Description

This is a place to seek refuge from the desert heat while sitting beneath California Fan Palms, taking a dip in the warm water, having a picnic lunch, and watching a few birds and other wildlife. This isn't a birding destination; but it is one of several good places to stop and watch a few birds along the north side of Lake Mead. The palms and some other trees were cut down by the Park Service in an effort to restore the area to a more "natural" condition, but as of January 2010, they are still growing back.

Water flows from a cave in the hillside into a 50-ft wide circular pool that is fairly shallow and mostly surrounded by Southern Cattails, Saltcedar, California Fan Palms, and shrubs. The water is held behind a low earthen dam, but it overflows the dam and runs down a shrub-, vine-, and palm-lined (including Date Palms) creek and out into the desert. Green riparian vegetation, including Canyon Grape, in this sparsely vegetated section of the Mojave Desert attracts desert species year-round and migrants during spring and fall.

Covered picnic tables and pit toilets are available, but there is no drinking water. Food, drinks, and a few other services, but not gasoline, are available at the nearby Echo Bay. If you swim in the pool, keep the water out of your nose because a pathogenic amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, may be present (as it is in most warm waters and backyard hot tubs around the USA).

Location

Rogers Spring is located on the north side of Lake Mead near Echo Bay, about 1 hour east of Las Vegas.

From downtown, drive out Lake Mead Blvd to Lake Mead National Recreation Area. At the T-intersection with Northshore Road (Table 1, Site 653), turn left onto Northshore Road and drive east for about 45 minutes to Rogers Spring Road. Turn left onto Rogers Spring Road and drive towards the hills for the short distance to the end of the road. The parking area overlooks the picnic tables and the spring pool (Site 538).

Hours

Sunrise to sunset; this is a day-use area.

Fees

It costs $5 per vehicle to enter the Recreation Area (annual passes accepted); after that, there are no extra fees for using the spring area.

Specialties

This is a good place to check the trees and shrubs for desert residents and to look for migrants during spring and fall. Also watch for Spiny Softshell Turtles and Red-eared Slider Turtles. The softshells might be native, but the red-ears are not. This spring has also been polluted with tropical aquarium fish. Please don't put exotic species in desert spring pools, they damage the ecosystem and kill native species.