Nevada
2024 Holiday Happenings throughout Southern Nevada
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Who’s ready for the holidays?
FOX5 is gathering events all throughout the Las Vegas Valley to celebrate the holiday season.
See events for the kids, a night out or for seniors below.
City of Las Vegas:
Family Fun Night (ages 4+)
Friday, Nov. 15, 5:30-7 p.m.
Cost: $5/person.
Mirabelli Community Center, 6200 Hargrove Ave., 702.229.6359.
Make a Thanksgiving turkey craft and homemade mini pie! Advance registration is required; register here. Registration is limited.
Ninja Turkey Trot and Swim
Saturday, Nov. 16, 7:30 a.m. check-in; 8 a.m. race begins.
Cost: $10.
Pavilion Center Pool, 101 N. Pavilion Center Drive, 702.229.1488.
If you are looking for a Thanksgiving holiday workout challenge – this trot is for you! This is a fun event for the entire family with a half-mile run, 150-yard swim and ninja obstacle course, including the Fun Run *Inflatable! All finishers will receive a ribbon and goodies. *Must take swim test to go on inflatable.
Quilted Holiday Ornaments Workshop (ages 50+)
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 10-11:30 a.m.
Cost: $7.
Lieburn Senior Center, 6230 Garwood Ave., 702.229.1600.
Make beautiful quilted ornaments for your tree or as gifts. No sewing required. Bring fabric scissors if you have them. Advance registration required; call 702.229.1600 to register.
Doolittle Thanksgiving Luncheon (ages 50+)
Thursday, Nov. 21, 11 a.m.
Cost: $10.
Doolittle Active Adult Center, 1930 N. J St., 702.229.6125.
Enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. Advance registration required by Nov. 19; registration closes when full. Call 702.229.6125 to register.
Ward 5 Historic Westside Holiday Lighting
Thursday, Nov. 21, 4:30-6 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
Cox Communications east parking lot at 1700 Vegas Drive.
Councilman Crear and Cox Communications Market Vice President Janet Uthman, who will present donations to The Center, The Just One Project and AFAN in honor of World AIDS Day, will speak and then flip the switch to turn on the holiday lights on Martin L. King Jr. Boulevard. The event includes children’s activities, DJ holiday music, cookie bar and hot cocoa.
Lieburn Thanksgiving Luncheon (ages 50+)
Friday, Nov. 22, 11:30 a.m.
Cost: $7.
Lieburn Active Adult Center, 6230 Garwood Ave., 702.229.1600.
Enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings with new friends! Advance registration required; call 702.229.1600 to register.
Tinsel & Tidings Tree Trimming Party (ages 50+)
Tuesday, Dec. 3, 8:30 to 10 a.m.
Free and open to community seniors.
Centennial Hills Active Adult Center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive, 702.229.1702.
Help the center get ready for the holidays! The center has a tree in every room and they all need trimming. Have extra holiday decorations at home? Bring them and have fun with others decorating the trees. Homemade cocoa and doughnuts will be served!
Holiday Movies (ages 50+)
Wednesdays, Dec. 4, 11, and 18; 2 p.m.
Free and open to seniors ages 50+.
Lieburn Active Adult Center, 6230 Garwood Ave., 702.229.1600.
Enjoy “White Christmas,” “Miracle on 34th Street” and “It’s A Wonderful Life” on successive Wednesdays at the center.
Candy-Making Workshop (ages 50+)
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 10 a.m.-noon.
Cost: $8.
Lieburn Senior Center, 6230 Garwood Ave., 702.229.1600.
Make some truffles, caramels and other tasty treats as gifts for the holidays. Advance registration required; call 702.229.1600 to register.
Festive Flavors: Holiday Harmonies Concert
Thursday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $5-10 available at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35056/production/1209988.
Charleston Heights Art Center, 800 S. Brush St., 702.229.6383.
Bring the family to enjoy cookies and this 75-minute concert of holiday delights by the Vegas City Children’s Chorus, Mader Academy Singers and other local talent.
A Christmas Toy Drive & Classic Car Show
Saturday, Dec. 7, 9 a.m.–noon.
Entry fee: a new, unwrapped toy.
Veterans Memorial Community Center, 101 N. Pavilion Center Drive, 702.229.1100.
Bring a new unwrapped toy to gain entrance and view some of the area’s finest classic cars and trucks, then take a photo with Santa! All vehicle entries must be registered by Saturday, Nov. 30; all years, makes and models welcome. Call 702.229.1100 to register.
Tamales & Mariachi Festival
Saturday, Dec. 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St.
Kick off the holidays with great food and mariachi performances. Held outdoors on Centennial Plaza downtown on Fourth Street, the festival offers the community an abundance of tamale styles from all over Latin America. A variety of vendors will sell refreshments.
Headlining the festival entertainment are three different internationally renowned mariachi bands. Acclaimed by audiences at the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and other major U.S. venues, three-time Grammy Award-winning Mariachi Los Camperos will perform their skillfully arranged versions of classic mariachi tunes, blended with regional styles of traditional music. Two-time Grammy Award winner Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea bring both traditional regional music and songs from their 25th anniversary album to the stage. Singer Sandra Guevara will sing with renowned Mariachi Alma del Sol. Other entertainers also will perform. This event is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Parking will be available in the City Center covered parking garage, accessible from Third Street/Clark Avenue. Fourth Street will be closed all day between Clark and Lewis avenues starting at 6 a.m. Dec. 7 to allow additional space for the festival. Other downtown streets will be closed 5 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 7 for the Las Vegas Great Santa Run, including most streets from Carson Avenue to Hoover Avenue and from Third to Tenth streets; that includes Las Vegas Boulevard from Bridger Avenue to Hoover. Parking also is available at the city garage at 500 S. Main St.
Ward 6 Cowboy Christmas & Classic Car Show
Saturday, Dec. 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, 9200 Tule Springs Road.
Bring the family to enjoy a holiday car show, arts and drafts fair, jump house, live music, holiday vendors, local youth entertainment, food trucks, holiday activities and a visit from Santa. To participate in the car show or art/crafts vendor, email Ward6@lasvegasnevada.gov or call 702.229.5463 for information.
Annual Adaptive Recreation Holiday Dinner & Dance (ages 14+)
Saturday, Dec. 7, 6 to 9 p.m.
Cost: $30 per person.
Lieburn Senior Center, 6230 Garwood Ave.
Advance reservations are required; registration is due by Dec. 2. Desert Regional Center respite vouchers are accepted. Call 702.229.5177 for more information and reservations.
Ward 6 Equestrian Posadas Christmas Festival
Sunday, Dec 8, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
Teton Trails Park, 7850 N. Bradley Road.
Bring the family to enjoy the third annual equestrian holiday event, Navidad con Colibries presented by Colibries de Nevada. This free event will include Escaramuza Charra presentations, a posada presentation, plus steer rope show, charro horse exhibition, barrel racing and more. Food, coffee and hot chocolate will be provided while supplies last. Equestrian Parade starts at 11 a.m. at Teton Trails Park. Posada celebration will be at Bradley Bridle Park at 8225 N. Bradley Road. For more information, contact Yudit Pinedo at 702.776.1313.
Holiday Tea (ages 50+)
Tuesday, Dec. 10, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Cost: $10 per person.
Lieburn Senior Center, 6230 Garwood Ave., 702.229.1600.
Come dressed to impress in your holiday hats and fancy gloves to enjoy high tea with fresh scones, pastries and finger sandwiches. You also will learn about the history and etiquette of tea. Advance registration required; registration open until full. Register here or at the center.
Doolittle Holiday Bingo & Cookie Exchange (ages 50+)
Tuesday, Dec. 10, at noon.
Cost: $5 plus two dozen homemade cookies to share.
Doolittle Active Adult Center, 1930 N. J St., 702.229.6125.
Enjoy holiday bingo with special prizes and making a special cookie box treat for yourself or someone you love. Advance registration required by Dec. 5; registration closes when full. Call 702.229.6125 to register.
Holiday Luncheon (ages 50+)
Wednesday, Dec. 11, 11:30 a.m.
Cost: $10 per person.
Centennial Hills Active Adult Center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive, 702.229.1702.
Enjoy gingerbread kisses and peppermint wishes at this festive holiday lunch! Advance registration required; space is limited. Call 702.229.1702 for reservations.
Doolittle Holiday Luncheon (ages 50+)
Thursday, Dec. 12, 11 a.m.
Cost: $10.
Doolittle Active Adult Center, 1930 N. J St., 702.229.6125.
Enjoy a holiday luncheon with all the festive trimmings of the season. Advance registration required by Dec. 10; registration closes when full. Call 702.229.6125 to register.
Speedway Holiday Lights Tour (ages 50+)
Thursday, Dec. 12, 5 p.m.
Cost: $7.
Lieburn Senior Center, 6230 Garwood Ave., 702.229.1600.
Get in the holiday spirit with fellow seniors as you see the holiday lights. Transportation provided from the center. Space is limited; advance registration required. Call 702.229.1600 to register.
Family Fun Night
Friday, Dec. 13, 6-8 p.m.
Cost: $5/person, includes a snack.
Veterans Memorial Community Center, 101 N. Pavilion Center Drive, 702.229.1100.
Bring the family for an evening of fun! Enjoy bingo and cookie decorating.
Contemporary West Dance Theatre’s “A Cool Yule! A Very Vintage Christmas”
Friday-Saturday, Dec. 13-14, 7 p.m.; Saturday matinee 1:30 p.m.
Tickets: $15-$35 at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35056/production/1208596.
Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St., 702.229.6383.
Gather your family and friends to celebrate the season with a mix of timeless classics, audience sing-alongs and the thrilling sounds of popular Christmas songs by these artists in residence at Charleston Heights Arts Center. The performance promises surprises and warm cheer for all!
Ward 3 Winter Wonderland
Saturday, Dec. 14, noon to 4 p.m.
Free and open to all ages.
East Las Vegas Community Center, 250 N. Eastern Ave., 702.229.1515.
This holiday event features holiday décor, festive entertainment, food vendors, children’s activities, a visit from Santa and community information booths. For more information, please call 702.229.1515.
Doolittle Holiday Experience (ages 50+)
Tuesday, Dec. 17, 6 p.m.
Cost: $35, includes transportation and event admission.
Doolittle Active Adult Center, 1930 N. J St., 702.229.6125.
A world of holiday wonder awaits at the Las Vegas Ballpark as you find the holiday spirit together with “Enchant.” This venue is cashless; debit or credit card use only. Refreshments will be available for purchase at the ballpark. Wear comfortable clothing and walking shoes. City of Las Vegas senior programs membership ($10/year) and advance registration required. The tour departs at 6 p.m. sharp. Advance registration required by Dec. 12; registration closes when full. Call 702.229.6125 to register.
Ugly Sweater Santa Bingo Party (ages 50+)
Wednesday, Dec. 18, 11:30 a.m.
Cost: $5 per person.
Centennial Hills Active Adult Center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive, 702.229.1702.
Put on your holiday sweater and prepare to enjoy cranberry cake and bingo! Advance registration required; sign up early! Space is limited. Call 702.229.1702 to reserve your spot.
Holiday Luncheon (ages 50+)
Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1:30 p.m.
Cost: $7.
East Las Vegas Community Center, 250 N. Eastern Ave., 702.229.1515.
Enjoy a holiday meal of turkey and ham, cheesy potatoes and a delicious dessert.
Call 702.229.1515 for more information or assistance in making a reservation.
All Aboard The Polar Express (ages 2+)
Wednesday-Friday, Dec. 18-20, train “departs” at 6 p.m. nightly.
Cost: $5 with advance purchase.
Cimarron Rose Community Center, 5591 N. Cimarron Road, 702.229.1607.
Bring the family to be entertained on “The Polar Express,” receive a cookie, hot chocolate and a visit from a special jolly guest. The outdoor covered sport court is transformed into a train car. Ticket holders “travel” to the North Pole on The Polar Express. General admission tickets available online here starting Nov. 12 and at the center. Tickets will be $7 at the door each performance night, if any tickets are still available. Advance tickets must be purchased by Dec. 16. Limited to 200 guests per night. Ages 2+ must have a ticket; only ticket holders will be allowed to enter. Call 702.229.1607 for ticket information. Center hours are Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed holidays and weekends. Call 7027.229.1607 for more information. Bundle up for the outdoor show!
Centennial Creative Club Crafting (ages 50+)
Thursday, Dec. 19, 10:30 a.m.
Cost: $7 per person.
Centennial Hills Active Adult Center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive, 702.229.1702.
Make new friends and a holiday wreath. Advance registration required; space is limited. Call 702.229.1702 to reserve your spot.
NERF Mania (ages 8-14)
Thursday, Dec. 19, 6-8 p.m.
Cost: $5/person.
Veterans Memorial Community Center, 101 N. Pavilion Center Drive, 702.229.1100.
Get ready for some epic battles! Players will enjoy a battle royale of Nerf fun, including capture the flag, team and individual competitions. Players must provide their own Nerf gun and the center will provide the darts and goggles. Wear your favorite holiday hat! Register here today, as space is limited.
Lieburn Holiday Luncheon (ages 50+)
Friday, Dec. 20, 11:30 a.m.
Cost: $7.
Lieburn Senior Center, 6230 Garwood Ave., 702.229.1600.
Get in the holiday spirit with a festive holiday meal that includes baked ham, cheesy potatoes and more. Advance registration required; call 702.229.1600 to register.
Winter Wonderland Pool Party
Friday, Dec. 20, 5-7:30 p.m.
Cost: $4 per person, no passes accepted.
Pavilion Center Pool, 101 S. Pavilion Center Drive, 702.229.1488.
Pack up your swimsuit, towel and goggles, because the pool is ready for you to welcome the holidays! Bring your wish list, snap a picture with Santa down at the pool, and make some Christmas ornaments at Santa’s workshop with his elves. End your day with some warm Snowman Soup (hot chocolate)! We will be celebrating all the holidays in one day, so come on out! Our very own Nevada Desert Mermaids synchronized swim club will have a special holiday performance at 6 p.m.!
Family Fun Night (ages 4+)
Friday, Dec. 20, 5:30-7 p.m.
Cost: $5/person.
Mirabelli Community Center, 6200 Hargrove Ave., 702.229.6359.
Design your own holiday ornament and decorate sugar cookies. Advance registration is required; register here. Registration is limited.
2024 Winter Break Camps (ages 5-15)
Monday-Friday, Dec. 23-Jan. 3; Hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
There will be no camp on the holiday Wednesdays, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
The city of Las Vegas will offer all-day supervised fun, recreation and enrichment for youth in kindergarten through eighth grade when the Clark County School District (CCSD) takes a winter break. Activities include age-appropriate arts and crafts, sports, games, music, life skills, nutrition, physical fitness and more. Prices vary by location. Space is limited and advance registration is required. Registration is open now online and in person at each community center.
Winter Break Camp Locations & Costs:
- Cimarron Rose Community Center, 5591 N. Cimarron Road, 702.229.1607; $100/four-day week for ages 5-11.
- Dula Community Center, 451 E. Bonanza Road, 702.229.6307. This adaptive recreation camp costs $80/four-day week for ages 5-18.
- East Las Vegas Community Center, 250 N. Eastern Ave., 702.229.1515; $80/four-day week for ages 5-11.
- Mirabelli Community Center, 6200 Hargrove Ave., 702.229.6359; $120/four-day week for ages 5-11.
- Veterans Memorial Community Center, 101 N. Pavilion Center Drive, 702-229-1100; $120/four-day week for ages 5-14.
Financial aid funds for 2024 have been exhausted. Applications for Financial Aid will be available again beginning Jan. 1, 2025. For more information and to register, click here, call 702.229.PLAY (7529) or call one of the centers listed above. Access the Youth Participant Form here. Download the Parent Handbook here.
Kwanzaa Celebration and Rites of Passage Graduation
Saturday, Dec. 28, 2 to 4 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
West Las Vegas Library Theater, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd., 702.507.3980.
In the spirit of NIA, the community will celebrate the third day of Kwanzaa, “Ujima” – collective work and responsibility – meaning to build and maintain our community together, making our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and solving them together. The event will feature an African libation, the West Las Vegas Arts Center Drum Ensemble, an elder community honor and the graduation for girls and boys in the Rites of Passage program. Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili, a Pan-African language that is the most widely spoken African language. Nia means “to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community, in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.” For more information, visit www.ArtsLasVegas.org or call 702.229.4800 or 702.229.ARTS (2787).
Doolittle Noon Day Eve Countdown Celebration (ages 50+)
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 10 a.m.
Cost: $7.
Doolittle Active Adult Center, 1930 N. J St., 702.229.6125.
Bring in the “Noon Day Eve” with your Doolittle Active Adult Center family. Enjoy music, games, reflection and fun as we count down the old year and prepare to bring in the new! Advance registration required by Dec. 26; registration closes when full. Call 702.229.6125 to register.
New Year’s Eve Bash (ages 50+)
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $10 per person.
Centennial Hills Active Adult Center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive, 702.229.1702.
Say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new with good friends and food! Advance registration required; space is limited. Call 702.229.1702 to reserve your spot.
Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.
MESQUITE (FOX5) — Two people were transported to a hospital after an RV crashed and caught fire on Interstate 15 near the Arizona-Nevada state line, according to Mesquite Police.
Investigators believe the RV, which was traveling southbound, blew a tire, lost control, and entered northbound lanes. The vehicle made contact with the trailer of a semi-truck before bursting into flames.
Condition of those injured
One of the two people transported from the scene was listed in very critical condition. The semi-truck sustained minor damage, and its driver was not reported among those transported.
Investigation ongoing
Mesquite Police are investigating the crash. No additional information about the identities of those involved has been released.
Drivers traveling northbound are advised to use alternate routes. Updated road conditions are available at nvroads.com.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
From otherworldly red rocks to fossil beds and alpine lakes, Nevada’s state parks offer adventures far beyond the Las Vegas Strip.
Video: Visitors at Sand Harbor Beach April 29, 2020
People enjoy the warm weather at Sand Harbor Beach amid the coronavirus on April 29, 2020.
Andy Barron, RGJ
CLARK COUNTY, NV – Standing at the edge of a sea of rocks, I was transported to another world less than an hour outside Las Vegas.
Instead of water, waves of rusty red sandstone and creamy limestone crested in every direction of the Fire Canyon/Silica Dome Overlook at Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park,
I wasn’t the only one who found it otherworldly. Park signage indicated this place portrayed the fictional planet Veridian III in the 1994 film “Star Trek: Generations.”
But Valley of Fire is very real, and it’s just one of the more than two dozen state parks offering travelers a different side of Nevada.
How many state parks are there in NV?
There are 27 state parks in Nevada.
“What’s really nice is a lot of them are pretty clumped together, so you can hit multiple of them in a few days,” said Tyler Kerver, Education and Information officer for Nevada Division of State Parks.
He said even he didn’t realize how many parks there were until he started working there.
How to choose
Kerver suggests exploring parks.nv.gov and narrowing options based on what you hope to experience.
“If I was going to hike or mountain bike, I’d probably look at the Lake Tahoe-area parks, like Spooner Lake (and Backcounty) and Van Sickle,“ he said. “Maybe you just want to relax by a lake with the family. We have a few campgrounds with reservoirs.”
On a recent RV trip, my family camped at Valley of Fire near Overton and also visited Cathedral Gorge State Park near Panaca and Kershaw-Ryan State Park in Caliente. The latter two are only about 20 minutes away from each other and roughly 2.5 hours away from Las Vegas.
“If you’re looking just to get out and explore, Cathedral Gorge is definitely a great area to set up kind of a base camp, and then you can get to not only Cathedral Gorge, but all the other parks around Cathedral Gorge, all within like a day or two,” Kerver said.
My kids enjoyed exploring Cathedral Gorge’s twisty slot canyons and taking it easy at Kershaw-Ryan, which felt like a little oasis in the desert with leisurely trails, manicured gardens, a spring-fed wading pool for young kids, and a tree-canopied picnic area, where we ate lunch.
Young explorers may enjoy Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park near Austin, about 2.5 hours from Reno. The Smithsonian Institution describes ichthyosaurs as “extinct dolphin-shaped marine reptiles that flourished in the oceans” more than 65 millions years ago. Kerver said the park boasts the largest ichthyosaur fossil bed in the U.S.
“We do tours of the fossil house every summer, and you can walk right up to the actual fossils still laying in the ground,” he said. “Ice Age Fossils State Park is one of our newest ones in North Las Vegas, and that one is kind of similar … We have mammoth, bison, dire wolves, all kinds of cool fossils.”
One of Kerver’s personal favorites is Cave Lake State Park, near Ely. “It’s pretty cool, like Alpine summer camp,” he said.
What is the prettiest place in Nevada?
Pretty is subjective, but many people consider Lake Tahoe to be one of the state’s most beautiful areas.
Sand Harbor State Park, in Lake Tahoe, is the most visited park in the system with 1.2 million visitors a year, according to Kerver.
“Sand Harbor State Park is one of the only beaches in Lake Tahoe where you get lifeguards, an on-site restaurant, ample parking,” he said. “You can reserve your spot ahead of time, and you can’t really find that anywhere else in the Lake Tahoe Basin.”
Desert scenery is just as pretty, in a different way.
I couldn’t imagine a more spectacular campsite setting than the one we had at Valley of Fire, Nevada’s second-most visited state park. It also offers sparkling facilities.
“We get the reputation for having some of the cleanest bathrooms,” Kerver said. “We take that pretty seriously.”
How much does it cost to go to a Nevada state park?
Entry fees vary by park but are typically between $10 to $15.
Kerver said the parks pride themselves on accessibility.
“It’s not only ADA-accessible,” he said. “We’re maintaining a lower fee level than a lot of other places, so it’s still cheaper to get in … We really want to make sure that they are some of the least expensive places to visit and that they remain accessible to everyone.”
To save even more, travelers planning to visit numerous Nevada state parks or who live within driving distance may want to consider a $100 annual permit, which can be assigned to up to two vehicles.
USA TODAY reporter Eve Chen was provided access by RVshare. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content.
Genoa was a Mormon trading post in 1851, a decade before Nevada was a state, and it has never been in a hurry since. Up and down the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and out across the Great Basin, the towns that grew up around silver strikes, railroad water stops, and dam construction camps mostly emptied out when the work ran dry, and what stayed behind is a string of places where the clock loosened its grip. Opera houses still host the occasional show. Saloons still pour for whoever walks in. The eleven towns below trade Nevada’s neon for porch time, dark skies, and roads with almost nothing on them.
Genoa
The Genoa Bar and Saloon has been pouring drinks since 1853, which makes it the oldest bar in the state, and most of its counter and fixtures date to the 1860s. That is the pace of the place in one building. Genoa itself is Nevada’s oldest permanent settlement, and Mormon Station State Historic Park preserves a reconstructed log trading post on the site of the original 1851 station, with a small museum and grounds that fill up for community events through the summer. Genoa Town Park carries the warm-month concert schedule. When the afternoon calls for it, David Walley’s Resort sits a short walk off, with mineral hot springs that have drawn soakers to this corner of the Carson Valley for well over a century.
Ely
At the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, the locomotives are not models behind glass; the collection is one of the most complete original short-line operations left in the country, and the steam excursions run on the same track the copper trains used. That is Ely’s main event, and it sets the tempo. The Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park, just outside town, preserves six beehive-shaped stone kilns that fed the smelters during the mining boom, close enough to reach for an afternoon. The White Pine Public Museum fills in the rest, with mining, ranching, and Native history. Back on Aultman Street, the Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall has anchored downtown since it opened in 1929, when it was briefly the tallest building in the state, and it still pours a cold one for anyone coming in off Highway 50.
Tonopah
On a clear, moonless night at the Clair Blackburn Memorial Stargazing Park, you can pick out more than 7,000 stars with your eyes alone. Most cities show you 25 or 50. The park, off Highway 95 with concrete pads laid out for telescopes, is reason enough to time a visit around the new moon. By day, the Tonopah Historic Mining Park spreads across 100 acres of the original silver works, with tunnels and headframes from the boom that built the town. The Mizpah Hotel, restored and operating since its 1907 opening, holds the Pittman Café for breakfast and the Jack Dempsey Room for a sit-down dinner, named for the heavyweight champion who once worked the hotel as a bouncer.
Virginia City
The Comstock Lode silver strike of 1859 turned Virginia City into one of the richest mining centers in the West almost overnight, and the wooden boardwalks and stacked 19th-century storefronts climbing the hillside are what the money left behind. The Virginia and Truckee Railroad runs short excursions along the old mining route, and the Chollar Mine tour takes you underground into the works themselves. The Bucket of Blood Saloon has been serving since 1876, built on the footprint of an earlier saloon right after the Great Fire of 1875 cleared the block. It is an easy place to lose a slow afternoon over a beer.
Boulder City
Gambling is illegal here by city ordinance, one of only two Nevada towns where that is true, a rule that traces straight back to why the town exists. The federal government built Boulder City in the early 1930s to house the workers raising Hoover Dam, laying out organized streets and civic buildings, and the planned layout still shapes a walkable downtown. The dam itself draws most visitors, best taken in without rushing. The Boulder City-Hoover Dam Museum, inside the historic Boulder Dam Hotel, tells the Depression-era construction story, and the Coffee Cup Café is the institution where locals linger over breakfast. At Hemenway Park, desert bighorn sheep come down to graze against the backdrop of Lake Mead country.
Caliente
The Caliente Railroad Depot, a restored Mission Revival building from the Union Pacific era, now does double duty as the town’s visitor center and the anchor of its main street. The name comes from the hot springs that first drew settlers, and cottonwoods shade a town that sits well off the southern Nevada rush. Two miles south, Kershaw-Ryan State Park tucks shaded picnic areas, spring-fed wading pools, and trails beneath steep canyon walls. The Barnes Canyon trail network gives mountain bikers and hikers desert terrain to work through at their own speed, and Meadow Valley Wash supports cottonwood stands and wildlife unusual for country this dry.
Eureka
Sixteen smelters once belched enough smoke over Eureka to earn it the nickname “Pittsburgh of the West,” back when 9,000 people and a hundred-odd saloons crowded the canyon. About 600 people live here now, and the boom-era buildings have the streets mostly to themselves. The Eureka Opera House, built in 1880 on a block cleared by the previous year’s fire, still stages performances under its restored interior. The Eureka Sentinel Museum occupies the original 1879 newspaper building, presses and type cases left where they sat. The Jackson House Hotel has put up guests since the 19th century, and the Owl Club Bar and Steakhouse feeds travelers and locals along Highway 50, the stretch a magazine once branded the Loneliest Road in America.
Gardnerville
Basque sheepherders settled the Carson Valley, and their cooking is still the reason to plan dinner in Gardnerville, served family-style at long tables in the valley’s old boarding-house tradition. The town grew as a ranching center under the Sierra Nevada, and the Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center, housed in a former high school, lays out that agricultural and pioneer history. Lampe Park gives the community its gathering ground, with a quiet stream and walking paths and a calendar of seasonal events. Jobs Peak rises over the whole valley, a granite wall that turns gold at the end of the day.
Wells
The Angel Lake Scenic Byway climbs out of the desert flats into the East Humboldt Range, ending at a glacial lake cupped high against the peaks, good for a morning of fishing or a slow walk along the alpine shore. Wells grew up as a railroad town, and the Front Street Historic District still shows the bones of that era, when this was a working junction on the transcontinental line. The Trail of the 49ers Interpretive Center on 6th Street covers the emigrant routes that funneled through here on the way west, the California Trail travelers who passed through long before the rails did.
Winnemucca
The Humboldt River made Winnemucca a crossing long before the railroad came through, and the Humboldt Museum tells that regional story through Native, ranching, and transportation exhibits. The town’s other inheritance is Basque: sheepherders settled here in numbers, and the dining room at the Martin Hotel still serves the lamb and the family-style spread that the town celebrates each summer at its Basque Festival. The Winnemucca Sand Dunes draw the off-road and open-desert crowd just outside town. For something quieter, Water Canyon climbs along a running stream into terrain more rugged than the valley floor lets on.
Lovelock
The Pershing County Courthouse is round, one of the few circular courthouses still in use anywhere in the country, and it sits at the center of town with its early-20th-century architecture intact. Behind it, Lovers Lock Plaza invites visitors to clip a padlock to a chain as a token of commitment, a small local tradition that has become the town’s signature stop. The deeper history is just outside town at Lovelock Cave, where excavations turned up evidence of human use going back thousands of years. Rye Patch State Recreation Area, along the reservoir on the Humboldt River, handles the boating, fishing, and lakeside afternoons.
Wide Open Spaces And Unhurried Places
What these towns share is not scenery so much as arithmetic: the work that built them mostly left, and the people who stayed kept the opera houses, the saloons, and the depots running at a fraction of the old traffic. That is why a steam train in Ely or a 7,000-star sky over Tonopah feels unhurried in a way a manufactured attraction never quite manages. The pace was not designed. It is what is left when the boom moves on and the place decides to stay anyway.
-
Kentucky3 minutes ago1 missing, 4 injured in Fourth of July boating collision on Kentucky lake
-
Louisiana10 minutes agoLouisiana State Police Detectives Investigating Shreveport Police Department Officer-Involved Shooting
-
Maine13 minutes agoOne dead, another injured in Madison ATV crash
-
Maryland18 minutes agoMan killed, another injured in shooting at Maryland house party, described as
-
Michigan25 minutes agoRain chances linger into Monday across Southeast Michigan
-
Massachusetts28 minutes agoMotorcyclist flown to hospital after crash in Groton on Fourth of July
-
Minnesota33 minutes agoTwins 6, Yankees 1: A new morning in Twins Territory
-
Mississippi40 minutes agoCivil rights veteran the Rev. Ed King who helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party has died
