Road Trip Questions

[Vickster]

Hi everyone - need some highway advice.
Traveling from South Lake Tahoe to Groveland, Ca (Yosemite area) to Las Vegas.

Copilot is having us avoid hwy 4 over Ebbits Pass which sounds like a good decision.

I've heard hwy 49 south from Groveland to 140 is not 5'er friendly however, this is the route Copilot chose.

Also going over Hoover Dam.

Any advice would be great.
Thanks!

[LewisB]

Can't speak to the highway routes, but be aware you can't "drive over" Hoover Dam. The highway has been routed over the canyon and around the dam. You can pay a fee (I think) to drive in to the dam area - it may even require a shuttle ride now - it's more like a national park. You won't be able to take your RV to the site. Still worth the visit, including the new highway bridge.

Before your trip, recommend you do some internet research to verify the above is still true (it's been several years since our last visit). Here's a little video I made about 3 years ago of the bridge construction around the dam. This was an incredible engineering feat we were honored to see in action. The massive size of these supports and columns are not evident until you see the workmen around them. Unfortunately, the walls of the bridge are too high to see anything - when you drive over this you actually have no idea you are on a bridge! So worth seeing from overlooks and/or the park.

The video runs a little slow, but hang in there - the end makes it work the wait in my mind!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ4dunSHddE

Safe Travels.

[chuckster57]

I went on that dam road with my old F250 towing my Jayco 323RKS. It was a very narrow road as I recall.

[notanlines]

Lewis, I enjoyed your presentation. We also followed the construction and were there right after the support system blew down in 2006 from high winds, costing millions in repairs. Truly a superb site to visit! Thanks!

[sourdough]

I enjoyed the video as well Lewis. It has been years since we went over the dam and I had completely forgotten they were building that road the last time we went. As soon as I saw those giant columns sticking up as they constructed it I remembered - it was impressive. Called DW in to check it out. Never got to see it finished and it's a shame that you can't see the dam, lake or river any longer from the highway. The dam was really cool but looking at the low water line of Lake Mead at the time was somewhat depressing (went over it 4 times and it always looked low). Thanks again.

[notanlines]

Lake Mead is currently at 1,079.7 feet -- 136 feet below its 2002 level when the drought began.

[travelin texans]

You can drive across the dam from the Nevada side to the Arizona side for viewing in a vehicle only then turn around & come back across to exit, just watch closely for ALL the idiot pedestrians on the dam.
We were there first week in April '21. Our 1st trip to the dam in the early to mid 80's you could almost touch the water from the dam & it was flowing heavily over the spillways. Now it's very sad at such a low level, but California needs the power to keep all the EVs they're requiring charged up. There's also acres upon acres of solar panels already in use near Boulder City & acres more being constructed with all the power going to California.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

You can drive across the dam from the Nevada side to the Arizona side for viewing in a vehicle only then turn around & come back across to exit, just watch closely for ALL the idiot pedestrians on the dam.
We were there first week in April '21. Our 1st trip to the dam in the early to mid 80's you could almost touch the water from the dam & it was flowing heavily over the spillways. Now it's very sad at such a low level, but California needs the power to keep all the EVs they're requiring charged up. There's also acres upon acres of solar panels already in use near Boulder City & acres more being constructed with all the power going to California.

Getting off track but have you seen the windmills in the tehachapi mountains or the Altamont pass?

[Life-in-Him]

From the info we saw when there in April, assuming my memory is close:
Lake Mead has only been full 1 time since built. That was 1986. Before that spillage kept the level lower supplying water south.

When we drove in, our senior pass let us into both the recreation area (Nv side where we camped) & the dam crossing. The road across the dam is blocked on the Az side.
There is
multi level paid parking on the Nv side.

Free parking is available to walk across the new bridge on both sides, but watch the signs carefully for turning.

The rec area says close to the water. 3/4-1 mile is reality.

We caught a 4 day cancelation @ Easter & it was a beautiful site.

[Vickster]

Thanks - I did get this:
You can visit with your 5th wheel. You will need to first get through the check point. After you make it through the checkpoint, you will then cross the top of the Dam to the Arizona side. You can park in Lot 9 which is a $10.00 paying lot, or you can park higher (Lot 10+) and park for free. The higher in the lots you go the longer the walk down to the top of the Dam.
Here are few tips:
No weapons
No animals (unless your pet is a service animal)
No parking in 5 story concrete parking garage- your vehicle will not fit.
Bring water and wear plenty of sunscreen. There are very few shaded areas.
We look forward to your visit. Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great day.

[JRTJH]

We've visited Hoover Dam many times through the years. The first was in the 70's and there was more "parking on the sides of the road and in dirt filled cutouts" than in any "formal parking lot"...

The last time was in 2019, when we spent 3 weeks in Vegas with several overnight trips to outlying attractions (Edwards AFB, Reno, etc)...

I would strongly urge NOT to drag a travel trailer over the dam. It's "possible to do and not prohibited" but in reality, it's not a good idea. There is "slow moving, often times non-moving traffic on the dam". From now until October, it's "suffocatingly hot" on the dam and walking from the "parking lots large enough for rig parking" are significantly longer than most "non desert dwellers" want to spend in the hot, dry temperatures".... Then, there's the "always present chance" that the lots are full, (tour busses, groups of people traveling together who park together, etc) and even if you can "get across the dam with all the traffic" you may not find a place to park a rig of any size. What that means is trying to find a place to turn around, negotiate that "DAMN TRAFFIC" going back across the dam, and still not being able to stop and take photos to "prove you were there".... In 2019, we drove the SlingShot to the dam. We were in "parking lot traffic for well over an hour, just to get to the dam (on the west side visitor's center" and another hour plus to get across the dam to the east side parking lots. That's 2+ hours of sitting in traffic to go less than 2 miles. Not something you want to do with a 8' wide, 50' long rig, where there's no place to maneuver or turn around, even if you had to.

IMHO, the "dam tour" is best done with the tow vehicle, not with the trailer in tow"....

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Getting off track but have you seen the windmills in the tehachapi mountains or the Altamont pass?

Yes! Which is probably why California would rather Nevada provide the power.

[Sticky]

Originally Posted by Vickster

I've heard hwy 49 south from Groveland to 140 is not 5'er friendly however, this is the route Copilot chose.


Any advice would be great.
Thanks!

That's a beautiful road. In the motorcycle world, that section of 49 from Groveland to the lookout is called little dragon. It's curvy, but not too tight, and the road is maintained very well. No better section of pavement in California. You'll be fine

[notanlines]

An article of interest concerning the dam and Lake Mead:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/hoover-da...181316884.html