Overview

The Railroad Tunnels Trail (RRT trail), designated by the US Department of the Interior as a National Recreation Trail in 2015, is a pleasant 4.4-mile (round trip) trail that follows an old railroad bed high above Lake Mead and runs through five 25-ft-diameter tunnels cut through volcanic ridges. With lots of bikers, joggers, and dogs, hiking here isn't a wilderness experience, but it is a fun walk through historic tunnels in a scenic desert setting.

The "railroad tunnels" portion of the trail starts at the trailhead and runs east to just beyond the fifth tunnel, which runs, literally, underneath the Lakeview Scenic Overlook, but it does not actually connect to the Overlook. From a public toilet and covered picnic table, the trail continues all the way to Hoover Dam, adding another 3.5 miles to the round-trip hike.

Link to map.

The railroad was built in 1931 and used for hauling equipment and materials during the construction of Hoover Dam. The railroad was used heavily until the dam was finished in 1935, but dam workers continued to use it until 1961. The tracks were dismantled in 1962, and the site was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. For more information on the history of the railroad, see a PDF (140 KB) produced by the National Park Service.

During Fall 2016, the trail was refurbished to fix parts that were eroding away, and a more accessible surface was laid down. During 2018 and 2019, the trail was closed while shipping containers were inserted into two of the tunnels because rocks were falling from the ceiling. While not in keeping with the historical look-and-feel of the trail, we must applaud the NPS for finding an inexpensive and workable solution to keep the trail open.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this hike is pretty safe, given that the trail is a wide, flat, railroad bed running at a gentle grade. There are, however, considerable drop-offs along the edges where, if you stumbled off the roadbed, you could tumble a long way down the hillside. There are some washouts along the edge, so this is a real danger. Also, watch for bicycles careening along the trail.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though this hike is short, be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located near Highway 93 in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, about 40 minutes southeast of downtown Las Vegas.

From town, drive out to Lake Mead. Drive south on Highway 93 (not the new Interstate-11), through Boulder City, to Lakeshore Road. Turn left (north) onto Lakeshore Road and drive north 0.4 miles (just past the Visitor Center) to the large Historic Railroad Trailhead, on the right. Park here; this is the trailhead.

This trailhead is outside the fee area.

The Hike

From the trailhead by the two large information signs (Table 1, Waypoint 01) on the west side of the parking lot, a concrete path runs west towards the visitor center. After about 40 yards of concrete trail, a dirt trail branches off to the left.

Taking the rock-lined dirt trail left, the trail bends to the left and heads south to merge with the historic railroad bed, which runs to the east. Just ahead, the railroad bed is blocked by a gate (Wpt. 02) intended to exclude vehicles from the trail, and just past the gate, the railroad bed cuts through a low ridge of yellow volcanic ash. On the hill above, the Hoover Dam Casino sticks out like a sore thumb.

The dirt trail from the trailhead to the gate is actually the bed of the Six Companies Railroad that ran from here to gravel pits, a sorting plant, and the Lomix concrete mixing plant. More of this old railroad bed can be seen running north-northwest across Lakeshore Road from the parking lot.

Lomix, one of the two on-site concrete mixing plants, was down in the canyon on the Nevada side, about a 1/2-miles upriver from the dam and close to river level; it is now flooded.

The flat area before the gate is the approximate site of Lawler, the railroad junction where the Six Companies Railroad (built to haul aggregate for the concrete used in the dam, power houses, and ancillary works) met the U.S. Government railroad that ran from Boulder City to the edge of the canyon above the dam. Lawler junction probably consisted of a short section of double track, three turnouts, and a shed for switch tenders and a telegraph operator.

Walking through the gate (Wpt. 02) and the roadcut, the trail crosses a wash that comes down from the south. The Hoover Dam Lodge (with its noisy helicopter rides) sits at the top of the wash.

Through this area and just beyond, the trail runs across a jumbled area of strikingly colorful volcanic ash. There is lots of color in the rocks, mostly yellows and reds, but including greens, oranges, tans, and pale gray. Farther out, the trail runs almost entirely along black volcanic cliffs. The dominant vegetation along this part of the trail is stunted creosote bush and white bursage with a few other shrubs mixed in. During spring, there can be desert wildflowers along the trail.

From the gate, the trail runs out along the roadbed for about 1/2-miles to a trail junction (Site 03). Here, a "short-cut" trail comes down the steep, rocky hillside from the northeast corner of the Hoover Dam Lodge and Casino parking lot (Railroad Tunnels Casino Trailhead).

In another 0.5 miles, the trail arrives at the first railroad tunnel (Wpt. 04). Approaching the first tunnel, the cliffs get higher and steeper, and the valley floor seems to fall away into the lake. Rounding the corner to the first view of the tunnel, look through it and notice the second tunnel in the distance.

At the far end of the first tunnel, there are nine 20-ft-tall wooden timbers on each side of the tunnel that are capped with a wooden arch. These timbers support the roof and prevent loose rocks from falling onto the roadbed. The timbers are in remarkable condition considering that they have been here for some 90 years. Originally, the eastern ends of all five tunnels were shored up with these timbers; unfortunately, arsonists burned the timbers in the second and fifth tunnels. Some of the arches have been damaged by falling rock (proving their value), and on the fourth tunnel, fallen rocks have deformed the arch.

Past the first tunnel, the trail continues eastward along the roadbed and passes through four more tunnels. All along the wall of the canyon, and especially between the first and second tunnels, there is an amazing amount of bright green lichen on the black volcanic rock. Lichens are a symbiotic combination of fungi and algae that grow on the surface of bare rocks. It is hard to imagine that something like this can grow on black rocks in the desert. They are, however, growing on the shady side, and you can see that many other shrubs survive here too.

The same shrub species grow here as were back on the gravel flats at the trailhead, but here they look bigger and more robust, and there are species growing here that can't survive out on the flats. In particular, there are Schott's Pygmycedar shrubs growing on the cliffs. Bush Arrowleaf, generally an uncommon shrub, also likes these shaded rock walls.

Because of rockfalls and deteriorating timbers inside tunnels #2 and #3, the National Park Service placed shipping contains under the timbers to shield hikers from the next rocks fall. While this might damage the aesthetics of the "historic" Railroad Tunnels Trail, it certainly was a creative way to quickly reopen the trail at minimal expense.

From the trail between the fourth and fifth tunnels, Lakeview Overlook can be seen atop the cliff above the fifth tunnel (the tunnel goes under the overlook). Hikers can see the stonework along the edge of the overlook and wave at the people who drove up there. Some people scramble up the cliffs to the overlook, but it doesn't look very safe.

The fifth tunnel is longer than the others and has a bend in the middle that prevents hikers from seeing the other end, making this tunnel much darker than the others. Just past the fifth tunnel, the trail passes through a gate (Wpt. 05) with a sign saying that it is open during daylight hours. Past the gate, the trail runs out to the Bureau of Reclamation Rest Area with shaded picnic tables, vault toilet, and trash cans. there is an emergency call box here too.

Past the Bureau of Reclamation Rest Area, the trail runs around the back of the highway maintenance yard and on down the canyon for another 1.74 miles on a "trail" road to Hoover Dam.

From the fifth tunnel, consider going through the gate and then climbing up to the viewpoint (Lakeview Scenic Overlook), then either continue to the dam (Wpt. 12) or return to the trailhead (Wpt. 01) by walking back through the five tunnels (see photos of the return).

The rocky knob on the ridge outside of the fourth tunnel makes for a nice place to stop and eat lunch in the sun.