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Ward Charcoal Ovens
Tucked back in the Egan Mountains about 30 miles south of Ely—and an hour from Great Basin National Park—is Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park. As you approach, you’ll spot its six massive beehive-shaped charcoal ovens peeking over the hills, a sign you’re in for a very different state park experience.
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Go Your Own Way
As the main road for travel between Reno and Las Vegas, U.S. Route 95 sees its fair share of traffic. Millions of motorists take this 400-mile journey each year, many of them doing it more times than they can count. If that sounds like you, mix things up on your next odyssey with a ghost-town packed alternate route.
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Free-Range Art Highway
Ready to give your camera a workout? With the Free-Range Art Highway as your canvas, the photo-op stops are countless. Whether you’re a newbie photographer just learning the definition of aperture or a veteran documentarian seeking new stories, you’ll find plenty of odd and awesome vistas to ogle along this Reno-to-Vegas road trip.
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Uncommon Overnighters: Tarantula Ranch Vineyard
Sometimes, you just need a place to stay the night. Nothing wrong with that, but when you’re ready for lodgings that are as much a part of the adventure, look no further than Tarantula Ranch Vineyard in Amargosa Valley.
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Sage Country
If you’ve been in or near the Great Basin, you know sagebrush. It’s practically everywhere, from marshlands and mountainsides to cities and salt flats. It never appears by ones or twos, either. When it’s there, it’s usually stretching across the horizon like an ocean.
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Water in the Desert
In 1971, Lahontan Reservoir was designated a state recreation area: The water that made Fallon’s famous farmland now doubled as an outdoor playground. Today, its 69 miles of shoreline attract visitors year-round.
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Make it a Wild(life) Summer
While everyone vacations differently, it’s a safe bet that whether you’re a history buff or an adventure seeker, one truth is universal: you want to experience something authentic and particular to your destination. While there are plenty of roadside attractions in Nevada that fit that bill, we had something a little wilder in mind.
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Great Basin Highway
This trip up Nevada’s eastern edge begins with sandstone canyons and ends at ancient bristlecone pines beneath some of the nation’s darkest skies. Along the way, explore the surreal landscapes of several state parks, visit charming communities, and hit some of the state’s best hiking and biking trails.
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Backcountry Lakes
Nevada’s major lakes are household names. But while Lake Tahoe, Lake Mead, and Pyramid Lake are popular, they only skim the surface of water recreation in the Silver State. The following backcountry destinations might mean arrival by a rough road or hike, but time it right and you could have a pristine aquatic playground practically to yourself.
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Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park
Nye County is a big place. If it were a state, it would be the 42nd largest—twice the size of Massachusetts. In addition to wide-open ranges and countless miles of dirt road, this slice of the American West is home to one of the state’s most remote and scenic attractions: Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park.
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Find Your Flock
Six prime hotspots for watching feathered friends. Nevada’s vast landscape holds many secrets, not the least of which is its popularity with birds. While it may come as a surprise to some, the number of recorded bird species visiting, breeding, or living in the state is a whopping 488. Hundreds of thousands of birds following […]
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Roam Means Nevada
One of the greatest appeals of the American West has always been that sense of unbridled freedom and room to roam. In the crowded world we live in today, it might be hard to picture that solitude and deep connection with nature, but for the modern-day pioneer, it is still within reach in a place called Nevada.
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Ruby Crest Trail
The Ruby Mountains—one of Nevada’s most precious gems—evoke a sense of discovering some elegant treasure. It’s like walking though a field of sagebrush and stumbling upon a shimmer of color peeking up from the dull dirt—a glimpse of something that begs to be studied. Just as someone might study a gem’s unique characteristics, the Ruby Mountains provide countless opportunities to get a closer look and a deeper understanding.
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High-Flying Wayfinding
Imagine that you are the pilot of an open-cockpit biplane, flying from Reno to Elko with 300 pounds of mail. It is night in 1926 and you are relying on a recently installed innovation on the ground to keep on course over Nevada’s deserts and mountains. You have a strip map and compass and a railroad to follow in daylight. But at night these are useless. Instead of having the navigation equipment and air traffic control that keeps planes on course today, you follow a newly constructed route marked by orange concrete arrows embedded in the ground, each about 50 feet long and lit by beacons powered by acetylene gas or electricity.
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Rocks and Minerals in the Silver State
Almost three-quarters of the Earth is covered by water, some 71 percent. For anyone who has looked upon the vistas and mountain ranges of the Nevada landscape, that can be a mind-boggling thought. Our arid nature comes at a cost sometimes, but boy, that land provides wealth that goes way past bank accounts. Getting down—and maybe dirty—in the hills of our state is one of the easiest, least expensive, and most rewarding pastimes you’ll ever find.
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Ghostly Social Distancing, Nevada Style
I decided 2020 would be my year of travel with multiple, domestic and international trips. My first planned trip was the week of the shutdown but instead of having my plans derailed, I decided it was time to renew my interest in Nevada history. It was still the year of travel, but 2020 was not as I had planned.
Instead, every week I visited ghost towns, mining camps, emigrant trails, and Pony Express stations. I met wonderful friends, became an off-road Jeeper, and learned about history and myself. My third-generation Nevada husband is amazed by the locations I discover, many unknown to him. I feel like a teenager without the curfew and have had an amazing time exploring our beautiful state.