Hands down an absolutely beautiful park! There are so many massive boulders, and rocks to climb on and around everywhere. There are only two different campsites in the park that have a small fee so make sure to bring cash, there are also drop toilets and each numbered campsite has a picnic table with chairs and a shade cover. The campsites are nestled right in between the rocks which make for a beautiful stay. There's a variation of hikes you can do which range from a couple of miles to just getting out of your car. It includes very interesting petroglyphs, cool rock formations, and lots of picture opportunities! I went in the beginning of the year and it actually started to rain/snow overnight. We also brought our dogs but had to keep them on a leash while on the main trails and at the campsite. The park also has a visitor's center .
This is a beautiful spot to visit for the day, as there is no camping allowed by the water or the "boat ramp" but you can camp anywhere along the dirt road leading up to the lake. Follow road signs for Government Wash, you will drive along a dirt road for a while and then encounter a restroom with flushing toilets and a sink, but no drinking water. Continue through the parking lot onto the next dirt road. If you are looking for a place to launch your boat/jetski this is the perfect place! It was a large, flat landing at the bottom, but there are multiple ways to get down to the water depending on the dirt roads you take. There is hiking where ever you want to walk, make sure to bring plenty of water, sunscreen and and shoes as there is some broken glass and trash laying around. The water is cool, clear and refreshing. Beware of coyotes lurking around fire rings looking for food!! I have two dogs that I take with me to run around, and swim and they love being able to play off of the leash.
April 22, 2018
This area is one of my favorite spots to go to at Lake Mead. In order to get there, follow road signs to Crawdad Cove, the road is loose gravel and dirt so be weary what vehicle you take, so roads require 4 wheel drive. The dirt road will split into a "Y" so stay left. None of the back roads are marked, so you might have to do some exploring. Just try to follow the water and stay on the larger dirt roads. Once you get to the lake there's a nice gravely Beach area and multiple places to set up camp (there are rock fire rings too). I wouldn't recommend camping there because it is a high traveled area, lots of people launch canoes/kayaks, and other boats there. However there are camping spots the entire way down to the water (you can literally pull off of the road and camp where ever you want, there's no assigned/numbered or reserved spots) and all along the banks of the river. If you get there early enough in the day you will avoid park entry lines and you can get a really good spot by the water!
There's lots of good fishing spots, and you can always see the fish jumping out of the water! You can also hike anywhere around here. I have two dogs and really enjoy hiking around and swimming. It's about a 45 minute drive from Las Vegas but worth it to let my dogs run around and swim in the water. If you do bring your dogs be cautious of coyotes in the area, I've seen a couple walking around the area during the day looking for food scraps, and packs of them howling at night.
We set up camp on the left side of the cove on top of a cliff, with a beautiful beach area below all to our selves. There were a couple of other people camping nearby as well. There were multiple places to cliff jump, and fish (bring water shoes because there is some broken glass). The sound is really amplified in this area so please be respectful of the other people around you. All of the sites are primitive, so no toilets or running water. Bring bathroom supplies (I'd recommend bringing baby wipes and hand sanitizer… And a little shovel 😉) and lots of extra water to drink and put out your fire. There is one drop toilet and two large dumpsters along the road but not close to the lake. The sunsets are breath taking and there's lots of different birds, animals, lizards, and flowers if you go at the right time of year. Bring sunscreen and a shade tarp as there is no shade out there.
If you have a non motorized watercraft you need to get a special sticker for it in order to use it at the lake. If you want more information you can ask the Park Rangers when you enter and they will give you some papers about your boats and where to obtain registration.