The second chapter of my Western US adventure was all about exploring the National Parks known as the “Grand Circle” or the “Three Great Canyons.” While you can take day tours from Las Vegas if you are short on time, renting a car and doing a proper road trip is infinitely better.
In this post, I’m sharing my road trip log starting from Las Vegas Airport, stopping by the massive Hoover Dam, and finally arriving in Springdale, the gateway village to Zion National Park.
Table of Contents
Las Vegas Airport & Picking Up the Rental Car
The major National Parks, including the Grand Canyon, are located across Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. The closest major metropolis to start this journey is, of course, Las Vegas.
I flew into Las Vegas after finishing my trip in Los Angeles. As soon as I stepped off the plane and saw slot machines right inside the terminal, it really hit me: I am definitely in Vegas.
For my California trip (Lake Tahoe, Yosemite), I rented an SUV. However, since the canyon loop requires driving through vast desert landscapes, I decided to rent a Tesla for a more comfortable driving experience.
It was my first time driving a Tesla, so I probably spent over 10 minutes just figuring out the features on the touch panel. However, the result was worth it. Autopilot was incredibly convenient—far more than I expected. If you are planning a long-distance road trip in the US, I highly recommend renting a Tesla.
While modern cars have great Adaptive Cruise Control, the detail and smoothness of Tesla’s Autopilot felt slightly superior.
Also, considering the distances covered on a road trip, fuel costs are a major factor. Electricity is generally cheaper than gas. There are plenty of Supercharger stations, and charging is fast, so I experienced no major inconveniences.
The Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam is famous enough that many people take day trips just to see it from Las Vegas. Depending on traffic, it takes about 40 minutes to an hour to get there.
The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam constructed between 1931 and 1935. It was pushed forward as part of the New Deal during the Great Depression to solve unemployment and control floods on the Colorado River. Originally known as Boulder Dam, it was renamed in 1947 to honor the 31st President, Herbert Hoover.
The scale is staggering: 221 meters (726 feet) high and 411 meters (1,244 feet) long. It used about 66 million tons of concrete. At the time of completion, it was the largest structure of its kind in the world, and it is still considered one of the greatest civil engineering achievements in American history.
Pro Tip for Parking
The dam sits right on the border of Nevada and Arizona.
- Nevada side: Parking costs $10.
- Arizona side: The outdoor lots across the dam are free.
If you don’t mind a little bit of walking, cross the dam and use the free parking on the Arizona side.
The dam created Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US by capacity. It plays a vital role in water supply, flood control, and hydroelectric power generation.
Inside the power plant, there are 17 generators producing about 4 billion kWh annually. It contributes significantly to the power supply for the Western region, including Nevada, Arizona, and California. The total capacity is 2,080 MW. To put that in perspective, that is comparable to the output of two standard nuclear reactor units—truly a massive capacity.
The Hoover Dam Official Website
Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
If you stand on the Hoover Dam and look toward the Colorado River, you will see a bridge spanning the canyon. Its official name is the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.
It was named to honor Mike O’Callaghan, a former Governor of Nevada, and Pat Tillman, an Arizona cardinals football player who left his sports career to enlist in the army and was killed in action in Afghanistan.
This bridge is famous for being an observation deck where you can capture the entire Hoover Dam in a single view. You can park in a separate lot and walk up to the bridge.
Since the bridge spans the Colorado River, it connects Nevada and Arizona. The parking lot is on the Nevada side, so you can spot the Nevada state marker there.
- Construction: Took 5 years (2005–2010).
- Length: 1,905 feet (580 meters).
- Height: 880 feet (268 meters) above the river—making it the second-highest bridge in the US.
- Cost: The project cost $240 million, funded through cooperation between the federal and state governments.
The center of the bridge is about a 500-meter walk from the parking lot. The panoramic view of the Hoover Dam from there is absolutely unreal.
It’s hard to grasp the scale from photos, but with the dam at 221m and the bridge at 268m, imagine looking down from a 60-story skyscraper. Even with 10x zoom on my camera, the people walking on the dam looked like ants.
You can also clearly see the “bathtub ring” around Lake Mead—the white band of rock that has been exposed due to severe droughts in recent years, showing how much the water level has dropped.
The bridge is extremely high, so it’s a bit scary, but it offers the only bird’s-eye view of the dam and the canyon. If you visit Hoover Dam, do not miss this walk.
Heading to Springdale
After exploring the dam and the bridge, we headed toward our base camp: Springdale, the town right at the entrance of Zion National Park.
We had to drive back toward Las Vegas slightly to get on the route to Utah. We made a pit stop in St. George to charge the Tesla and grab dinner. We stopped at Target to buy some supplies, which delayed us, so we just grabbed quick burgers for dinner.
Drive Times
- Las Vegas to St. George: ~2 hours
- St. George to Springdale: ~1 hour
Important Note on Time Zones
We arrived at our Zion Canyon accommodation late. Keep in mind there is a time difference between Nevada (Pacific Time) and Utah (Mountain Time). You lose one hour when driving from Vegas to Utah, so be sure to account for this when planning your check-in!
Our accommodation was the Zion Park Motel. It’s a classic American-style motel located within walking distance of the Zion Canyon entrance. The room was spacious and clean—I was very satisfied.
Summary
That wraps up the first leg of the Grand Circle road trip starting from Las Vegas. We drove on endless American highways and witnessed massive human-made heritage sites. I was particularly impressed by the Tesla experience; if you are planning a US road trip, definitely consider an EV rental.
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