Nevada isn’t just casinos and neon. Drive an hour or two outside Las Vegas and you’ll find old mining towns in Nevada that boomed on silver and gold, then emptied out almost as fast as they filled up. Some are full ghost towns with nothing but crumbling foundations. Others still have a few hundred residents, a saloon, and a general store that’s been open since the 1900s.
If you’re planning a road trip and want to know exactly which towns are worth the drive, this list covers five of them, with real history behind each stop, not just a name on a map, and several of them sit along the best scenic drives near Las Vegas. You’ll get a sense of what made each town rich, what killed it, and what’s actually left to see when you pull into town.
We picked towns that show different sides of Nevada’s mining past: silver rushes, copper booms, and the wild boomtown culture that shaped the state. Some pair well with a stop at Red Rock Canyon or Hoover Dam if you’re building a longer route. Whether you’re driving yourself or thinking about a guided day trip, here’s where to go and why each one matters.
1. Nelson and the Techatticup Mine
Nelson sits closer to Las Vegas than almost any other ghost town on this list, which makes it the easiest one to add to a day trip. It’s a working example of what old mining towns in Nevada looked like when silver and gold money still flowed, minus the crowds you’d find on the Strip.
Location and how to get there
Take US-95 South from Las Vegas toward Searchlight, then turn onto Nelson Road (NV-165) and follow it into Eldorado Canyon. The drive takes about 45 minutes and runs through open desert with the Colorado River basin visible in the distance. No 4×4 needed; a standard rental car handles the paved road fine.
History and mining heritage
The Techatticup Mine opened in 1861 and became one of the richest and most violent gold and silver operations in Nevada, with a body count tied to claim disputes and robberies along the canyon. Miners pulled out gold, silver, copper, and lead until the mine finally closed for good in 1945, leaving behind tunnels, rusted equipment, and the weathered buildings that still stand today.
Nelson survives because the mine that built it was too rich to walk away from quietly.
What to see and do
Guided mine tours run daily and take you underground through original shafts once worked by hand. Above ground, the townsite is packed with old trucks, planes, and shacks that photographers use constantly, since the canyon setting gives every shot a dramatic backdrop.
Visitor tips
- Book the mine tour ahead; walk-ins sometimes get turned away when tours fill up
- Wear closed-toe shoes since the ground is uneven gravel and rock
- Bring water and sun protection, since there’s little shade
- Pair Nelson with a guided Hoover Dam experience, only about 25 minutes further down the highway
2. Goodsprings and the Pioneer Saloon
Goodsprings sits about 40 minutes southwest of Las Vegas and still has a handful of year-round residents, which gives it a different feel than a true ghost town. It’s one of the more accessible historic mining towns on this list, and one of the better escapes outside the Las Vegas Strip, since the drive alone makes it worth the detour off I-15.
Location and how to get there
Exit I-15 South at Jean, then follow NV-161 north for about seven miles into town. The road is paved the entire way, and you won’t need anything more than a standard car.
History and mining heritage
Miners found lead, zinc, and silver here in the 1860s, and the town boomed again in the early 1900s once the Yellow Pine Mine ramped up production. Goodsprings never fully died like other abandoned mining towns, mostly because ranching and the highway kept a small population going after the ore ran out.
What to see and do
The Pioneer Saloon, built in 1913, is the main draw. Original tin walls, a bullet hole from a reported barroom shooting, and a bar that’s been serving drinks for over a century.
The Pioneer Saloon has outlasted the mines that built the town around it.
Visitor tips
- Stop for lunch; the saloon serves food daily
- Check hours before driving out, since it’s a small operation
- Combine with Nelson for a full day covering two of the ghost towns worth the drive from Las Vegas
3. Rhyolite near Death Valley
Rhyolite sits right on the Nevada side of Death Valley National Park, and it’s the most photographed ghost town on this list thanks to its skeletal stone buildings against open desert. If you’re chasing Nevada ghost towns you need to explore with genuine visual drama, this is the one that shows up on every postcard.
Location and how to get there
From Las Vegas, drive about two hours northwest on US-95, then take NV-374 toward Death Valley. Rhyolite sits just off the highway near the park’s eastern entrance, so it pairs naturally with a longer trip into the valley itself. The road is paved the whole way.
History and mining heritage
Gold discovered in 1904 turned Rhyolite into a boomtown of nearly 5,000 people within a few years, complete with a stock exchange, hospital, and opera house. The 1907 financial panic dried up investment almost overnight, and the mines shut down by 1911, leaving a town built for permanence that lasted barely a decade.
Rhyolite proves how fast Nevada’s mining boomtowns could rise and collapse.
What to see and do
Walk the ruins of the old bank and train depot, then visit the Goldwell Open Air Museum next door, an outdoor sculpture park built among the ruins.
Visitor tips
- Visit at sunrise or sunset for the best light on the stone facades, which makes it one of the strongest desert photography spots near Las Vegas
- Bring plenty of water; there’s no shade or services on site
- Combine it with a full Death Valley itinerary since the park entrance is minutes away
4. Gold Point ghost town
Gold Point sits far enough from Las Vegas that most tourists skip it, which is exactly why it’s worth the extra driving time. Unlike the stops closer to the Strip, this is one of the quieter old mining towns in Nevada where a handful of caretakers still keep the buildings standing and the history alive.
Location and how to get there
From Las Vegas, plan on a three-hour drive north on US-95 toward Tonopah, then west on NV-266 and a short unpaved stretch into town. A regular car makes it fine in dry weather, but check conditions if rain’s in the forecast.
History and mining heritage
Gold Point started as Hornsilver in the 1860s and hit its peak during a 1908 gold rush that drew hundreds of prospectors. Population crashed after World War II, and by the 1960s only a few residents remained, preserving the original cabins instead of letting them collapse.
Gold Point survived by staying too small and remote to bother tearing down.
What to see and do
Wander original miner’s cabins, a jail, and rusted equipment scattered across the townsite, most of it left exactly where miners abandoned it decades ago.
Visitor tips
- Call ahead if you want a tour from a resident caretaker
- Fill your gas tank before leaving Tonopah or Beatty
- Bring cash, since there’s no cell service or card readers in town
5. Belmont in central Nevada
Belmont sits deep in central Nevada, far past the usual Las Vegas day-trip radius, and that distance is the point. Few travelers make it out here, so you get one of the best-preserved abandoned mining towns in the state without another tour bus in sight.
Location and how to get there
Plan on a five-hour drive from Las Vegas, heading north on US-95 through Tonopah, then east on NV-376 and NV-82 into the Monitor Valley. The last stretch is gravel but graded well enough for a standard car in dry conditions.
History and mining heritage
Silver strikes in 1865 turned Belmont into the seat of Nye County, with a population that topped 2,000 during its peak years. The ore ran thin by the 1880s, and the county seat moved to Tonopah, leaving Belmont to fade into one of Nevada’s quieter ghost towns in Nevada.
Belmont’s brick courthouse still stands because nobody bothered to tear it down after the silver ran out.
What to see and do
The restored Belmont Courthouse anchors the townsite, along with mill ruins, a cemetery, and the Belmont Saloon for a cold drink after exploring.
Visitor tips
- Fill up on gas and supplies in Tonopah before heading out
- Check road conditions after storms, since gravel sections wash out
- Plan for no cell service once you leave the highway
Exploring Nevada’s mining legacy
Each of these old mining towns in Nevada tells the same basic story with different details: a strike, a boom, then a bust that either emptied the place completely or left just enough people to keep the lights on. Nelson and Goodsprings work as easy half-day trips from the Strip, while Rhyolite, Gold Point, and Belmont ask for more driving time in exchange for fewer crowds and a stronger sense of what these towns actually looked like a century ago.
If you’d rather skip the route-planning and let someone who knows the back roads handle the driving, that’s exactly what a guided day trip is for. You still get the mine tours, the saloons, and the desert scenery, minus the stress of navigating gravel roads with no cell service. Book a private Las Vegas tour with a custom itinerary to build a route that pairs Nevada’s mining history with the rest of what makes the state worth exploring.
