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| - I have taken the Black Canyon Adventures raft trip from Hoover Dam to Willow Beach twice. If you drive yourself to the Lake Mead area, the company's office is at the Lake Mead RV Village. This is inside the Lake Mead National Recreation area and there is a charge for entering unless you have a pass.
Check in went smoothly and we boarded two busses to be driven to the base of the dam. There's a short walk to the area where you walk over some rocks to get to the pontoon type raft. Once on board, the guide/boat driver will give you a short safety talk.
Soon you're on your way enjoying the magnificent views of Black Canyon. Questions are encouraged and being a local, I know the answers were correct.
The website says the trip is 3 hours. The day is longer than that. You are to arrive between 9:15 and 9:30. We left for the dam about 10 AM. We got back from Willow Beach after 2 PM so it's a full day adventure if you factor the travel times in.
We made two stops. The first was on a sandy area along the river where we had our lunch. The lunch is included in the price of the tour and consists of a turkey wrap, an apple, a bag of chops, and some cookies. This stop was about 1/2 hour in length. The second stop was for people who wanted to stretch their legs, have a cigarette, or take a bathroom break in the bushes.
The scenery is stunning and both times I've been on the tour, the guides have been very knowledgable.
On arrival at Willow Beach in Arizona, you have time for getting a drink at the store, perhaps a souvenir, and use the bathrooms. You then load the bus which takes you back to the Lake Mead RV Village where the cars are parked.
This is a great day trip and a way to see something away from the Strip.
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