Las Vegas Boulevard gets all the attention, but some of the most interesting spots near the city sit empty. If you’re searching for abandoned towns near Las Vegas, you already know the Strip only tells half the story. Nevada’s desert is full of old mining camps, railroad stops, and boomtowns that went bust, and most of them are within a few hours’ drive.
This guide gives you exactly what you need: real ghost towns, how far they are from the city, and what’s actually left to see once you get there. Some sites still have standing buildings and rusted equipment you can walk through. Others are little more than foundations and a cemetery, which is its own kind of history lesson.
We’ve pulled together seven towns worth the drive, ranging from quick day trips to spots that pair well with a longer excursion into the surrounding canyons and mountains. If you’d rather skip the planning and let a local guide handle the driving and the backstory, that’s exactly the kind of trip we build every day at Another Side Tours on our guided ghost town tours.
1. Nelson and the Techatticup Mine
Distance and drive time from Las Vegas
Nelson sits about 45 minutes southeast of Las Vegas, roughly 45 miles down US-95 and Nevada State Route 165 through Eldorado Canyon. The drive itself is part of the appeal since you’ll wind past Boulder City and the rugged hills that once hid one of Nevada’s richest gold veins. Because it’s so close, Nelson is the easiest ghost town on this list to combine with a Hoover Dam trip or a Lake Mead afternoon.
History and highlights
Techatticup Mine opened in 1861, which makes it the oldest and most productive gold mine in Nevada. Miners pulled gold, silver, copper, and lead out of these hills for nearly a century, and the town that grew up around the mine earned a reputation for violence, isolation, and lawlessness during its boom years, much like the other old mining towns in Nevada worth a road trip. Confederate sympathizers, gunfights, and buried treasure stories all became part of the local lore, and much of it holds up under scrutiny from historians who’ve studied the region.
Nelson isn’t a recreated tourist set. It’s a working relic of Nevada’s actual mining past, rust and all.
What to see and do
A guided underground tour takes you into the original mine shafts, where you’ll see the tunnels, equipment, and cramped working conditions miners dealt with daily. Above ground, the town itself has become an open-air photography set, packed with:
- Rusted trucks, gas pumps, and mining equipment left exactly where they stopped working
- Weathered wooden buildings still standing from the early 1900s
- Props and set pieces left behind from film and music video shoots
- Desert wildlife and cactus gardens scattered through the property
Photographers and film crews use Nelson constantly, so don’t be surprised if you spot familiar backdrops from music videos or car commercials, and it ranks among the strongest desert photography locations near Las Vegas.
Visitor tips
Nelson charges a small fee for walking the grounds, and the underground mine tour costs extra and requires advance booking, especially on weekends. Summer heat here is brutal, so bring water and plan a morning visit if you’re going between May and September. If you’d rather skip the logistics entirely, Another Side Tours runs Hoover Dam and Eldorado Canyon excursions that swing through Nelson with a guide who knows which stories are true and which are tourist embellishment.
2. Goodsprings
Distance and drive time from Las Vegas
Goodsprings sits about 40 minutes southwest of Las Vegas, roughly 40 miles down I-15 to State Route 161 near Jean, Nevada. Unlike some spots on this list, you don’t need a truck with high clearance here since the roads in are fully paved. That makes it one of the more accessible of the best ghost towns near the city for visitors short on time or driving a rental sedan.
History and highlights
Silver and lead mining built Goodsprings in the late 1800s, and the town once supported a population in the thousands during its early 1900s peak. Its most famous claim to fame involves Clark Gable, who reportedly waited at the town’s saloon in 1942 for news after his wife Carole Lombard’s plane crashed on nearby Potosi Mountain.
Goodsprings proves a ghost town doesn’t need to be fully deserted to feel haunted by its own history.
Today only a small population remains, which makes Goodsprings less a true ruin and more a living relic frozen somewhere between then and now.
What to see and do
The Pioneer Saloon, built in 1913, anchors the town and still serves drinks under its original pressed-tin walls, complete with bullet holes from an old barroom shooting. Wander past the schoolhouse, general store, and scattered mining ruins that dot the surrounding hills.
Visitor tips
Stop at the Pioneer Saloon for lunch since it’s one of the few functioning businesses left in town, and it doubles as an informal museum. Weekdays are quieter than weekends, when motorcycle riders and day-trippers from Las Vegas fill the parking lot.
3. Rhyolite
Distance and drive time from Las Vegas
Rhyolite sits about two hours northwest of Las Vegas, roughly 120 miles via US-95 toward Beatty, then a short detour on Highway 374 near the eastern edge of Death Valley. It’s a full-day trip rather than a quick afternoon drive, but the pairing with Death Valley National Park makes the mileage worth it for anyone already headed that direction.
History and highlights
Gold discovered in the Bullfrog Hills in 1904 turned Rhyolite into one of Nevada’s flashiest boomtowns almost overnight, complete with electric lights, a stock exchange, and a three-story bank building. By 1911 the mines had already played out, and the population collapsed just as fast as it had grown.
Rhyolite went from boomtown to ruin faster than almost any other town in Nevada’s mining history.
What to see and do
The skeletal remains of the Cook Bank Building still dominate the townsite, along with the old train depot and a house built entirely from glass bottles by a miner named Tom Kelly. Just outside town, the Goldwell Open Air Museum adds an unexpected layer: life-size ghostly sculptures scattered across the desert, including a haunting recreation of Da Vinci’s Last Supper.
- Cook Bank ruins and old jail
- Bottle House exterior (viewable, not open inside)
- Goldwell Open Air Museum sculptures
- Historic train depot
Visitor tips
Rhyolite is free to visit and open daily during daylight hours, with no fees or reservations required. Bring your own water and shade since there’s no visitor center or shop on-site, and cell service is spotty. Combine the stop with a one-day Death Valley itinerary rather than a standalone drive, since the return trip alone eats up two hours.
4. Gold Point
Distance and drive time from Las Vegas
Gold Point sits about two and a half hours north of Las Vegas, roughly 170 miles up US-95 toward the California-Nevada border near Lida Junction. Reaching it takes longer than most stops on this list, so pair the drive with a visit to Goldfield or a longer loop through central Nevada’s mining country. Pavement covers nearly the entire route, though the final stretch narrows into a quiet two-lane road with little traffic and even less cell signal.
History and highlights
Founded as Hornsilver in 1908, the town changed its name to Gold Point during a later silver rush and held on longer than most of its neighbors, with mining activity stretching into the 1960s. What makes Gold Point different from other abandoned towns near Las Vegas is that it’s not fully abandoned. A handful of residents still live here, and one of them has spent decades restoring original buildings by hand rather than letting them collapse.
Gold Point survives because someone decided its history was worth saving, one board at a time.
What to see and do
Walk the dirt streets past restored miners’ cabins, a working saloon, and an old jail that still has its bars intact. The town hosts occasional themed weekends, including a Wild West gunfight reenactment, so check ahead if you want to catch one.
- Restored 1930s-era cabins open for viewing
- Vintage vehicles and mining equipment on display
- Small cemetery on the outskirts of town
Visitor tips
Call ahead if you want a tour of the cabin interiors, since access depends on whether a caretaker is around that day. Fuel up in Beatty or Goldfield before heading out, because Gold Point has no gas station or store.
5. Goldfield
Distance and drive time from Las Vegas
Goldfield sits about three hours north of Las Vegas, roughly 185 miles up US-95 through Beatty and Tonopah junction country. It’s the farthest stop on this list, so most visitors treat it as an overnight trip or pair it with Rhyolite and Gold Point along the same stretch of highway. Expect long, empty desert roads once you pass Beatty, with gas stops few and far between.
History and highlights
Goldfield exploded into existence after a 1902 gold strike and briefly became Nevada’s largest city, outpacing even Reno at its peak with a population near 20,000. Grand buildings went up fast, including the still-standing Goldfield Hotel and the ornate Esmeralda County Courthouse, both built to project permanence a boomtown rarely earns. The mines dried up within a decade, and the population collapsed almost as quickly as it had grown.
Goldfield’s surviving architecture proves this wasn’t just a mining camp, it was a city that briefly believed it would last forever.
What to see and do
Wander the historic downtown for a mix of occupied buildings and shells, including:
- The Goldfield Hotel exterior, rumored to be one of Nevada’s most haunted buildings
- Esmeralda County Courthouse, still in active use
- The International Car Forest, a field of vehicles buried nose-down in the dirt
- Scattered mine headframes visible from the road
Visitor tips
Stick to public roads and posted areas, since active claims still surround parts of town. Tonopah, about 30 minutes north, has the nearest reliable gas, food, and lodging if you’re staying overnight before continuing your loop through central Nevada’s other best ghost towns in Nevada.
6. St. Thomas
Distance and drive time from Las Vegas
St. Thomas sits about one hour northeast of Las Vegas, roughly 60 miles via I-15 and Valley of Fire Highway on the same drive to Lake Mead from Las Vegas. The last few miles run on a gravel road, so a standard sedan handles it fine as long as it hasn’t rained recently. Because it borders Lake Mead, this stop pairs naturally with a guided Valley of Fire day trip or a Hoover Dam outing.
History and highlights
Mormon settlers founded St. Thomas in 1865 along the Muddy River, and the town grew into a modest farming community before the federal government built Hoover Dam and flooded the valley to create Lake Mead in the 1930s. Residents watched their homes disappear underwater, and the last holdout reportedly rowed away from his own roof as the water rose. Decades of drought have since dropped the lake far enough to expose the ruins again, making St. Thomas one of the rare ghost towns that vanished and came back.
St. Thomas is the only town on this list that Nevada’s own dam building drowned, then drought resurrected.
What to see and do
A flat, roughly 2.5-mile loop trail winds past building foundations, concrete slabs, and the crumbling remains of an old ice cream parlor and school. Interpretive signs along the path explain what stood where, which helps since little rises more than a foot or two off the ground.
Visitor tips
Wear real shoes since the trail crosses uneven, sun-baked ground with no shade for the entire loop. Check the National Park Service’s Lake Mead water level updates before you go, since exceptionally wet years can submerge the ruins again.
7. Delamar
Distance and drive time from Las Vegas
Delamar sits about two hours north of Las Vegas, roughly 100 miles up US-93 through Alamo, then a rough dirt road east into the hills of Lincoln County. High clearance helps on the final stretch, and a regular sedan can struggle after rain, so check conditions before committing. Because it’s so remote, most visitors combine Delamar with a stop in Pioche or a longer loop through eastern Nevada’s mining country.
History and highlights
Gold discovered in 1891 turned Delamar into a boomtown almost overnight, but the ore here carried deadly silica dust that gave the town its grim nickname, the Widow Maker. Hundreds of miners died from lung disease within a few short years, a toll historians still cite when discussing the human cost of Nevada’s mining rush. By 1909 the mines had played out and the town emptied almost as fast as it had filled.
Delamar’s ruins tell a darker story than most ghost towns near Las Vegas, one written in silica dust rather than gunfights.
What to see and do
Stone foundations, a crumbling mill site, and a scattered cemetery make up most of what remains. Unlike Nelson or Goldfield, nothing here has been restored or staged for visitors, so what you see is exactly what erosion and time have left behind.
- Stone building ruins and mill foundations
- Old cemetery with weathered headstones
- Scattered mining debris across the hillside
Visitor tips
Bring a full tank of gas and plenty of water, since Delamar has no services, no cell signal, and no shade anywhere along the site. Go with someone who knows the roads or a guide familiar with Lincoln County’s backcountry, since this stop rewards preparation far more than spontaneity.
Planning your ghost town adventure
Seven towns, seven different stories, and not one of them requires a metal detector or a conspiracy theory to enjoy. Some of these abandoned towns near Las Vegas sit close enough for a quick afternoon, like Nelson or Goodsprings, while others demand a full day of desert driving and a full tank of gas, like Delamar or Goldfield. Match the trip to the time and vehicle you actually have, not the one you wish you had.
Getting there is only half the challenge. Knowing which stories are documented history and which are campfire exaggeration takes someone who’s spent real time in these hills. That’s where a guide earns their keep, especially on routes that pair naturally with Hoover Dam or Valley of Fire. Skip the guesswork on your next desert excursion and reserve a private guided tour of Las Vegas and beyond with Another Side Tours, where the driving, the history, and the backroads are already handled.
