Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Trying to assess the amount of crime that occurs across the National Park System seemingly is difficult at best because of inconsistent accounting and the spillover of crime from neighboring communities.

Three years ago, then-National Park Service Director Mary Bomar placed a freeze on most fees associated with visiting the national parks. Now, though, it appears that freeze might be thawing.

The continuing drop in lake levels has forced the closure of the Overton Beach visitor services facilities at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The road to the area is being gated to restrict vehicle access and facilities mothballed for what the park hopes is a temporary closure.

A 20-year-old man from Bullhead City, Arizona, who is suspected of vandalizing petroglyphs at Grapevine Canyon in Lake Mead National Recreation Area was cited by park rangers last week. He and a 13-year-old boy were reported to have been shooting paintballs in the area.

From large Burmese pythons in the Everglades to tiny Quagga mussels at Lake Mead, exotic animals are a growing problem in our national parks. A recent story from Australia demonstrates that the battle against exotics can sometimes employ some low-tech weapons, including cat food and ants.

Concessioner-operated facilities in the Echo Bay area at Lake Mead National Recreation Area will have a change in name and boat rental offerings as part of switch to new management. Forever Resorts has taken over operations under a three-year temporary contract.

How often do you cook a turkey dinner on a houseboat? The opportunity arrives this Thanksgiving, when a houseboat rental at Glen Canyon, Lake Mead, or Lake Amistad national recreation areas will also get you a turkey for the big day. Plus, the rental comes at 40 percent off.

Some of the least-known resources of the National Park System are the cultural and natural resources that lie below the waters within the boundaries of our park areas. While not as mainstream as activities such as camping and hiking, diving and snorkeling are increasingly popular ways to enjoy and be inspired by these resources.

For at least the second time this summer, gasoline fumes are believed to be the culprit in a serious boating incident in a park. Five people were injured in an explosion aboard a boat at Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Six tourists from London signed up for a helicopter tour over the Grand Canyon, but their flight took a frightening detour, and ended far short of their intended destination.

A total of 16 boaters are safe after two separate boating accidents at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and in at least one of the incidents, life jackets lived up to their name.

There's still at least a month of great summer weather to be enjoyed before any thoughts of fall or winter will sneak into your mind. And if you're looking for a national park getaway, here are some deals and packages being offered around the National Park System. Some expire right around Labor Day, some run later into the year.

So many coves, and so few staff. That's the problem at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, where they're looking for volunteers to help keep the lake's coves clean.

Officials at Lake Mead National Recreation Area are expecting plenty of visitors for the holiday weekend, and they're reminding them about new regulations that went into effect last March: glass and styrofoam containers are no longer welcome in the park.

Do you want to see a LOT of zeroes?

Koi herpes virus is what’s killing the carp at Lake Mohave. KHV can’t spread to people or other fish, thank goodness, but this new disease is very bad news for carp.

Lake Mohave is one of two large reservoirs at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Memorial Day weekend is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for the park, but this year's holiday has an unwelcome wrinkle for visitors to Lake Mohave: dead carp.

Those tiny mussels called Quaggas cause major problems in lakes and rivers, including those in national parks, and they're spreading across the country. If you think this won't affect you, better think again.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area is one of the most heavily-visited units in the National Park System, and its two lakes are a magnet for recreationists. Falling water levels are requiring some changes that will affect visitors to the area, but the current drought isn't the worst to impact the lake—yet.

Nobody was able to correctly identify the NPS units in that Marine Corps commercial we invited you to look at. It’s not as simple as it seems. Here’s the solution.

The legendary phoenix may have risen from its own ashes, but a campground and other visitor facilities will soon be rising from the mud of recurring flash floods at one location in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The mud has actually been dry for years, but there's good reason for caution in rebuilding at this location, and the project has an unusual twist or two.

A basic principle of national parks is that they're just that—national, rather than local sites—so a family from Houston has the same opportunity to enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains as one from Gatlinburg. Officially, there's no preferential treatment in national parks for local residents, but it's only human nature for some people who live near a park and use it on a regular basis to develop a sense of "ownership" of the area.

What do Hoover Dam, cold water and a rattlesnake have in common? They're all elements in a story that confirms the wisdom of a good rule for any outdoor trip: Let sleeping snakes lie.

One of the interesting aspects of a park ranger's job is the knowledge that every day brings the possibility of a new—and frequently unusual—experience. That was definitely the case for me one day at Willow Beach, Arizona, a popular fishing spot in Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

This short float trip on a desert river offers dramatic cliffs, wildlife and bird watching, and side canyons with hot springs. Its location in a heavily-visited Western park may surprise you.

October 13, 1936, marked the creation of Boulder Dam National Recreation Area and a brand-new category of management units for the National Park Service. The recreation area no longer exists by its original name, but its legacy continues in one of the most heavily-visited parks in the country. During their first 30 years the park and the dam underwent more name changes than the rock entertainer formerly known as….

More than 150,000 visitors enjoyed Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Labor Day weekend. Park officials planned carefully beforehand to handle the throng, which included about 150 Hells Angels bikers passing through on a poker run. Despite a severe thunderstorm and other complications, there were few serious incidents and only one fatality.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which celebrated its 61st birthday August 11, attracts almost 8 million visitors a year. Nearly all return home safely with fond memories of fun on or in the park’s two huge lakes. Accidents do happen, though, and nearly always because people violate commonsense safety rules.

During 2006, 11 homicides were investigated across the national park system. Two involved women who had been pushed off cliffs, one was a suicide, and one was the victim of a DUI accident.