Published June 13. 2022, for State 48 A2Z
The area now known as Lake Havasu was created following the construction of the Parker Dam which was completed in 1938 and borders Arizona on its eastern shores and California on its western. The land on the Arizona side was used extensively by the US Army Air Force during World War II, but it wasn’t until Robert McCulloch, owner of McCulloch Motors, was flying over the area in 1963 in search of a new location to test his company’s outboard motors that the thought of creating a lakeside city on the Arizona shores of Lake Havasu came to be.
Even though the Parker Dam was completed in 1938, it took until 1942 for the full reservoir to be filled (211 billion gallons of water), thus creating 450-miles of beautiful shoreline in the middle of the southwest desert. Lake Havasu has a maximum depth of 90-feet.
When the United States entered World War II in 1942, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) established numerous airfields throughout the country for training pilots and aircrews. In Mohave County (where Lake Havasu City is located), seven emergency airfield sites were built along the Colorado River with the Site Six base placed on what was then a peninsula on the shores of Lake Havasu. The Army also used Site Six, for a couple of years, as a place for military personnel to get some needed rest and relaxation. However, it wasn’t until 1963 that anyone recognized the area’s real estate potential.
Following the end of World War II, the US Army closed the Site Six airbase in November 1946 with plans to expand facilities and eventually reopen it. Those plans were quickly thwarted when the military found that the land, they had been using on the shores of the newly formed reservoir, was privately owned by Corrine and Victor Spratt of Needles, California, and not state-owned land as they originally believed.
It seems that the Pratts were made aware of the military’s unauthorized use of their land but, since it was during WWII and the land was needed for “the war effort”, they didn’t push the issue with the government.
However, following WII, the Pratts were ready to retire and were looking to build a home on their land in Arizona, and the Army was forced to surrender the land and buildings back to the Pratts. The Pratts would then convert the existing military buildings into living quarters, a grocery store, a restaurant, and a bar, to open their Fly-In Fishing Resort, which quickly became well known throughout the state of Arizona. People were able to rent a boat and stay in the barracks for $2 a night. The resort operated from 1950 until 1958.
Sometime around 1958, along comes American business mogul Robert McCulloch, who was flying over the area when he spotted what he felt would be a perfect place to test his outboard motors. McCulloch would convince the Spratts to sell almost all their land on the peninsula and Lake Havasu City came into existence on September 30, 1963. But, in the early 1960s, there was only one road into the city, which was unimproved and difficult to travel. It was this obstacle that forced McCulloch to look at other means to bring visitors into his newly created city.
In 1964, McCulloch would pave the dirt runways left by the USAAF to allow for larger aircraft and fly-in traffic. He would also purchase an additional 13,000 acres of federal land in the surrounding area for future development. Over the next 14-years, more than 2,700 flights brought roughly 137,000 visitors and potential land buyers to this new desert oasis. In 1978, the last parcel of available land was sold, and Lake Havasu City was incorporated later that same year. By 1981, Lake Havasu City boasted a population of 17,000, and today, the city is home to more than 57,000 residents and hosts roughly 850,000 visitors a year.
Lake Havasu City’s biggest claim to fame has been the relocation of the London Bridge from its home over the Thames River in London to the fast-growing desert riverfront town. The bridge itself was purchased with McCulloch’s $2.5 million winning bid to purchase the iconic British landmark in 1968.
The old London Bridge was deemed unusable, and a new bridge was built above the obsolete bridge, which was deconstructed and prepped for shipping following the completion of the new bridge. The old bridge pieces were then shipped across the Atlantic Ocean and then transported by truck across the country to its new home. Construction of the bridge in its new locale took an additional three years and $7M to complete. (State 48 A2Z will be publishing a separate, more detailed article on the London Bridge in the coming weeks)
The bridge in Lake Havasu was first constructed as a conventional steel structure with the granite stones from the London Bridge then placed over the steel structure to retain its original, old-world look. Remember, at the time there was no island, so the bridge was constructed over dry land, which must have looked pretty silly at the time. The Bridgewater Channel (locally referred to as The Channel) was then created following the bridge’s construction, to flow under the London Bridge while connecting the northern section of Lake Havasu with Thompson Bay on the southern end and creating an island upon completion. The newly reconstructed bridge was dedicated on October 10. 1971 and has been drawing visitors from around the world to this beautiful city ever since.
Today, Lake Havasu City offers visitors and residents alike an amazingly beautiful place to boat, kayak, paddleboard, fish, swim, or just hang out and relax in a very serene setting. Take a stroll through English Village where you can rent boats and kayaks, walk along the Channel, shop a variety of local shops, and enjoy some great cuisine at the many eateries housed there.
Another fun thing to do while visiting Lake Havasu is visiting some of the 27 replica lighthouses that line the shore of the lake and river on both the Arizona and California sides. These are all scaled-down replicas of original lighthouses from around the country, with one even being a replica from New Brunswick, Canada. (State 48 A2Z will be publishing a separate, more detailed article on the Lake Havasu Lighthouses in the coming weeks)
The city also has several local and state parks in and around the area for your enjoyment including Rotary Community Park, Lake Havasu State Park, Cattail Cove State Park, and London Bridge Beach. Other things to do include visiting the downtown district, Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge, London Bridge, Parker Dam, or maybe enjoy a cruise with one of the many services that offer rides on the Channel and lake.
We used Cruisin Tikis Havasu and scheduled ourselves online for their Five O’clock Somewhere cruise. What a fun 90-minutes of cruising the Channel and checking out the sights from a different angle. Captain Dan was our tour guide and was a lot of fun to hang out with. He also had some great knowledge of the area and its history. I did not use any of the other cruise providers but can say that, based on my personal experience, I would highly recommend Cruisin Tikis Havasu (no payment was received for this endorsement). This cruise is on a small pontoon that looks like a tiki bar and seats a maximum of six people in addition to the captain.
During our visit, we stayed on the Island at Arizona’s only beachfront resort, The Nautical Beachfront Resort. This resort has great amenities that included loads of beach space, two beachside bars, boat rentals, a restaurant, a heated infinity-edge pool, a kid’s zone water park (seasonal), bike rentals, and courtesy docks for those who brought their own boat with them.
I know that I talk a lot about places that should be on your bucket list and Lake Havasu was on mine for a while. However, if you have never been, I highly recommend you get there at least once. It is such a beautiful backdrop for almost any outdoor and water-based activities you enjoy.
That’ll wrap things up for this week. As always, thanks for reading, stay safe, and happy travels. Be sure to like and follow us on social media (links below), share our blog posts, and feel free to give us your feedback. And, if you go somewhere in Arizona that you think others should know about, please let us know so we can add it to our travel list. We’d love to hear from you. Peace!
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