Hoover Dam From the Bridge, Then Into a Gold Mine
A private day out of Las Vegas: Hoover Dam from the bridge walkway, Nelson's relics, then a guided walk into the Techatticup Mine.
The Techatticup Mine sits in Eldorado Canyon, about forty-five minutes from the Strip by the mine's own count. This booking gives one group its own vehicle and a driver who guides, starting with a pickup at your hotel on the Strip. The day covers three stops: Hoover Dam from the highway bridge, the relic yard at Nelson, and a guided walk into the mine.
The listing marks the tour private, and the operator caps a group at thirteen. Water is unlimited on board. Lunch and tips are not included.
Pricing is per person and drops as the group grows. As of October 16, 2026, the booking calendar listed USD 449 for one traveler, USD 279 each for two, USD 249 each for three, USD 229 each for four, USD 199 each for five to seven, and USD 179 each for eight to thirteen. Everyone aged two and up books at the adult rate.
The listing allows five to ten hours for the day. Two reviewers on the same three stops put theirs at five hours and six.
Private Tour Ghost Town Gold Mine Tour with Hoover Dam Photo StopiTravel USA · private, up to 13 travelers · Strip hotel pickup · Hoover Dam stop, Nelson and the Techatticup Mine · five to ten hourswww.viator.comInside the Techatticup, Where the Quartz Veins Ran
Gold and silver brought the first camps to Eldorado Canyon, and the Techatticup was among the earliest mines there. The company that runs tours inside dates it to 1861 and calls it the oldest and richest gold mine in Southern Nevada. It is a hard rock mine, and the walk takes you to the quartz veins that carried the gold and silver.
The mine's own site puts the walk at about a quarter mile, on gravel and on a single level, and the tour at about an hour and twenty minutes; the listing allows seventy-five minutes for the stop. Inside, the mine describes the air as breezy and cool, especially in winter. A light layer helps.
Mine entry is included. The mine runs tours at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM, and its site says a tour goes ahead when four or more adults hold a reservation. When you call to confirm, ask which slot your group is on.
Nelson, Where Film Crews Left a Plane Behind
Through the late 1800s the canyon had a reputation for lawlessness. Union and Confederate deserters drifted in, counting on the distance to keep the army away. The listing says Nelson later sat idle for about fifty years before its buildings were restored to resemble the old mining camp.
What stands now is weathered timber, rusted cars and trucks, old fuel pumps and signs, and props left behind by film crews, a crashed airplane among them. It is not a rebuilt Western street with a saloon, bank and hotel. A September 2025 review called the tour's name misleading on exactly that point, and the operator's reply described the site as a historic mining camp that shows relics, antiques and artifacts. Come for the textures and the photographs.
Thirty Minutes on the Bridge Across Black Canyon
The listing makes Hoover Dam a photo stop of about thirty minutes and puts you on the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which carries the highway across Black Canyon just downstream of the dam. From the walkway you look up the canyon at the dam wall, the power plant at its foot and Lake Mead behind.
Plan on views of the dam, not a tour inside it. A January 2025 review notes that the day did not go inside the dam, and that the group missed a view of the downstream side. If the dam is closed, the listing swaps in a park known for its bighorn sheep; reviewers place it in Boulder City, and in 2020 the operator also added a Lake Mead overlook on a closure day.
A Call the Day Before Holds Your Pickup
The listing gives no fixed departure time. The operator asks every booking to call 702-802-9787 at least a day ahead, and its own site says reservations without confirmed pickup details are wait-listed. The reservations line is staffed 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Pacific, every day.
Check your date against the mine. Its site lists it closed on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve from noon and Christmas Day. As of October 16, 2026, the booking calendar still showed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as open. Book around those dates.
Older reviews also describe a Red Rock Canyon sunset at the end of the day. The current itinerary lists three stops, and Red Rock is not among them.
🚐 Pickup and drop-off are free at any hotel on the Strip. The pin on this page marks the mine in Eldorado Canyon, not a meeting point. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund. Tips for your guide are extra, and lunch is on you; one reviewer's guide suggested a lunch stop along the way. Bring sunscreen and a hat for the open-air stops, and a charged phone for the bridge, where the canyon drops away under the walkway.