Skip The Crowds Of Lake Mead For This Nearby Breathtaking Desert Lake

Just a just a few miles downstream from Lake Mead along the Colorado River, you'll find pristine Lake Mohave. Or rather, you may not find it, as Lake Mohave is shockingly remote, given that it's only an hour from the Las Vegas Strip. The few paved roads lead down to just three marinas and campgrounds on the mostly unspoiled shores of this 67-mile-long pool of royal blue velvet water surrounded by dusty, desert canyons along the Nevada-Arizona border. Formed in 1951 by Davis Dam just above Laughlin, Nevada, the lake was created to help regulate flow from the Hoover Dam. Recreation here has definitely been more of an afterthought than it has on the shores of its big sister, or at bustling Lake Havasu farther south. 

But that can be a bonus for solitude-seekers, as Lake Mohave's shores are largely wild and untouched. For the intrepid, a number of long, bumpy dirt roads lead to ravishing spots where boondockers in RVs set up for days or even weeks at a time, living a bit like castaways on a desert island. You'll want to treat this remote area like the wilderness it truly is, however, and swim, boat, and board with care, as Lake Mohave is part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which is the most dangerous national park in the U.S., mainly due to drownings. Life jackets are a must in these waters.

If you rent a houseboat at Cottonwood Cove Marina, on the Nevada side of the lake just an hour from Las Vegas, you'll have your pick of secluded anchorages to call your own. Or, you can book a room at the small motel and get a package deal on a WaveRunner if you'd rather speed over the water than sleep on it.

At the opposite end of the lake, on the Arizona side near Bullhead City, Katherine Landing offers many of the same services — minus the behemoth houseboats — with an emphasis on more agile small craft for fishing and water sports like wakeboarding and waterskiing. You and your crew can stay just below Davis Dam in budget-friendly Laughlin and rent a friend-group-sized pontoon boat for a lazy float day in the sun.

At its northernmost reaches, the lake becomes too narrow for big boats, and this is where you can kayak into your own private wilderness to camp, fish, and swim. Willow Beach on the Arizona side at the lake's northernmost tip is the third spot with road access, and is a gateway to both the lake below and the Colorado River above. It's a good place to rent or launch a kayak or canoe.

Adventurous car campers can find one of the best secret sites in the southwest at Telephone Cove (pictured) on the Nevada side (there's another Telephone Cove on the Arizona side that's just as inviting for day-use only). After driving several miles down a wide, steep dirt road, you'll come to a perfect horseshoe cove. The shore is lined with mature trees perfectly spaced to provide each camper shade and a little elbow room. You can park steps from the water, and stay for up to 14 days, gratis — a nice break from a Route 66 road trip, which passes right by here. 

Pit toilets and dumpsters help keep everything civilized, but don't forget all your supplies, because it's a long drive back to the closest store. If this place doesn't get you excited about the camping style that vanlifers call "wild camping" and RVers call "boondocking," then nothing will. Cell service? Maybe, if you stand on your tippy-toes exactly six paces from that tree. Or maybe not. Six Mile Cove is another even more remote spot to get off the grid.

Here the open terrain means that hiking can become a trail-free, choose-your-own-adventure proposition, and gaining just a few feet of altitude can yield arresting views of the graceful lapis lazuli shoreline curving around the rock formations — you'll want to keep scrambling just a bit higher to see more and more. Remember to bring hydration — you may be surrounded by water, but it's still the desert, after all.