Crawdad Cove Road is an off-road trail located east of Las Vegas in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area(LMNRA). The LMNRA, operated by the National Park Service is located in both Nevada and Arizona. It follows the Colorado River corridor. The LMNRA includes Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, both reservoirs created by Hoover and Davis Dams plus their surrounding areas. Lake Mead was formed in 1935, less than a year before Hoover Dam construction was finished. In 1964, Congress approved the expanded area as the first National Recreation Area.
This off-road trail makes for a great day trip visit Lake Mead for swimming, boating, kayaking, rafting or other water fun. Large areas available for camping, both tent and trailer. There are multiple side washes and small hills for hiking and exploring. Just be sure to bring your trunks, food, drinks and some shade. The trail is an easy drive with a scenic desert landscape. There are also beautiful views of Lake Mead as you approach the end of the trail. Plenty of wildlife was observed to include rabbits, road runners and multiple types of lizards.
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Head north from Las Vegas on Interstate 15. Take the Lake Mead Blvd/NV 147 exit off of Interstate 15 and head east for approximately 19 miles until coming to a T intersection. Turn left/east onto Northshore Road/NV 167. The turn for Crawdad Cove Road is approximately 16.8 miles. There will a sign indicating the turn. Turn right/southeast onto the trailhead. Drive approximately 0.5 miles to a Y intersection and follow the right/west fork to follow the trail. Following the left/east fork follows Boxcar Cove Road.
This an excellent area to explore and offers great fishing and camping. Water level in the lake is at a record low and parts of the lake which used to be underwater not too long ago are not easily accessible by vehicles.
Interesting from a historical point of view, the successful damming of the Colorado River accomplished by lead engineer Frank Crowe. Quiet, far from Vegas but still easily reached from there.
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We are James and Mimi Nicholson, married for 19 years, living in Nevada. We are not new to Off-roading; having owned Jeeps for 18 years. We started with a 1979 CJ-5. Other 4 wheel vehicles owned include CJ-7, Cherokees, Grand Cherokee and a Liberty. We like to overland, camp, whitewater raft and kayak. We have been off-roading in Oregon, Washington, Georgia, South Carolina, California, Arizona, Utah, Louisiana, Texas and Nevada Our focus while off-roading is safety, treading lightly and simply enjoying the outdoors with friends and family.
Our current rig:
2015 Jeep Wrangler JKU Tank Rubicon. AEV 3.5" lift with 315/75/16 GY Duratracs with level 8 Tracker wheels. C gussets, control arm skids, ACE rock sliders, Engo 10,000 winch, OR-Fab tire/can carrier. M.O.R.E. skid plate, Gobi stealth roof rack. S-pod. ARB OBA. Adams front and rear drive shafts.
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