Encompasing 1.5 million acres, Lake Mead National Recreation Area is twice the size of Rhode Island. Its huge lakes cater to water lovers and sunbathers alike, while its desert rewards hikers, wildlife photographers, and roadside sightseers. But the most popular attraction of the recreation area is Lake Mead, impounded behind Hoover Dam near Boulder City in southern Nevada.

As America's largest man-made reservoir, Lake Mead backs up 110 miles behind Hoover Dam and can store nearly 2 years of average Colorado River flow, or about 28.5 million acre-feet of water.

While its surroundings may not look like much, three of America's four desert ecosystems -- the Mojave, the Great Basin and the Sonoran Deserts -- meet in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Surprisingly, the area is home to a variety of plants and animals, some of which may be found nowhere else in the world.

Climate: In the wintertime, temperatures range from 30 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit with some wind. Spring and fall are the most pleasurable seasons when the days are warm and the evenings are cool. Summer brings hot temperatures that average above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and fall at night to the low 80s.