Summary
Current Protection
Wilderness Study Area
Management Agency
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Year Protected
Inventoried in 1974
Total Area
89,171 Acres (in Nevada)
The Gates of the Grand Canyon is comprised of adjacent Wilderness Proposals that lie on the extreme eastern side of Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The Nevada portion of the Gates of the Grand Canyon includes National Recreation Area Wilderness quality lands between Lake Mead itself and Gold Butte National Monument. The units are as follows:
Overton Wilderness- 24,040 acres
Twin Springs Wilderness- 10,610 acres
Scanlon Wash Wilderness- 22,095 acres
Hell’s Kitchen Wilderness- 8,545 acres
Hiller Mountains Wilderness- 14,620 acres
South Million Hills Wilderness (aka Indian Hills)- 9,261 acres
(See the Additional Resources Tab on the left side of this page for more information on the Gates of the Grand Canyon Wild Lands)
Friends of Nevada Wilderness has an ongoing active roll in stewardship of Gates of the Grand Canyon. Projects include environmental restoration, resource protection, trash clean-up, and spring monitoring.
Agency Information
Managing Agency: National Park Service
Local District: Alan Bible Visitor Center
Address: 151 Lakeshore Scenic Drive Las Vegas, NV89101
Phone: (702) 293-8990
The Gates of the Grand Canyon encompasses the traditional homelands of the Southern Paiute and Hualapai people who have been living on and with these lands for countless generations.
After more than three months of grueling toil and deprivation, John Wesley Powell and his fellow explorers piloted their boats through the Gates of the Grand Canyon on August 29th, 1869. When they reached the confluence of the Virgin River with the Colorado River later that day, Powell realized that their treacherous journey was finally complete. The Gates of the Grand Canyon offer today's visitors with the same features that Powell describe in the 19th century: a wide diversity of wild lands including spectacular formations, rugged, deeply dissected mountains, and sublime alluvial fans. These wild lands lie between the waters of Lake Mead and Gold Butte National Monument on the Nevada side of the Colorado River and provide the dramatic backdrop for water recreation on Lake Mead. The Gates of the Grand Canyon are characterized by a hot and arid climate where precipitation averages only 3-5 inches per year, and summer high temperatures average over 100 degrees F.