Boating on Lake Mead — with the water levels down so low, are there still options for boating on Lake Mead and if so, what are they? Are there sightseeing “cruises” like on Lake Tahoe? Also, boat rentals? And, has this changed with the current drought situation?
Yes, there are plenty of boating options out at the lake, even with the level so low.
Lake Mead Cruises is running its Hoover Dam Sightseeing Cruise four days a week (Wednesdays and Fridays through Sundays), leaving from Lake Mead Marina at 12 noon. The tour is 90 minutes and costs $35 adult/$17 children. Dinner cruises are limited to Fridays and Saturdays; the two-hour excursion departs at 5:30 p.m. and costs $70 adult/$39 children.
The tours are on Desert Princess, a three-level paddlewheeler certified for 275 passengers and 10 crewmembers and equipped with two climate-controlled enclosed decks and an open promenade deck. Princess disembarks from Lake Mead Cruise Landing at Hemenway Harbor.
And yes, the tour is a lot like the sternwheeler cruise on the MS Dixie II at Lake Tahoe.
You can also rent boats, everything from such personal watercraft as 17-foot fishing, ski, deck, and patio pontoon boats to 75-foot XTreme houseboats. Callville Bay has a full-service marina and the Callville Bay website lists the boat rentals and details.
The continuing low water level of Lake Mead is seriously impacting the downriver water-supply situation. But there's still plenty of water in the lake to float your boat.