• Sunset at Lake Mead's Boulder Basin

    Lake Mead

    National Recreation Area AZ,NV

Swimming

Swimmers enjoying the waters at Boulder Beach of Lake Mead

Swimmers at Boulder Beach

Karen Johnson

Please be aware that there are no life guards or designated swim beaches at Lakes Mead or Mohave. Always wear a life jacket. Most fatalities at Lake Mead National Recreation Area could have been avoided if the person in the water was wearing a life jacket. Keep a very close eye on children and choose areas to wade where there isn’t any boat traffic. Distances are deceiving at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and most coves are too big to swim across. Know your limits. Swimming is prohibited at all marinas and launch areas.

Swim at your own risk.

 

Invasive Mussel Found at Lake Mead

Live quagga mussels (a nuisance invasive species closely related to, and commonly referred to as zebra mussels) were discovered in Lake Mead on January 6, 2007 at the Las Vegas Boat Harbor marina. In order to not spread the mussel to Lake Mohave and other bodies of water, please follow the suggestions below.

Effective ways boaters (including personal watercraft, canoe, and kayak users) and fisherman can ensure that their boats, vehicles, trailers and other equipment do not become the means of infecting other waters:

  • Drain the water from your motor, live well, and bilge on land before leaving the immediate area of the lake.
  • Flush the motor and bilges with hot, soapy water or a 5% solution of household bleach.
  • Completely inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see.
  • Wash the hull, equipment, bilge and any other exposed surface with hot, soapy water or use a 5% solution of household bleach.
  • Clean and wash your trailer, truck or any other equipment that comes in contact with lake water. Mussels can live in small pockets anywhere water collects.
  • Air-dry the boat and other equipment for at least five days before launching in any other waterway.
  • Do not reuse bait once it has been exposed to infested waters.

Additional information can be found at the www.protectyourwaters.net and www.100thMeridian.org.

Did You Know?

Scenic picture of Wilderness in Lake Mead National Recreation Area

"The wilderness . . . that has come to us from the eternity of the past we have the boldness to project into the eternity of the future. It seems presumptuous for men and women . . . to dare to undertake a program for perpetuity, but that surely is our challenge." -- Howard Zahniser