See Hoover Dam Without Booking a Separate Tour
One of the most common things we hear from guests is: "I already saw Hoover Dam on my own, but I wish I'd known your tour includes it." Here's the deal: the Vegas2Hollywood tour route passes directly by Hoover Dam, and we make a scenic photo stop so you can capture this incredible engineering marvel without spending half a day on a separate dam tour.
What the Photo Stop Includes
Our Hoover Dam stop is a scenic photo opportunity at one of the best vantage points overlooking the dam and the Colorado River. From our stop, you'll see:
- The dam itself — all 726 feet of this Depression-era engineering triumph, framed against the desert canyon walls
- Lake Mead — America's largest reservoir stretching behind the dam
- The Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge — the spectacular concrete arch bridge completed in 2010, soaring 900 feet above the Colorado River
- Black Canyon — the dramatic canyon carved by the Colorado River over millions of years
Important note: This is a photo stop, not a walk-through dam tour. You won't enter the dam, visit the gift shop, or take the power plant tour. Think of it as the Instagram version — you get the stunning views and photos without spending 3-4 hours on a full dam tour.
Quick Facts About Hoover Dam
- Built: 1931-1936, during the Great Depression
- Height: 726 feet (221 metres) — taller than any building in Las Vegas at the time
- Workers: Over 21,000 men worked on the dam; 96 died during construction
- Concrete: Contains 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete — enough to pave a two-lane highway from San Francisco to New York
- Power: Generates enough electricity to serve 1.3 million people across Nevada, Arizona, and California
- Lake Mead: When full, holds 9.3 trillion gallons — the largest reservoir in the United States
- Time zones: Nevada is Pacific Time, Arizona is Mountain Time — the dam straddles both
Why a Photo Stop Is Enough
Many tourists feel they need to do the full Hoover Dam tour (3-5 hours, $30-100). But here's what experienced Las Vegas visitors know: the most spectacular views of Hoover Dam are from the outside — from the overlook points and the bridge, not from inside the power plant.
Our photo stop gives you those money shots — the sweeping dam face, the canyon, Lake Mead, the bridge — and then you continue on to 14 hours of Hollywood adventure including Santa Monica Beach, Beverly Hills, and the Walk of Fame. It's the best of both worlds: you see Hoover Dam AND California in the same day.
Already Visited Hoover Dam?
If you've already done a dedicated Hoover Dam tour, you might think: "I've seen it, why do the Hollywood tour?" The answer is simple — the Hollywood tour is a completely different experience. Hoover Dam is a 45-minute stop on our route; the other 13+ hours are spent in California seeing beaches, celebrity mansions, luxury shopping, and iconic Hollywood landmarks. Don't skip Hollywood just because you've already seen the dam.
Tips for the Best Photos
- Morning light is best — we typically pass Hoover Dam in the morning when the sun illuminates the dam face beautifully
- Wide-angle lens recommended — the dam is massive and hard to capture with a standard phone lens
- Include the bridge — the Memorial Bridge arching above the canyon makes a stunning composition element
- Panorama mode — use your phone's panorama feature to capture the full canyon-dam-bridge scene
- Portrait mode — stand with the dam behind you for depth-of-field photos that pop
Book the Hollywood Tour (Hoover Dam Stop Included)
The Hoover Dam photo stop is included at no extra charge on the Vegas2Hollywood tour. Book online at vegas2hollywood.com or call 1-877-741-8390. $215 all-inclusive — breakfast, restaurant lunch, hotel pickup, Hoover Dam, AND Hollywood.