Is There Any Intention of Lake Mead Filling Again?
Stewart'due south Point, Lake Mead National Recreation Expanse
When I was trying to decide where to go this Fall equally it got too common cold to remain in Montana, role of the calculus was to not stray too far from Reno, where I have family to visit at Christmas. Last winter, I went south from a piece of work project in Colorado and spent November and December in New United mexican states, forth the Rio Grande. A previous wintertime had me in southern Arizona and on the Texas declension. This time I idea I'd endeavor to follow the Colorado river s, sticking to the Nevada side where I notwithstanding take a valid 2022 fishing license.
Heading down Interstate 15, Stewart'due south Bespeak, in the Lake Mead National Recreation Surface area was the first opportunity to boondock on the water. Lake Mead is a federal park, and there is an entry fee to pass through, but the gate at the northern stop of the park was unmanned during my visit. My "America the Beautiful" annual pass let me arrive through the southern gate later on, when I stayed at Government Wash. They get $25 for a vehicle pass that lasts seven days, or $45 for an almanac pass. The "America the Beautiful" pass is $fourscore and gets you into nearly all of the federal parks, and it'due south the all-time deal.
On the mode south out of Overton, you lot laissez passer a couple of BLM areas that have lots of boondockers camped out, Poverty Flats (which looks almost how it sounds) and Sand Mine Rd. Both are probably fine options if y'all want to remain close to town and maybe accept more reliable cell coverage, just the waterside is what I was looking for.
Stewart's Indicate is about fifteen miles south of Overton and the turn is clearly marked. On highway 167 merely past the turnoff is Bluish Point Spring, a landmark with a row of four large palm trees and a trailhead parking lot. There were two trash dumpsters here for park visitors to use, and none downwards the route at the camping area.
Stewart's Indicate Road starts off paved merely turns to hard-packed clay and gravel eight tenths of a mile in. It is ii.2 miles from the highway to the vault toilet that marks the entry to the camping area, and the road passes several homes in varying states of busted. The old lakeside customs appears to take been declining in parallel to the water level, which is currently over 175 feet below where it was twenty years ago.
I recommend parking nearly the entry and scouting alee on foot or bicycle. There are large open areas of blank gravel that don't have a well defined route, and in that location are many possible routes to get to the camp spots that are nearest to the water. There are tracks where the gravel gets very soft and deep, and y'all could become stuck if you are reckless with your route selection.
There were A-course busses and C-class motorhomes as well equally large fifth wheels all forth the former waterfront. People with smaller campers and some off-route capability could follow a rail down to the waterside, and I did see a guy haul a trailer down there. I chose a spot near the border where I could always accept the water in view, simply in that location are also countless spots farther abroad out in the bush.
Information technology was one of the well-nigh spectacular desert army camp spots I've ever stayed at. The colors of the mountains on the other side of the lake were constantly changing as the sun moved beyond the sky, and many evenings the h2o was mirror flat, reflecting the mountains and sky across the unabridged tableau.
I spent 2 weeks there, working on my Africa blog posts, hiking and angling. The closest cell tower is simply out of view due north at Overton Beach, but the signal came and went with atmospheric conditions. Tardily at night, I could download at 20 Mbps but midday it went to punch-up speeds. Then if you need reliable cell service for work, Stewart'due south Bespeak might non work for you.
I was there in late October, and it got noticeably busier on the weekends. If y'all were to come in on a Friday afternoon, your parking choices would be impacted. I always endeavour to move camp mid-calendar week to increase the options.
Information technology was pretty quiet every nighttime I was there. In that location were a few partiers with big bonfires, but they were far enough away to non be a problem. I'd picked a spot that put 100 yards between me and my neighbors, and then fifty-fifty the closest generator was unobtrusive.
I took a couple of 24-hour interval rides on the KTM to explore the expanse. Well-nigh 13 miles to the south, Echo Bay has a free dump station with freshwater, an RV park and a couple of paid campsites. At that place is a store that has some rudimentary supplies, and they have propane. But the mean solar day I stopped in on my way south, there was nobody on staff that could operate the propane station. There is also an abased hotel and eating house, another artifact of the depression water levels. The original gunkhole ramp was long ago abandoned, and the Feds are continually extending the newer one then that the lake tin can maintain some of its recreational purpose.
Ane 24-hour interval I was trying to cease a blog post later the cell betoken had gone away, so I rode into Overton to find service and finish the post. Information technology was harder than I expected. I stopped at Poverty Flats, which is within sight of town, merely I didn't take enough indicate to load the webpage. I ended upward in a restaurant parking lot in boondocks, using their WiFi. Overton has a decent grocery shop for supplies and the standard minor boondocks stores and restaurants, likewise as a museum.
A few miles north of Stewart'south Point, right near the park entry station, at that place's a turnoff to the abased town site of St. Thomas. A former Mormon settlement, information technology was flooded by the rise lake waters when Hoover Dam was completed in 1935. Since the water levels in the lake accept been steadily receding for 20 years, the site has been exposed for many years.
There is a walking trail effectually the town site with a serial of sign boards that cover some of the history and include some really great period photos. I spent effectually two hours exploring every bit I find ruins of whatsoever kind very interesting. There isn't much remaining, simply information technology is fun to imagine what life must take been like for those hardy pioneers.
While visiting St. Thomas, you tin expect to the southward and see a much more recent abandoned settlement. The Overton Embankment area was a popular marina and campground for a long time, but again, the drought has fabricated it useless for boaters and apparently for campers as well. The road to access it is permanently closed, leaving the marina buildings to rot.
I did a little fly fishing up and down the shore around my camp, with not much action. I caught a couple of smallmouth bass and ane catfish, and there were signs of striped bass chasing bait out in the middle of the lake, but never within casting range from the bank. In that location are too portions of the shore that consist of a very sharp mineral formation that reminded me of coral, and I lost a portion of a fly line to a sharp snag.
The stay limit is 15 days, but I did non meet any enforcement while I was there. All the aforementioned, there were no obvious long-termers abusing the privilege.
Stewart's Bespeak was my favorite stop of my 2022 snowbird flavour then far. I adjacent went closer to Vegas to the site known as Government Launder, which I'll cover in the adjacent mail service.
Source: https://travelingwithtools.com/2021/12/07/boondocking-at-lake-mead/
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