Ghost Towns
Searchlight
Searchlight is about an hour from the Strip on paved US-95. That is a planning number for a dry day, not a live traffic report. What you actually see is a living town, a few older structures, and a small historic museum if it is open. It is not an empty ruin.
Searchlight is a living town on US-95 between Boulder City and Laughlin, about an hour from the Strip. It is the waypoint on the drive south. People still live here. Come for a short look or a tank of gas, not for an empty ruin.
- From Las Vegas
- About 1 hour
- Distance
- South on US-95, past Boulder City
- Road
- Paved US-95
- Time to allow
- A quick look or a fuel stop
Short history
Gold set off a boom in 1897. Published counts of the early-1900s peak run from about 1,500 to about 5,000 people. The spread is wide, so this page does not pick one figure and call it the census.
About 450 people live in Searchlight now. It is Harry Reid’s hometown. A small historic museum and a few older structures are the public trace of the boom. Museum hours are not listed here.
Practical visitor info
Hours and fees change. Check the site, the park, or the business before you go. This page does not quote a current price or a current opening time.
The numbers match the drive times and distances page. Read desert day-trip tips before a hot day, and see sample itineraries if you want to combine stops. The town list is Ghost Towns Near Las Vegas. Tonopah and the Extraterrestrial Highway are indexed under Weird Day Trips.
How long is the drive to Searchlight?
Plan on about an hour from the Strip, south on US-95. That is a rounded planning number for a dry day, not a live traffic report.
Laughlin is farther along the same highways, about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours and on the order of 100 miles from Las Vegas if you keep going. Searchlight is the stop in the middle, not the end of the road.
Is the drive to Searchlight paved?
US-95 into Searchlight is pavement, and a normal rental car is the usual vehicle. This page does not report construction or which pumps are open.
What you can see
You can see a living street, a few older buildings, and the small historic museum if it is open. The town is not a cleared ruin you can wander as if no one lives there.
Homes and businesses are in use. A fuel stop is a reasonable reason to pull off. Walking into a yard is not.
Heat and safety
This is low desert. Summer afternoons commonly sit above 100°F (38°C). A quick stop is the idea in that heat. This page does not name a temperature that makes the drive safe.
What a short stop looks like
Give it a look and a fuel check, then either turn back or continue south toward Spirit Mountain and Laughlin. Do not plan the day around a museum door this page cannot promise is open.
On the ground
What you can see
You can see a living street, a few older buildings, and the small historic museum if it is open.
Private or off limits
Homes and businesses are in use. This is not an empty ruin, and a yard is not part of the stop.
Summer and the season
Summer afternoons commonly sit above 100°F (38°C). In that heat, keep it a short stop. This page does not name a temperature that makes the drive safe.
The town from the public street. People live here, so the frame is a town, not a cleared set.
Get directions
Get directions from Las Vegas. The link opens a map. It is not a live traffic report.
Combine this
Times below are planning figures. Conditions change. A north stop and a south stop do not belong in the same day. The return drive eats it.
South, with Nelson as the shorter stop and Spirit Mountain just beyond town. Laughlin is about 2 hours from Las Vegas. Oatman is about 45–60 minutes from Laughlin. Lake Havasu is about 70 miles and about 1 to 1.5 hours past Laughlin.