Description

Boulder City Veterans Memorial Park is a typical urban park with ball fields, picnic areas, a splash park, a fenced dog area, restrooms, and other urban park amenities. Here, however, the city leaders also included two fishing ponds and desert trails.

The ponds provide habitat primarily for waterfowl, but other water and wetlands species show up, and the desert trails wander among habitat preferred by roadrunners, desert sparrows, round-tailed ground squirrels, and desert iguanas.

This park is a nice place to stop for a few minutes during winter and look for unusual duck species, or if you have kids, a place to feed the birds. Fishing is permitted in the stocked upper pond.

Link to a map or google maps.

Location

Boulder City Veterans Memorial Park is located southeast of Las Vegas in Boulder City. The easiest way to get there from downtown Las Vegas is to drive south on Highway 93 to Boulder City. At the first stoplight on the west edge of town (Site 1427), turn right onto Veterans Memorial Drive. Drive south and east, past the airport, to the south entrance to the park (Site 1428). Turn left into the park and drive north, staying left, to the ponds, which are at the north end of the park.

Alternatively, from Highway 93, drive into downtown Boulder City. When Highway 93 turns left at a stoplight (Site 0802), turn right onto Buchanan Blvd. Drive south to the east entrance to the park (Site 1429), on the right. Inside the park, stay to the right to the ponds.

Hours

Open during daylight hours.

Fees

None.

Specialties

During winter, the ponds are a good place to view and compare a variety of duck species including Redhead, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, and American Wigeon. People bring bread to feed the birds, and the wild ducks become habituated to humans and can be viewed close-up.

The ponds can also be good for viewing Pied-billed Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, American Coots, and gulls at close range. Bird species such as Brewer's Blackbirds, Red-winged, Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Great-trailed Grackle, House Sparrows, Eurasian Collared Dove, and Rock Pigeon can be expected. Be sure to notice the red-eared slider turtles. In the desert areas, watch for Greater Roadrunner, Black-throated Sparrows, and Common Raven.