Echo Bay Marina at Lake Mead in southern Nevada was shut down by the National Park Service in 2013. Now, only a few years later, nature is reclaiming this abandoned Nevada spot, and it’s scheduled to be demolished in 2022/2023.

The marina was closed after it went to bid and no business was interested in operating it, in part because of Lake Mead’s rapidly falling water levels, the NPS said in a statement issued at the time of closure. The water level of the man-made reservoir – created during the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s – has since fallen to an all-time low thanks to years of severe drought and very little rain. A white “bathtub ring” of mineral deposits surrounding it provides a visual reminder of how much the water has fallen… and where it once was.

This was Echo Bay Marina just a month prior to closure:

Flickr / Lake Mead NRA Public Affairs Echo Bay Marina was located in the Overton Arm of Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoir in the United States. In its heyday, the marina operated services including a 365-slip marina, fuel dock, small boat rental, retail, land-based fuel, dry boat storage, small boat repair, restaurant, and motel.

This was Echo Bay Marina as of July 2016:

YouTube / Terje Riisnaes A glimpse at Echo Bay Marina totally overgrown with desert plants and weeds brings to mind a Nevada ghost town. It’s crazy to think that just three years ago, Echo Bay Marina was filled with people and boats, a bustling place teeming with activity. Now the closest place to gas up is 30 miles away at Calville Bay, and people rarely stop here. It is a hollow shell of what it once was, and it offers an eerie perspective into our future should the droughts continue to worsen.

Flickr / Lake Mead NRA Public Affairs

Echo Bay Marina was located in the Overton Arm of Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoir in the United States. In its heyday, the marina operated services including a 365-slip marina, fuel dock, small boat rental, retail, land-based fuel, dry boat storage, small boat repair, restaurant, and motel.

YouTube / Terje Riisnaes

A glimpse at Echo Bay Marina totally overgrown with desert plants and weeds brings to mind a Nevada ghost town. It’s crazy to think that just three years ago, Echo Bay Marina was filled with people and boats, a bustling place teeming with activity. Now the closest place to gas up is 30 miles away at Calville Bay, and people rarely stop here. It is a hollow shell of what it once was, and it offers an eerie perspective into our future should the droughts continue to worsen.

The above video by YouTuber Terje Riisnaes shows what this fascinating old place looked like as of July 2016. Lake Mead remains a popular recreational attraction in southern Nevada despite the falling water levels. Tons of people flock here year-round to go boating, swimming, fishing, and hiking, and we can’t blame them: the lake is beautiful, even if its current water levels are a little depressing.

If you can’t get enough of Nevada’s eeriest abandoned places, be sure to also check out gems like this awesome abandoned places in Nevada road trip.

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The OIYS Visitor Center

Echo Bay Hotel December 24, 2022 Tori Jane

What happened to Echo Bay Hotel?  

Echo Bay Hotel (actually formally known as Echo Bay Motel) was a small resort on Lake Mead that closed its doors in 2010 thanks to a rapidly receding water level greatly affecting tourism. As Lake Mead disappeared, so too did the recreation on the lake – as well as the infrastructure that once thrived there.   2. Is Echo Bay Marina on Lake Mead still accessible?   It is not. In the fall of 2022, demolition began on Echo Bay Motel, the Marina, and many other buildings now abandoned that are considered a blight on the landscape (and at risk of collapse). The project is planned to conclude in the summer of 2023. 3. What are some other interesting abandoned places in Nevada?   Of course, Echo Bay Motel is far from the only interesting abandoned place in Nevada. Other excellent abandoned places in Nevada worthy of research include:  

Pine Grove   St. Thomas (ironically, the town in which Echo Bay existed)   

The Micca House   Great Basin Adventure  

The OIYS Visitor Center

Echo Bay Hotel

December 24, 2022

Tori Jane

What happened to Echo Bay Hotel?  

Echo Bay Hotel (actually formally known as Echo Bay Motel) was a small resort on Lake Mead that closed its doors in 2010 thanks to a rapidly receding water level greatly affecting tourism. As Lake Mead disappeared, so too did the recreation on the lake – as well as the infrastructure that once thrived there.   2. Is Echo Bay Marina on Lake Mead still accessible?   It is not. In the fall of 2022, demolition began on Echo Bay Motel, the Marina, and many other buildings now abandoned that are considered a blight on the landscape (and at risk of collapse). The project is planned to conclude in the summer of 2023. 3. What are some other interesting abandoned places in Nevada?   Of course, Echo Bay Motel is far from the only interesting abandoned place in Nevada. Other excellent abandoned places in Nevada worthy of research include:  

Pine Grove   St. Thomas (ironically, the town in which Echo Bay existed)   

The Micca House   Great Basin Adventure  

The OIYS Visitor Center

The OIYS Visitor Center

Echo Bay Hotel (actually formally known as Echo Bay Motel) was a small resort on Lake Mead that closed its doors in 2010 thanks to a rapidly receding water level greatly affecting tourism. As Lake Mead disappeared, so too did the recreation on the lake – as well as the infrastructure that once thrived there.  

  1. Is Echo Bay Marina on Lake Mead still accessible?  

It is not. In the fall of 2022, demolition began on Echo Bay Motel, the Marina, and many other buildings now abandoned that are considered a blight on the landscape (and at risk of collapse). The project is planned to conclude in the summer of 2023.

  1. What are some other interesting abandoned places in Nevada?  

Of course, Echo Bay Motel is far from the only interesting abandoned place in Nevada. Other excellent abandoned places in Nevada worthy of research include:  

  • Pine Grove

  • St. Thomas (ironically, the town in which Echo Bay existed)

  • The Micca House

  • Great Basin Adventure