2/9 Drive to Willow Beach Marina & Campground

Willow Beach Marina is part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, but it is on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, about 13 miles south of Hoover Dam.  It is part of the Mohave Desert, but is extremely dry and mountainous, and it looks a lot like something from a moonscape.  However, it is very isolated and wild, and I think it has a lot of beauty in it. 

There is almost no access to the Colorado River between the dam and Willow Beach Marina.  Because it is part of the Lake Mead Recreation Area, no off-road vehicles are allowed, though there are a few hiking trails in the area, but no camping other than in the one, developed campsite at Willow Beach.   

You get here from Las Vegas, by taking U.S. Highway 93, over the new bridge that bypasses having to drive over the dam.  

Here is a copy of a Google photo of this area.  You can see how the mountains on both sides of the river have created a series of washes that carry water from large areas into the river.  Even though this area is dry, when it does rain, an awful lot of water flows toward Willow Beach and in the past floods have wiped out the fishery, visitor center, campground, and rangers' cabins, not to say having killed several campers in the 90s.

Highway 93 is a good, divided highway, but the three or four miles that the road crosses the river near the dam can be extremely scary because winds get funneled through the canyons created by the mountains.

 

Notice in this photo that trucks, and motorhomes like mine, are told to move into the left lane so slightly shield them from strong winds.  I have driven this many times, with hands clutched tightly on the steering wheel to keep my vehicle from being blown into the right lane or into the barrier on the left.  As you go from between mountains over a canyon, it really feels like you are being picked up and moved over.  I usually drop my speed to between 45 and 50 MPH.  Cars may not like my being going slowly in the "fast" lane, but I do not care. 

A lot less scary once the area opens up a bit.  Luckily, there is seldom much traffic here. 

 

About ten miles past the bridge and dam, there is a small scenic pullover.   In this photo, you can see a glimpse of the Colorado River as it goes past Willow Beach. 

 

 And here is a telephoto photo of the river in the distance with the sun shining on it.  It looks very empty around that area, but the campground and marina are hidden behind the hill on the right.  It is a three mile drive from U.S. 93 to get to this point on the river.

 

After driving through a national park check-in booth, you drive through a paved road that really needs to be replaced.  The problem with this road is that it goes through one of the canyons that drains several square miles of mountains, so when it rains, parts of the road can get washed out and extra gravel has to be scraped off, plus some parts have been heavily patched over the years.  

The park has the money to build a new road, but they are still in the process of deciding on the best route to avoid flash floods.  

They keep road grading equipment at Willow Beach, and you can see here, that gravel has been piled up along the road as it goes through the canyon. 

And this is a chunk of roadway where there is no pavement left, so it is just gravel, but it is really a small section and they keep it well plowed. 

 

 

Another bad section of road.  

 

 

I tell people that when they get to the end of the canyon and the view opens up, it is guaranteed that they will say, "Wow!"   

On the left, a company that rents kayaks and drops you off near the dam and then picks you and the kayak up at Willow Beach, is picking up some paddlers. 

Not a very good photo of the visitor center, but here it is on the left.  There is a huge parking lot on the right and a roadway up to the campground.

It's getting late so I will post on the campground tomorrow night.