Lake Mead Photos

The reason to drive out here is the four months of the year when Red Rock cannot help you. Its Scenic Drive closes at five from November through February, which is before sunset, so the best hour of the day sits behind a gate for a third of the year. Lake Mead has no posted closing time and no timed-entry reservation. The other thing worth knowing is that the water has pulled a long way back from where the maps still show it, so the lake reads as a far-off blue line rather than something you stand beside. What holds up in the frame is the rock — the red sandstone at Redstone, about an hour out on Northshore Road, where a half-mile loop of level sand circles outcrops the same color as Red Rock with almost none of the traffic.

Entry is $25 per vehicle and the park is cashless, card only. No photography permit is needed for a group of eight or fewer using hand-carried equipment, and drones are prohibited throughout.