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Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Date visited: October 24, 2015

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

According to the National Park Service, Lake Mead National Recreation Area is America’s most diverse National Recreation Area. At 1.5 million acres it contains mountains, canyons, valleys and two vast lakes. And Hoover Dam.

But what did we try and see? A ghost town.

We were driving from Page, AZ to Las Vegas, NV to catch our flight home after visiting National Park sites in Utah. And as I always do when planning a trip I search for “abandoned” or “ghost towns” in the areas we are likely to visit. Up popped St. Thomas, a town that was submerged by waters from Lake Mead when it filled after Hoover Dam was built in 1931. Severe drought conditions have resulted in lower water levels allowing the remnants of town structures to appear.

But first there there was a visit to Pipe Springs National Monument and then a stop at the Lost City Museum. When we finally made the drive down the 3.5 mile bumpy dirt road to the trailhead for the Historical St. Thomas Site Loop Trail we realized there wasn’t time to hike the 2.5 mile trail. We had to be satisfied with peering at the ruins from afar.

For more information see St. Thomas, Nevada.

St. Thomas, Nevada Town Site

Park Information

Official NPS Website
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