Planning to visit Hoover Dam? Check this out first

Even though a team of researchers from Jackpot City Casino, an online free-play social gambling site, has deemed Hoover Dam the fourth-most overrated tourist attraction in the country, 7 million people visit the 726-foot engineering marvel on the Colorado River at the Nevada-Arizona border each year.

Judgments and rankings were made based on the number of negative keywords found in TripAdvisor visitor reviews. Researchers said 6.84 percent of the reviews had negative words and phrases like “overrated,” “overpriced,” “boring,” “avoid,” “disappointing,” “expensive,” “underwhelming,” “tourist trap” and “stressful” in them.

The people at Hoover Dam probably shouldn’t be too worried about the ranking — the same researchers said the esteemed Smithsonian Museums in Washington were the nation’s most overrated attraction.

Hoover Dam visitation was in the news recently when a toll plaza gate was built just beyond the Hoover Dam security checkpoint, but Bureau of Reclamation officials said there are no plans to start charging admission to the dam.

If you should go to Hoover Dam — a 45-minute drive from Las Vegas — here are some tips and pointers:

-The dam is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Guided dam tours ($30) and guided power plant tours ($15) are offered with the last tour leaving at 3:45 p.m.

-Power plant tour tickets can be purchased online and the tour is wheelchair and stroller accessible. The tour includes a walk through original construction tunnels and views of the eight commercial generators in the Nevada Powerhouse and from a viewing platform of a 30-foot diameter penstock pipe. The dam tour can only be purchased onsite and forbids strollers and mobile scooters. The tour includes everything from the power plant tour and a view of the Colorado River through an inspection ventilation shaft.

-Motorists can cross the dam but are cautioned to be wary of pedestrians. Arizona roads are not accessible from the dam. A parking garage on the Nevada side and surface parking for high-profile vehicles on the Arizona side cost $10. Upper lots on the Arizona side are free.

-Semitrucks are prohibited from the dam. Also not permitted: fireworks, explosives, weapons of any kind (including knives), marijuana and flying drones.

-A security checkpoint is located about a mile from the dam. Motorists who refuse a vehicle search won’t be admitted.

-A free parking lot with access to the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge with views of the dam is just past the security checkpoint. A paved path on a steep trail leads to the bridge. Pedestrians are cautioned that summer temperatures are high, wind is possible on the bridge and there’s no water on the trail.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.