The Railroad Tunnel Trail Hike


Have you ever thought about how they got all the supplies to the Hoover Dam when they were building it?  No, I had never given it a moment's thought before Irv found us a fantastic trail to hike while we were in Vegas.

 
The Historic Railroad Trail is a 3.7 mile (one way) trail that is the last remaining section of railroad line that was used during the Hoover Dam construction.  It consists of 5 tunnels that are approximately 300 ft. in length and 25 ft. in diameter.  Construction started in 1931 and the lines were used until 1961 when the last turbine was hauled to the dam.
 
 
In 1984 the trail was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
 
 
It was a cold, drizzly day and we had the trail pretty much to ourselves after the people in front of us turned back after a mile or so.
 
 
It cleared up a little bit on our way back and we got to see a little bit of Lake Mead.
 
 
It was a nice, easy hike on a well maintained gravel trail.  I don't know if I'd try it in the heat of a Nevada summer--they had signs warning hikers to carry along at least a gallon of water per person and to watch out for rattlesnakes.
 
We planned to go about 4 miles, but ended up going 7 miles.  After all that hiking we were famished so we found a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant in Boulder City.
 
 
Anything that is smothered in green chili has to be good (the New Mexican in me loves green chili)!

Have you gone on any hikes lately where you learned a little history at the same time?

Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
That's a pretty good hike. Very unique with the tunnels and all.
December 22, 2014 at 9:39 PM
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