Boulder City: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Boulder City was built from nothing in 1931 by the federal government, to house the men building the dam and keep them sober and out of trouble. It was planned around a green square on a hill, with straight streets falling away below, and much of that 1930s town still stands. Today it is a quiet place of antique shops and old houses, a pleasant contrast to Las Vegas half an hour away. The walk takes a morning; drive to the canyon and the park at the end.
A short history of Boulder City
Boulder City was built in 1931 by the federal government as a town to house the thousands of workers building the Hoover Dam, which was completed in 1936. To keep the workers sober, gambling was banned here, and the ban still stands, making it one of the few places in Nevada with no casinos. Until 1960 the city was owned by the government, and only then did it become a self-governing municipality. The water tower and the low houses from the construction period still stand in its centre.
The ten best sights in Boulder City
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1Boulder Dam Hotel
The white Colonial-style hotel of 1933 at the heart of the old town; the lobby is open to all
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2Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum
Inside the hotel: the life of the workers who built the dam; see it before the dam itself
3Nevada State Railroad MuseumWeekend heritage train rides on the old line to the dam; check the timetable
4Hoover DamThe great concrete dam 12 km east; book the tour, and come early in summer
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5Winged Figures of the Republic
The two bronze figures and star map on the Nevada side of the dam
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6High Scaler statue
A statue of the men who hung on ropes off the canyon walls
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7Wilbur Square
The green park at the top of the planned town, with the dam offices beside it
8Clark County MuseumIn Henderson, 15 km: a street of real historic houses moved here from around the county
9O'Callaghan-Tillman Bridge walkwayWalk out on the bypass bridge for the classic view down onto the dam
10Historic Railroad TrailFlat walk through five huge tunnels above the lake; about 6 km out and back to the dam
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Boulder City →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Boulder City:
Free walking tours in Boulder City
The town the dam built
Boulder City was built from nothing in 1931 by the federal government, to house the men building the dam and keep them sober and out of trouble. It was planned around a green square on a hill, with straight streets falling away below, and much of that 1930s town still stands. Today it is a quiet place of antique shops and old houses, a pleasant contrast to Las Vegas half an hour away. The walk takes a morning; drive to the canyon and the park at the end.
- Boulder Dam Hotel · The hotel opened in 1933 for the officials and sightseers who came to watch the dam rise. Boulder City is still one of only two places in Nevada where casino gambling is banned, a rule left over from the federal town, so there are no slot machines in the lobby.
- Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum · Before the town existed, workers and their families camped on the river flats in the summer of 1931, in heat close to 50 degrees, and many died of it. The museum tells their story, and of the more than 5,000 men employed at the peak of construction.
- Wilbur Square · The square is named after Ray Lyman Wilbur, the Secretary of the Interior who announced in 1930 that the dam would be called Hoover Dam. The next administration renamed it Boulder Dam, and only in 1947 did Congress restore the name Hoover.
- Nevada State Railroad Museum · The tracks here were laid in 1931 to bring cement, steel and machinery down to the dam site. The museum's trains still run on a stretch of that line, slowly, through the desert hills toward Lake Mead.
- Bootleg Canyon · Boulder City was a dry town, and stayed one until 1969. The canyon is said to take its name from the bootleggers who hid stills in it during Prohibition, to sell to thirsty dam workers.
- Hemenway Valley Park · Desert bighorn sheep live in the River Mountains above town, and in the hot months a herd comes down to the park for its grass and water. They have become so used to people that they graze among the picnic tables.
Hoover Dam and Black Canyon
The dam stands in Black Canyon, 12 km east of town, on the border of Nevada and Arizona. Walk out to it along the old railway through the tunnels, or drive and park in the garage on the Nevada side. The bridge high above gives the view of the whole dam, and the walk over the crest shows the details up close. The dam tour goes inside; book it ahead in season.
- Historic Railroad Trail tunnels · The five tunnels are so large because the railway carried sections of the dam's giant steel pipes, some about 9 metres across. The line was taken up in the 1960s and the route became a walking trail.
- Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge · Opened in 2010, the bridge carries the highway about 270 metres above the Colorado, on the longest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. It is named after a Nevada governor and an American football player who left the NFL to join the army and was killed in Afghanistan.
- Hoover Dam · The dam was finished in 1935, two years ahead of schedule. The state line runs across its crest, and because Arizona does not use daylight saving time, in summer the clocks on the two towers show different hours.
- Winged Figures of the Republic · The sculptor Oskar Hansen set a star map into the terrazzo floor around the two bronze figures. The stars are placed as they stood on the night of the dedication in 1935, so that a future astronomer could work out the date.
- High Scaler statue · High scalers swung on ropes down the canyon walls with jackhammers and dynamite, clearing loose rock before the dam could be built against it. It was the most dangerous job on the project, and the best paid.
- Memorial to the dam workers · Officially 96 men died in accidents building the dam. A story persists that some are buried inside the concrete, but it is not true: the concrete was poured in shallow blocks, and anyone who fell was recovered.
Lake Mead and the desert
Behind the dam lies Lake Mead, and around it a desert of bare mountains that runs all the way to the edge of Las Vegas. Start at the visitor center, then follow the shore for a swim, and continue west through Henderson to the art in the open desert. The lake level has dropped sharply in recent decades, and the pale band on the rocks shows how much. Take water and a hat; there is no shade on the shore.
- Lake Mead Visitor Center · Lake Mead became the first National Recreation Area in the United States, and when full the reservoir is the largest in the country by volume. It is named after Elwood Mead, the head of the Bureau of Reclamation while the dam was built.
- Lake level viewpoint · The white band on the cliffs, locals call it the bathtub ring, is mineral left on the rock by the water. The lake was last full in the early 1980s, and in 2022 it fell so low that boats sunk decades ago reappeared on dry ground.
- Boulder Beach · The lake was created when the dam closed in the mid-1930s and the water filled Black Canyon and the valleys behind it. It flooded the Mormon farming town of St. Thomas, whose ruins come up out of the water when the level drops.
- Clark County Museum · Behind the main hall stands a street of houses saved from around the county and moved here, from a 1930s Boulder City cottage to a railway depot. Each is furnished for its decade, so you can walk through a century of southern Nevada.
- Ethel M Chocolate Factory · Forrest Mars Sr., of the Mars confectionery family, founded the company in 1981 and named it after his mother, Ethel. The cactus garden beside the factory holds hundreds of desert plants and is lit up with lights every December.
- Seven Magic Mountains · The Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone stacked huge limestone boulders into seven towers about ten metres high and painted them in fluorescent colours in 2016. It was meant to stand for two years, but it proved so popular that it was allowed to stay.
Getting to Boulder City and getting around
- Harry Reid International Airport · Las Vegas airport, 35 km away; the usual place to pick up or drop a rental car
- Boulder City Municipal Airport · Small airfield where many Grand Canyon sightseeing flights and helicopter tours start
Cheap eats in Boulder City
Boulder City feels nothing like Las Vegas, and its food shows it: small diners, a barbecue joint, coffee roasted in town and Mexican places, with no buffets and no casinos. Breakfast is the strong meal here, before the heat. Prices are ordinary small-town American. Near the dam itself there is little but snack bars, so eat in town before or after.
- The Coffee Cup Cafe · Big breakfasts and lunch on Nevada Way, about $12-18; queue on weekends
- Southwest Diner · Diner breakfasts with a green-chile kick, about $12-18
- Fox Smokehouse BBQ · Smoked brisket and ribs by weight, a plate about $15-25
- Dam Roast House & Browder Bookstore · Coffee roasted in town and a bookshop, about $4-7
- Fox Family Bakery · Pastries and doughnuts, about $3-8
- Boulder Pit Stop · Burgers and sandwiches to go, about $8-14
Museums in Boulder City
- Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum · Film, photos and tools of the dam builders; small fee
- Hoover Dam Visitor Center · Exhibits and the tours into the dam; tickets about $15-30
- Nevada State Railroad Museum · Old locomotives and coaches; rides on weekends, about $10-15
- Clark County Museum · Southern Nevada history and the street of old houses; low fee
- Tom Devlin's Monster Museum · Film monsters and make-up effects; fun if you like horror
Nature and day trips near Boulder City
- Historic Railroad Trail · Flat, wide trail with lake views; start early in summer
- Liberty Bell Arch · A desert hike on the Arizona side to a natural arch; not in summer heat
- Lakeview Overlook · Quick view over the lake on the road to the dam
- Boulder Beach · Swim in the lake; no shade, bring an umbrella
- Bootleg Canyon · Rocky trails with views over town and the lake
Things to do in Boulder City with kids
- Bighorn sheep at Hemenway Park · Free wildlife show on the lawns, mostly on hot afternoons
- Train ride at the Railroad Museum · A slow ride in old coaches on weekends; check the timetable
- Ethel M Chocolate Factory · Watch chocolates being made and walk the cactus garden
- Seven Magic Mountains · Bright stacked rocks; kids love the colours, go at sunset
- Tom Devlin's Monster Museum · For older kids who like a scare
Where to eat in Boulder City
- Boulder Dam Brewing Company · Beer brewed on site and pub food, about $14-22
- Milo's Cellar · Wine bar with sandwiches and a terrace on the street, about $15-25
- Boulder Dam Hotel restaurant · Dinner in the 1933 hotel, about $18-30
- Evan's Old Town Grille · American grill in the old town, mains about $18-30
- Casa Don Quixote · Tapas and Mediterranean plates, about $15-28
- The Boat House, Lake Mead Marina · Floating restaurant on the lake, about $15-25
Frequently asked questions about Boulder City
What is there to see in Boulder City?
The top sights in Boulder City are Boulder Dam Hotel, Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum and Nevada State Railroad Museum. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Boulder City?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Boulder City without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Boulder City?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Boulder City, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The town the dam built.
How do you get to Boulder City and get around?
The main ways are Harry Reid International Airport and Boulder City Municipal Airport. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Boulder City, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Boulder City that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Boulder City for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.