Field guide

Ghost towns and weird day trips from Las Vegas

A practical guide for people already in Las Vegas who want a half day or a full day off the Strip. The trips below assume you are driving. Times are rounded. Road conditions are not live.

• Browse the ghost towns
• See the weird day trips
• Use a sample itinerary

• About 45 minutes

  Nelson Ghost Town

  Mine buildings in Eldorado Canyon, on a paved highway south of town. The closest classic stop to the Strip.

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• About 2 hours

  Rhyolite

  Stone ruins near Beatty, about two hours north. The Cook Bank shell is the picture. The sculpture park next door is a separate stop.

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• About 45 minutes

  Goodsprings

  A living mining town southwest of the Strip. The 1913 Pioneer Saloon still operates. The drive is paved and short.

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• About 3 to 3.5 hours

  Tonopah and the Clown Motel

  A working clown-themed motel beside an old cemetery, in a silver town three hours up US-95. Stay the night.

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• About 2.5 hours each way

  Area 51

  A long paved drive to Rachel on the Extraterrestrial Highway. The base is closed. The trip is the road and the town.

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Supporting stops

• St. Thomas

  A walk inside Lake Mead National Recreation Area to foundations that only exist as a visit when the water is down.

• Gold Point

  An occupied remnant, not a staffed park. Worth it only if the unpaved approach is acceptable that week.

Practical guides

• Drive times and distances

  Rounded planning figures from Las Vegas, with the kind of road each trip uses.

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• Desert day-trip tips

  Water, fuel, heat, old mines, and what to tell someone before you leave.

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• Sample itineraries

  Half-day, full-day, and overnight shapes. Combine stops only where the miles allow it.

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How to use this guide