Hoover Dam – Celebrate America250

The Hoover Dam – Celebrate America250 Tour was a half-day, small-group trip from the Las Vegas Strip built around the America250 patriotic installation: a 300-foot illuminated American flag draped across the face of Hoover Dam to mark the country's 250th anniversary. That display was a limited run that concluded on July 4, 2026, so the flag is no longer part of the experience — what remains is a standard Hoover Dam sightseeing outing with a BBQ lunch.

In a small van, guests are collected on the Strip and driven about 45 minutes southeast to Boulder City. The tour allows time on the top-of-dam walkway for views of the dam, Lake Mead and Black Canyon, a photo stop at the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, and lunch at Rick's Rollin Smoke BBQ next to the famous Pawn Stars shop (ribs, a brisket slider, smoked mac and cheese; vegetarian and gluten-free on request). It is an exterior and overlook visit and does not include the paid Bureau of Reclamation powerplant or dam-interior tour.

The honest catch: the illuminated-flag centerpiece that gave this tour its name is over, so the "America250" branding no longer matches what you'll see. It is also a long round-trip for fairly short time actually at the dam, the BBQ and Pawn Stars stop is touristy and mainly rewards fans of the show, and summer heat on the exposed walkways is punishing. As a general Hoover Dam-plus-lunch day it works fine, but anyone specifically chasing the flag has missed it, and a year-round Hoover Dam tour now delivers the same substance.