The Historic Railroad Hiking Trail (out and back) is 7.5 miles if you hike its entirety from the parking lot to Hoover Dam. We walked only 5.5 km (about half the trail) to two of the five tunnels.
After leaving the parking lot and walking up tot the beginning of the trail we were greeted by this sign, but since it was January there was no danger from the heat. Instead, there was wind.
They neglected to mention the wind on the sign.
The wind was so strong we were concerned we might get pushed over the edge of this elevated roadway (aka former railroad). A woman with two small children walked ahead of us oblivious to the wind. We were sure that the kids will blow over. We didn’t walk the entire trail so we have no idea if they all survived, but we hope that they did.
There were some informative plaques along the way telling the history of the tunnels. They were constructed in 1931 to connect the Hoover Dam and Boulder City. The route was essential for the dam’s construction as it allowed to transfer materials to build the dam.
The railroad tracks were dismantled in 1962 and the trail was established in 1992.
Today the trail features beautiful vistas of Lake Mead and Boulder Basin
and five tunnels – each approximately 25 feet wide.
Tunnel #1 has eight sections of vertical supports, five of which have horizontal planks to prevent the fall of loose rock on to the tracks to reduce delays during the 24-hour building schedule. Weight from the rock has damaged the outermost, eastern arch.
Tunnel #2 burned in an arson fire in 1990. The now looser rock is fortified with shotcrete.
After the second tunnel we decided to turn around and make our way back to the car. Someone passed us on a bicycle. He didn’t seem concerned about the wind.
It was a little less windy now and the walk back was much more enjoyable.
The sun was setting and the view of the lake changed from one minute to the other.
The only regret we had was not going to the end of the trail is the potential for a unique view of the Hoover Dam. Oh, and to see if anyone was blown over.
But in the meantime, we enjoyed the amazing view that surrounded us.
Next, we will take you on a hike in Owl Canyon. Until then, stay safe and happy.
Impressive, Steve. Is this a recent trip?
Not sure who Steve is 😂 this is the end of out trip to Nevada before we took our Hiatus from posting about our trips. We have a lot of catching up to do!
Apologies, I confused you with dancing magpies.
Haha, no worries! I like being confused with magpies, but not too sure about dancing ones 😂
The lake is critically low I think, yet new homes keep popping up like pimples. its not sustainable. I’ve never been down those tunnels…
Yes, scary how the water situation seems to be ignored. The tunnels would make for a nice bike ride to the dam and back.
I may have to move home to Michigan if the water dries up! I have a great E Bike but can’t haul it as it won’t fit in my car.
Well, since you called it home, maybe you should!
The Mitten State will always be home but I love it here in the beautiful Mojave Desert. I’m here for the climate and mountains, not that Strip. 👍🏻
I hear you! I love the desert and I love the mountains, but I also love the Great Lakes. And yeah, the strip has no appeal at all for me.
I used to have a tweifoot boat and cruised the Saint Claire River and Lake Huron in the 90s. Great fun!
😊
Those are some impressive tunnels, Steve. (Sorry, Margie. I couldn’t resist.) 😊 I’ve been to Hoover Dam but have never walked the railroad trail.
Haha, we all get confused some times 😊 It was a good hike and I like a hike with history.
How wonderful and such impressive tunnels. For the record I reckon 5.5kms is a pretty good effort!
Yeah, it was a good length hike. It was very flat so a very easy 5.5 hike and didn’t feel it.
The tunnels were impressive! The arches are beautiful.
They were pretty impressive. The whole trail had beautiful scenery too!
I love this sort of thing – the blending of magnificent natural scenery and man made construction. But! if the trail is where the train used to be what about the huge bridge that shows the steam train puffing smoke?
You have a good eye and an inquisitive mind! I had a hard time finding anything about this bridge. What I found was that there were at least two lines. The other line ran north from the gravel plant 7.3-miles across the Las Vegas Wash and crossed the Colorado River over the bridge into Arizona to the Arizona gravel pits located near Callivlle. I couldn’t find proof for this and when I try to map this information, it didn’t make any sense…I’ll let you know if I find anything else, but one thing I am sure of is that this magnificent bridge is no longer standing as it was dismantled after the dam was constructed.
I love bridges. I love how they got the material up into the sky so you can walk on it and now I will have write a post on how they changed the way I taught a class of 15 yo boys.
This looks like a great trail, minus the wind. The tunnels remind me of the Othello Tunnels near Hope, B.C. on that railway trail. Have a wonderful Sunday. Allan
I guess we’ll need to check Hope, BC next time we are out that way 🙂 I hope it’s not as cold today where you are!
No cold here for the last week. +7-+11 for the last 7 days, but that is about to change. Happy Friday the 13th.
Looks like an interesting place. Glad you didn’t blow over.
Yup. We are definitely glad we survived the wind 🙂
Good to have you guys back. Was this a recent trip?? I have only driven by Hoover Dam, the railway walk looks interesting. Maggie
Thank you, it’s nice to be back! This trip is from a couple of years ago, just before we took a hiatus from posting here. It was a great trip and I didn’t want to leave this part out. I do have quite a few trips to catch up on!
Oh what a beautiful trail, especially those tunnels! We visited Hoover Dam and the Canyon with a bus tour, so unfortunately didn’t get to do this trail. I wish we had – what a view and trail to savour!
You probably got a lot more information on the bus tour. I found that the few guided tours that I took in museums provided a lot of insight that I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
I’ve always enjoyed trails with a bit of history, especially when they have information panels along the way to learn more about it. Despite the wind, the views overlooking Lake Mead look beautiful.
I like those too although I am not a big fan of rail trails. I find most of them boring and I need the visual stimulation that most of them lack. This one had it all. Views, variety, history and some excitement as we anticipated flying over the edge.
oof, hiking in high wind would be scary. Our dog almost blew away in high wind once (but she’s only 9lbs). Looks like a cool hike though!
Yeah, it was a bit uncomfortable. Glad your dog stayed with you!
Looks like a really interesting trail!
that looks like it would be a fun hike, Margie; assuming there’s no sense of claustrophobia as you walk through the tunnels!
I consider wind to be most annoying type of weather event. It makes bad days worse, and can ruin an otherwise beautiful day.
Hope all is well with you and Tony!
The tunnels are really wide and tall so I don’t think that would be much of an issue for most people. I agree with you about wind being the worst, unless it’s a gentle ocean breeze on a warm afternoon and you are sitting by the water with suitable beverage 🙂
And, yes, we are both well. I hope the same with you.
you paint the perfect scenario of when some wind would be acceptable 🙂
These tunnels form a beautiful set; I understand why it is appealing to visit them. Heat, cold, wind, the great outdoors is dangerous for humans.