Not to be confused with the Mohave Valley in which it sits, the Township of Mohave Valley is a friendly community of about 7,000 residents, built beside the Colorado River between Fort Mohave to the north and Needles to the south.
Thanks to the low desert’s year round sunshine and low humidity, life in Mohave Valley is mostly lived outdoors. The cold waters of the Colorado are refreshing year round. Residents enjoy boating and fishing, swimming, kayaking, water skiing, diving and more.
There are at least four extensive wilderness areas within 20 miles of Mohave Valley; these include three lakes and feature an exciting range of indigenous flowers, plants, and animals. One of them, the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, has a fantastic resort with sailing, fishing swimming and boating.
Great local schools and affordable housing only add to the appeal of Mohave Valley as a place to live, and its proximity to economic centers like Bullhead City and Needles means that employment is plentiful.
Location
Mohave Valley is directly south of Fort Mohave and Bullhead City in northwestern Arizona’s Mohave County. The community has the Colorado River on its western border.
Mohave Valley is about 20 miles south of Bullhead City and 100 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Needles is about 9 miles south of Mohave Valley and Lake Havasu City is about 40 miles south.
Geography
Like neighboring Fort Mohave, Mohave Valley sits alongside the Colorado River in the low desert, enjoying year round sunshine, low humidity, and very little yearly rainfall. While the terrain is fairly flat along the river valley, the land on the easternmost part of town climbs into the foothills of the beautiful Black Mountains.
About 35 miles south of Mohave Valley sits the beautiful Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, a large swampland and lake, and about 25 miles north is the Lake Mead National Recreation area and beautiful Lake Mohave for swimming and water sports.
Housing
Thanks to a stably growing local economy based largely on tourism and the high degree of space available for development, the Mohave Valley region is currently experiencing a bit of a building boom. A range of new sub-divisions have recently been built and more are to come.
One of the new sub-divisions is at the El Rio Country Club, which has single family homes built around a beautifully landscaped 18-hole championship course. El Rio residents enjoy superb mountain views quiet desert nights.
Recreation
Ample recreational facilities and plenty of nice spots by the Colorado River make Mohave Valley special. Golfing is extremely popular in this outdoor orientated town and its own El Rio course is one of the best in the wider region. An 18-hole par 72 championship course, the El Rio has some of the best finishing holes in Arizona (holes 16-18). Only a short distance away, Needles Municipal Golf course is another championship level course with water hazards, natural sand traps, large trees and plush greens.
The clean waters of the Colorado River are a popular place to cool off and locals enjoy swimming, boating, fishing, water skiing, and kayaking there.
One of the best things about life in the Mohave Valley region is your proximity to the desert. You don’t have to go too far before finding a breathtaking spot to go hiking, horse back riding, picnicking, off-roading and there are several world-class wilderness areas within an hour’s drive or less.
The Havasu National Wildlife Reserve is 35 miles south of Mohave Valley and protects about 300 miles of Colorado River shoreline between Topock Marsh and Lake Havasu. Spectacular bird viewing is enjoyed there, along with hiking, water sports and camping. Also inside the refuge is the scenic Topock Gorge, where the Colorado River winds for several miles through canyons of towering, ancient volcanic rocks.
The Mohave National Preserve is about 25 miles west, and the Mount Nutt Wilderness in the Black Mountain range is a short drive east of Mohave Valley.
Special Attractions/Events
Mohave Valley is an affordable and neighborly place to live with good schools and amenities; a great place to retire or bring up a family.
Neighborliness is important in this small community and locals get together to celebrate yearly festivals and events together. Youth sports are another popular meeting point.
Interesting Facts/Historic Buildings and Places
At the time of first European contact in the seventeen-hundreds, the Mohave Valley was inhabited by the Mohave Indians, whose descendents still inhabit these parts today. The first outsiders were Spaniards, who passed through on their way west. Descendents of the Pipa Aha Macav people whose ancient petrogylphs can still be seen at Grapevine Canyon (near Davis Dam), the Mohave were farmers and traders. Horses were not particularly important to them and oral histories tell of men walking for days for essentials.
After the Spanish explorers passed through, no Europeans returned to the region until the eighteen-fifties, when prospectors began arriving on their way to California for the gold rush. Many settled around the Colorado looking for gold and silver. The Mohave fought the new arrivals with courage until they were overcome in 1859 and sent inland to the nearby Fort Mohave reservation. Today the Fort Mohave tribe is a strong cultural presence in the area; their performing band plays at many local events and celebrations and the influence of Mohave values, food, and art make themselves felt in everyday life.
- NUMBER1EXPERT™ 
