Willow Beach in Mohave County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Explore Lake Mead
National Recreation Area
| | Lake Mead National Recreation Area | |
Photographed by Jason Voigt, February 28, 2022
1. Explore Lake Mead Marker
Marker has been vandalized.
With its rugged mountains, deep canyons, stark deserts, and two large blue lakes, America's first national recreation area is a place of great contrasts. Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NRA) was established in 1964, well after the waters of the mighty Colorado River were subdued by Hoover and Davis Dams, creating Lake Mead and Lake Mohave.
Today the lakes provide millions of visitors each year with a place to fish, boat and swim in one of the hottest, driest regions on earth. Despite their immense size, the two lakes comprise only a small portion of the recreation area. More than one million acres of diverse terrain surround the lakes.
From the creosote-covered desert to the pines of the Shivwits Plateau, the diversity and range of life and landscape is astounding. Large expanses of wilderness only miles from a major metropolis increase the contrast, making the recreation area a destination for wanderers and urban-dwellers alike.
Lake Mead NRA also preserves diverse remnants of both ancient and modern human history, from sacred Native American petroglyphs to a sunken Cold War era B-29 bomber.
From bustling
this page online
Erected by National Park Service.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Parks & Recreational Areas • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1964.
Location. 35° 52.954′ N, 114° 37.062′ W. Marker has been damaged. Marker is in Willow Beach, Arizona, in Mohave County. It is on U.S. 93 3 miles north of Willow Beach Road, on the right when traveling south. Marker is at a roadside scenic viewing area overlooking Willow Beach. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: US-93, Willow Beach AZ 86445, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Arizona’s Colorado River Valley. It is also in the American Southwest. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
Photographed by Jason Voigt, February 28, 2022
2. Explore Lake Mead Marker
Marker is at a roadside viewing area looking at Willow Beach and the Colorado River.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 12 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies: Taming the Colorado (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); The First People (approx. 11.1 miles away); High on a Lonely Hill (approx. 11.1 miles away); Then and Now (approx. 11.1 miles away); Anson Smith (approx. 11.3 miles away); Hoover Dam (approx. 11.4 miles away in Nevada); New Century, New Challenges (approx. 11½ miles away in Nevada); Discover Hoover Dam (approx. 11½ miles away in Nevada).
Also see . . . Lake Mead National Recreation Area (National Park Service). (Submitted on December 30, 2025, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.)
Credits. This page was last revised on December 30, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 10, 2022, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 868 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 10, 2022, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.
