Overview | North River Bend View | Hoover Dam Area | Lake Mead NRA, Arizona

Slide guide to appear soon.

Hike to the best aerial view of Lake Mead’s Southern tip at Hoover Dam! This hike is fairly easy as long as you stay on course (see the map on this page). However, there is one brief 20-25ft class 4 climb near the summit viewpoint. It is possible to reverse the route and reach the summit viewpoint without exceeding light class 3 rock scrambling.

During this adventure you’ll reach an incredible high vantage point above the Arizona side of the Colorado River Channel. From this point you’ll be able to view the following:

• Hoover Dam, almost immediately below to the South
• The Colorado River continuing below Hoover Dam through Black Canyon
• The Colorado River Channel all the way to Promontory Point and Lake Mead
• Hoover Peak, Nevada
• Gold Strike Peak, Nevada
• Promontory Point, Nevada
• Black Mesa, Nevada
• Many additional distant peaks in the volcanic terrain South of Las Vegas, Nevada
• Sugarloaf Mountain, Arizona
• Fortification Hill, Arizona
• Paint Pots at the base of Fortification Hill, Arizona
• Mt. Wilson, Arizona
• Many additional distant peaks in the volcanic terrain to the South in Arizona

Adventure Route Summary

Begin at a wide spot parking area on the West side of Kingman Wash Access Road, Arizona, between the South and North Mine Road turnoffs. Descend a slope of moderate difficulty into a nice wide wash. Descend the wash experiencing very few brief areas of minor difficulty until the wash narrows and plunges over an impassible dry fall (at least impassible without technical climbing gear). Fortunately, you can bypass the dry fall by circling over the ridge to the right, then descending again into the wash. Continue down the wash about 1,000ft, then begin ascending a nice slope to the left above the wash. The slope leads to a 25ft headwall to the summit of the cliffs you’ve been observing along the wash to your right. Ascend the class 4 headwall (angled final ascent with many firm hand and footholds) to the spectacular summit viewpoint! Take the return route down the nice, fairly gradual ridgeline along the top of the cliffs paralleling your original descent wash. From the base of the ridgeline ascend a parallel wash, returning to your starting point on Kingman Wash Access Road.

It’s a good idea to have previous experience facing the challenges described, and bring an adventure partner along.

Best Time of Year for This Adventure

Mid-day temperatures are usually a comfortable 50-75 degrees from late Fall through early Spring. Summer temperatures can reach a dangerous 120 degrees or more, and mid-Summer can bring hazardous flash floods in the canyons. It’s not safe to attempt this adventure within 24 days of the last rainstorm. However, it rarely rains in this desert area.

Trailhead Directions | North River Bend View | Hoover Dam Area | Lake Mead NRA, Arizona

Take Interstate 11 South from Las Vegas. Cross Hoover Dam into Arizona and continue about a mile to the Kingman Wash Access Road exit (Exit 2). At the end of the exit, turn left onto Kingman Wash Access Road and park at a wide spot on the left (West) side of the road between the South and North Mind Road turnoffs.

Narrative Guide | North River Bend View | Hoover Dam Area | Lake Mead NRA, Arizona

Establish Your Bearings

This entire route is through pathless wilderness, so it’s important to begin by establishing your big picture bearings of the area while at the parking area on Kingman Wash Access Road. Though the canyons and ridges look fairly simple, once you leave Kingman Wash Access Road and venture into the wilderness, it’s surprizing how easy it is to get fully disoriented! Look for reference points. Notice the sharp peak of Mt. Wilson on the horizon ridgeline to the East (right side of the road). That peak will be your guide on the return trip through the wilderness ridges and canyons. Notice Fortification Hill to the North. That’s a good reference point and it’s right (South) end is above the lower end of Kingman Wash Access Road. The wilderness to the left (West) of Kingman Wash Access Road is a large strip between the Colorado River on the West side and Kingman Wash Access Road on the East side. All canyon washes lead downward to the Colorado River and upward to Kingman Wash Access Road.

Kingman Wash Access Road to the Slot Canyon

Descend the slope to the left (West) of Kingman Wash Access Road, angling a bit to the right and downward to the wide wash below. Continue about a mile down the wash, experiencing few obstacles other than some sharp thorny vegetation (most plants in the desert are sharp and thorny) and a few shallow, easy rock ledges where the wash descends to lower levels. Notice a line of cliffs to your left (South) above the wash. Your return route will be on the nice, fairly gradual ridgeline along the top of these cliffs. The high viewpoint, which is your goal is on the Western edge of these cliffs above the Colorado River.

In about a mile, the wash will dramatically narrow as it plunges down an impassible dry fall into a slot canyon. Bypass this barrier by ascending the ridge to your right, then descending again into the wash below the slot canyon. Take a moment while on the ridge before descending into the slot canyon to get your bearings for the next stretch of the adventure. Below, you can see the wash continuing down to the banks of the Colorado River, now visible. Notice a slope leading up toward the headwall of the cliffs on the left side of the wash. Look carefully to notice a narrow gully about 1,000 feet down the wash (left side, probably shaded), leading upward through the cliffs. This will be your route through the headwall to the summit of the cliffs. It’s easy to see this narrow gully from where you are standing, on the hill above the slot canyon, than from the wash below, so study its location carefully.

Slot Canyon to the Ascent Gully

Once you descend into the wash below the barrier dry fall and slot canyon, take a detour up into the slot canyon. It’s truly amazing, with towering walls on either side! And, there are no significant barriers in the slot canyon, just a few brief rocky rises (each about 3-4ft high) until you get to the impassible dry fall at the upper end of the slot canyon. Enjoy!

Now turn around and head back down the slot canyon into the wider wash below. You need to know where to begin ascending the slope to the left above the wash that leads to the narrow gully and ultimately up and through the cliffs to the summit viewpoint. Remember the location of the ascent point to that gully you saw earlier from the ridge above the slot canyon. It’s in the wash about 1000 feet below the slot canyon.

Ascent Gully to the Summit Viewpoint

The ascent gully angles upward on a slope along the lower edge of the cliff wall. Just hug the base of the cliff wall to your left as you angle upward. It’s all class 2 with some brief class 3 rock scrambles along the way. Near the upper end of the gully there are 2 obvious openings leading up through the cliff to the summit above. The first opening is pretty narrow and steep. A backpack could get stuck in an uncomfortable spot near the summit of this opening, but it’s a possible route to the summit. To find the second opening to the cliff summit, continue along the base of the cliff around the next corner. The path around the corner is comfortably wide, though from a distance it looks a bit scary.

Once around the corner, there’s an obvious steep, but slanted class 4 route up the headwall to the summit. The rock is very solid, and there are hand and footholds, much easier to manage than the climbing wall in your local gym! Just keep 3 points of contact at all times. Jean-Luc offered a rope, but I made it to the top without using it.

Arrival on the Summit Viewpoint

Once above the headwall, you’ve got it made! Continue up a brief, gradual incline to the highest point where you will experience all the spectacuar views described earlier. In addition, you’ll see the entire Hoover Dam complex in all its grandeur, almost immediately below!

Returning Along the Upper Cliffline

From this high viewpoint, get your bearings for the first stretch of the return trip. You’ll head down the upper edge of the cliffline with Mt. Wilson as your guiding reference point. Your parking area on Kingman Wash Access Road is nearly in a straight line toward Mt. Wilson. Now descend the ridgeline along the upper edge of the cliffs toward distant Mt. Wilson. The fairly gradual cliffline ridge you are on will eventually descend into a lower wash running parallel and just South of the wash you originally descended from Kingman Wash Access Road. There’s a high ridge between both washes. You will eventually need to circle around the left side of the upper end of that ridgeline to find yourself looking down on your parking area on Kingman Wash Access Road. 

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve experienced quite a variety of desert terrain during this adventure! There were rocky slopes, wide canyon washes, a majestic slot canyon, a brief class 4 cliff headwall and a ridgeline descent along the upper edge of a cliff. This variety of fun challenges in addition to the spectacular view at the summit will create life memories!