Sight · Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Boat slips, dockside dining, and desert views in one lakeside stop.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lake Mead Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lake Mead National Recreation Area. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Lake Mead audio tourRecorded for this place
Hemenway Harbor: Floating Cafés and a Dock Walk“The marinas at Hemenway Harbor are coming up, and you can visit without renting a boat. At Las Vegas Boat Harbor, stroll the floating docks and look for fish below the walkways and ducks around the slips.”
Plays as you drive up to Lake Mead Marina in the Parkwolf Lake Mead Tour Guide.
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Lake Mead Marina is the working boating hub at Hemenway Harbor, with just under 1,500 slips and dry storage. Stop if you want rentals, fuel, repairs, stores or food by the water; skip it if you are looking for a quiet natural shoreline. The docks and services are part of the developed side of Lake Mead.
It is described as Lake Mead’s oldest marina. The Gripentog family purchased the marina, store and restaurant in 2008. Its scale is clear in the many docks, dry storage and service facilities; this is a full boating base, not just a launch ramp.
Two restaurants and two stores serve the marina. The floating Boat House Bar & Grill has salads, wraps, appetizers and steak dinners; the marina store carries snacks, drinks and boating supplies. Restaurant service can be uneven, so leave flexibility if a sit-down meal matters to your plans.
Follow the signs to Hemenway Harbor from Lake Mead Parkway. The marina has auto and trailer parking and accessible flush restrooms. Its listed water is non-potable, so bring drinking water. Before launching, check current ramp conditions: changing lake levels can affect where and how you put in.
From the docks, look across the slips toward the rocky islands and desert ranges. It is a developed lakeside setting, with working boats and marina activity in the view. For a photo that shows both the place and its setting, frame the boats in front and aim toward the islands.
Wildlife
525 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
116 sightingsBurroMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
18 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 4 PMSighting map
99 sightingsWhite PelicanMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
145 sightingsGreat Blue HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
106 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around noonSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake Mead. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyHistoric Railroad Trail7.5 mi · 3 hr · 1.6 mi awayFive dark tunnels on a railbed high above Lake Mead.
ChallengingRiver Mountains Loop Trail34.4 mi · 13 hr · 1.8 mi awayA paved circuit linking Lake Mead, Boulder City and Henderson.
ModerateSugarloaf Overlook Trail3.1 mi · 2.5 hr · 3 mi awayOld dam roads, sandy washes, and a Colorado River overlook.
ModerateBoy Scout Canyon Trail3.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 3.7 mi awayA sandy volcanic wash ends above a 330-foot plunge.
ChallengingColorado River Overlook Trail3.6 mi · 3.8 hr · 3.7 mi awayA river overlook reached by a rough wash, loose ridge, and scramble.
EasySpooky Canyon Trail1 mi · 1.3 hr · 4.5 mi awayA dark slot winds beneath a sculpted stone portal.
Restaurant · 0.2 mi awayThe Boat House Bar & GrillA floating restaurant and bar with views over the harbor and lake.
Sight · 0.3 mi awayLas Vegas Boat HarborWalk the floating docks to see boats, fish, and waterfowl.
Restaurant · 0.3 mi awayHarbor House CaféDine above the slips with lake and desert ridges in view.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayLakeview Scenic OverlookA quick lake-and-desert panorama on the way to Hoover Dam.
Beach · 0.9 mi awayPersonal Watercraft BeachA rocky launch beach for personal watercraft.
Beach · 1.4 mi awayCanoe/Kayak BeachA water’s-edge launch for Boulder Basin paddling.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayMike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial BridgeA dam view from a walkway perched high above the Colorado River.
Beach · 1.7 mi awaySpecial Events BeachA rocky Boulder Basin beach reached by dirt road.Parkwolf’s Lake Mead ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
