I won't try to detail the trip getting out of Los Angeles. Those details are on my Escape from L.A. and Blythe trip pages, and anyway I went in the very early hours of a Sunday morning so I didn't need to worry about traffic and could avoid some of the summer heat.

Getting to Laughlin involves taking I-15 out into the desert to Barstow, then heading east on I-40 to Needles. You get a choice of 2 (two!) roads going the 30 miles north from Needles to Laughlin. One road is on the California/Nevada side of the Colorado River (where there's nothing at all), and the other one is on the Arizona side where all the businesses are.

Eventually you get to Laughlin Nevada, which is across the river from Bullhead City Arizona.

Laughlin was born in 1969 when Don Laughlin bought a fishing dock and old motel on the Nevada side of the river. He built up a hotel and then everybody else wanted in on the action.

Here is Don Laughlin's hotel today, the original Riverside Resort. It's at the north end of town.

Laughlin is on the Colorado River, a couple of miles below Davis Dam which forms Lake Mohave.

The river is full of fish! Striped bass up to 50 pounds, trout and catfish can be found in these waters.

The river attracts lots of people with boats and jetskis.

The Colorado Belle. They also own the Edgewater next door. This hotel looks like a gigantic riverboat. Their decor tries to be like "Mississippi Delta" style, but they seem to be missing the point. This river has its own personality, and it's definitely not like the Old Man River. Although, there were steamboats on this river once.
The Edgewater takes the prize for the very worst buffet in Laughlin, brought to you by the same people who created the Circus Circus buffet.

The Regency Casino. It's one of the last remaining small casinos in Laughlin, almost literally getting squeezed out.

The Flamingo Hilton. This is a real classy place, and I've tried their buffet and it's pretty good. I think Harrah's buffet is better, though, but the one here is within walking distance of all of the other hotels.

Ramada Express. They aren't on the river like the other hotels, but they have a neat train ride to take you back and forth from the hotel to the parking lots.

Harrah's Laughlin (formerly known as Harrah's Del Rio, but I guess they had to change the name after they bought the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas so that people wouldn't confuse them). They are at the south end of town, and you can't easily walk to any of the others from there. You can take a water taxi boat, regular taxi, or drive. If you decide to take a walk to the other places you're in for a real hike. But they do have the best buffet in town.

This is along the Riverwalk, which starts at the Riverside and goes down to the Pioneer. Maybe it goes farther, but I lost track of it. Each property seemed to have reluctantly put in their piece of it, knowing it facilitated people moving along to other casinos instead of being trapped in their place (like Harrah's has done). But it's a very scenic walk. It beats walking along Casino Drive, because the rest of Laughlin is literally one big hot parking lot.

The big casinos used to have their parking on the Arizona side, and you could ride free ferryboats to the Nevada side. The only one still doing this is the Riverside. There is a water taxi boat (very reasonable price) to take you anywhere from Harrah's up to the Riverside and all points in between.

London Bridge

Lake Havasu City is a town on the eastern shore of Lake Havasu, which is formed by Parker Dam on the Colorado River. It's about 30 miles or so south of Needles CA.

In 1968, businessman Robert McCulloch (of McCulloch Oil, etc) pulled off a real stunt by buying London Bridge. It was carefully and systematically dismantled, brought to the Arizona desert, and reassembled by 1971.

This thing is just one big tourist trap. They charge for parking and, in my opinion, it's just not worth it. Park in the "large vehicles and RVs" parking area. It's free (or it was when I was there), and you just walk a little bit further. (Trust me, you won't need to stay all that long.)
You go through the "Gates of London" into the tourist fleecing zone with the bridge itself just ahead. The place is not much different from other fake Londons like the one at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. You will pay dearly for food and refreshments here.

Other web sites about London Bridge: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Parker Dam: 1 2 3

How to Escape from L.A.
Las Vegas
Blythe
Yuma

Back to the Roadtrips Page.
Page created July 26, 2000
Last updated July 26, 2000