The Hoover Dam was built between 1931 and 1936 and was a massive undertaking. Due to the area's isolation, getting supplies and equipment to the construction itself was a challenge. In just five months, the terrain near what is now Lake Mead was forever changed, and a railroad line was built to the construction site.
The railroad was largely abandoned in 1935, and closed for good in 1961, but now the path of the old railroad tracks (including it's five tunnels) is a hiking trail that goes just over 3 1/2 miles from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area's Visitor Center to the Hoover Dam.
On the trail you will find stunning views of Lake Mead, where the evidence of years of drought is very apparent, as you walk back in time, where trains once ran 24 hours a day to bring supplies to the Hoover Dam's construction.
Along the way, the trail passes by the site of Ragtown, a notorious shantytown on the banks of the Colorado River that sprung up during the Great Depression. You can also find leftovers from the dam's construction, including plus for turbines. As you get closer to the dam itself, you get a kind of behind-the-scenes look at the dam, and travel through the Hoover Dam's boneyard.
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