want to take more photos standing on the dam, or you actually want to walk across the dam, you need to walk back the way you drove to do so.
My mom and I drove across the dam to Hoover Dam Lookout. There was a large parking lot and a store full of souvenirs. Maybe we just got here early, but there was hardly anyone in this parking lot. It felt like a great break from everyone else. As the day goes on, Hoover Dam will get busier and busier, both from people using it as a break in their drive and from people taking a day trip from Las Vegas.
When you are finished, you need to exit the way you came, because there is no exit on the eastern (Arizona) side of the dam. So if you drove over the dam, you need to drive back over it in the other direction (toward Nevada).
Our visit to Hoover Dam lasted about an hour. This is just enough time to walk across the bridge, drive over the dam, and stop at a view point for some photos. And while the Hoover Dam is impressive, the surrounding scenery was even more impressive. But maybe that’s just because my mom and I come from Wisconsin, which isn’t known for its mountainous scenery.
If you want to learn even more about Hoover Dam, sign up for a tour of the dam. My mom and I visited in October 2021 and tours were suspended because of Covid. However, I’m perfectly content with the way we did this stop and I wouldn’t hesitate to do this exact same thing again.
Distances from Hoover Dam
Las Vegas: 37 miles, 40 minutes
Tusayan, AZ: 241 miles, 3 hours and 40 minutes
Continue Your Adventure
Grand Canyon: For those heading on to the Grand Canyon, check out my guide to the South Rim.
Arizona: Beyond Grand Canyon National Park, you can also check out Saguaro and Petrified Forest National Parks. Plus, on the Arizona-Utah state line, you’ll find Monument Valley.
More from Las Vegas: Located just outside of Las Vegas, Valley of Fire State Park has stunning rock formations, fun hikes, amazing views, and so much more. Visit Red Rock Canyon National Monument for more amazing red rock views, hikes, and a great scenic drive.
Itineraries: For an epic road trip from Las Vegas, hitting Hoover Dam and six national parks, check out this 10 Day Itinerary.