Historic Railroad Trail NV
Lake Mead Recreation Area, Boulder City NV. Hikers are always suckers for abandoned railroad routes and this is one of the best. The old roadbed goes through not one, not two, but five oversized tunnels in the course of a little over two miles. The tunnels were blasted in 1931 to bring supplies to the building site of the Hoover Dam. To accommodate the bulky equipment and large penstocks, the tunnels are each 25 feet in diameter and left unfinished, save for some wooden vertical supports at the entrances. The longest are the length of a football field - enough to enter near darkness. The railroad shut down in 1961.
The road grade was refinished with paw-friendly decomposed granite in 2017 making an extraordinary ramble even more pleasurable. With an elevation gain of only 11 feet, Your dog will enjoy some of the area’s best views of Lake Mead for no physical purchase.
After the fifth tunnel the trail continues up to the Hoover Dam Parking Garage but dogs are not permitted there. The Historic Railroad Trail is outside the Lake Mead NRA entrance gate and free to use but to access campgrounds and additional trails admission is required. The best of that bunch for short explorations (usually the wise choice where temperatures can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit) is the Redstone Trail that meanders among pock-mocked red sandstone formations. For lake views from the stark eastern Mojave Desert try the Callville Summit Trail that features a scramble up 150 feet to the promontory.
