Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is a stunning 200000-acre Mojave Desert landscape 17 miles west of Las Vegas Nevada featuring dramatic sandstone formations ancient rock art diverse wildlife and world-class hiking and climbing opportunities for all abilities.
Nevada: Goldfield former gold mining town
🏜️ Goldfield, Nevada — The Town That Refused to Lie Down
We have a bit of a thing in our house. My wife thinks I spend far too long with my nose buried in travel guides and obscure corners of the internet, researching places we might visit. She’s probably right. But every now and then, all that rooting around pays off — and sometimes, the best discoveries aren’t planned at all. They just happen.
Goldfield, Nevada, was one of those happy accidents.
We were driving the long, lonely stretch of US-95 south from Reno to Las Vegas, cutting through Nevada’s high desert — a landscape so vast and empty it makes the Norfolk Broads look positively cosmopolitan. We weren’t expecting much. We’d already stumbled upon a rather wonderful little oddity in Hawthorne, Nevada (more on that another time), so perhaps our luck had already been used up for the day. Then we rolled into Goldfield, and I immediately pulled the car over.
🪧 A Building You Simply Cannot Drive Past
Right there at the top of the main street — and I use the term “main street” loosely, since it is more or less the only street of any consequence — stood a building absolutely plastered in road signs, old metal placards, quirky bits and bobs, and general roadside paraphernalia. It was the sort of thing that makes a grown man do an involuntary U-turn. I got out, camera in hand, and set about photographing it like an over-excited tourist. Which, to be fair, is exactly what I was.
⛏️ When Goldfield Was Actually Golden
To understand why Goldfield matters — and it absolutely does matter — you have to wind the clock back to the early 1900s. In 1902, prospectors discovered gold in the scrubby hills of Esmeralda County in south-western Nevada, and word spread with the sort of speed that only the promise of riches can produce. Within just a few years, Goldfield had exploded from nothing into one of the largest and most riotous boomtowns in the American West.
By 1906 and 1907, the population had swelled to somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 souls — an almost incomprehensible number given that we’re talking about a patch of high desert that sits at roughly 5,700 feet above sea level and offers essentially no comfort whatsoever. At its peak, Goldfield was the largest city in Nevada, which says something both admirable about human ambition and faintly alarming about Nevada.
The town had everything a self-respecting boomtown required: grand hotels, a stock exchange, newspapers, banks, saloons (naturally), and even electricity — quite the novelty at the time. The Goldfield Hotel, built in 1908 and still standing today in varying states of repair, was considered one of the finest hotels in the entire American West, boasting 150 rooms, mahogany furnishings, and a level of opulence that must have seemed quite absurd plonked in the middle of the Nevadan desert.
There was also a rather famous boxing match held in Goldfield in September 1906 — the lightweight world championship bout between Joe Gans and Battling Nelson, promoted by the formidable Tex Rickard. It lasted an extraordinary 42 rounds and drew attention from across the country. Goldfield was, briefly, the centre of the known universe.
📉 The Long Slide Down
As with most things that burn too brightly, it didn’t last. By around 1910, the richest ore deposits had been worked through, production fell sharply, and the mines went into severe decline. The money dried up, the crowds dispersed, and Goldfield began the slow, undignified shuffle from boomtown to ghost town — a journey it has been making ever since.
Around 1,500 hardy (or perhaps just stubborn) residents remained, determined to stick it out. Then, as if the departing gold wasn’t punishment enough, nature decided to pile on. In 1923, a flash flood tore through the town, and not long after, a devastating fire swept through what remained, destroying much of what the flood had left standing. It was the sort of one-two punch from which most small towns simply don’t recover.
Today, fewer than 200 people call Goldfield home — a figure that represents either remarkable community loyalty or an unusually high tolerance for desolation, depending on how you look at it.
🏚️ What’s Left
What makes Goldfield genuinely worth stopping for, beyond the gloriously eccentric sign-covered building that first caught my eye, is the atmosphere of the place. The Goldfield Hotel still looms over the main street, shuttered and slightly foreboding, and has developed something of a reputation as one of the most haunted buildings in Nevada — a claim that every former boomtown in the American West seems obliged to make, but which here feels oddly plausible. The old county courthouse, built in 1907, still stands as well, and there are enough crumbling facades and rusting remnants to keep a camera-happy Londoner occupied for a very pleasant half hour.
It is, in short, exactly the sort of place I love — slightly forgotten, soaked in history, and completely unexpected. The kind of stop that makes a long desert drive worthwhile
Things to do in Goldfield
🪧 1. The Road-Sign Building
What had initially looked like one slightly deranged building turned out to be several, all smothered in road signs, classic Americana, film props, and what appeared to be industrial artefacts dating back to the Industrial Revolution. Brilliant chaos, basically.
The buildings stand on the site of the original 1904 Mohawk Saloon, which was swallowed up in the Great Moonshine Fire of 1923 — a blaze that consumed over 52 blocks of the town. As disasters go, losing 52 blocks to a moonshine fire is both tragic and, you have to admit, darkly impressive.
While I was happily clicking away, Karen got chatting to one of the owners — a chap called Mark Stezaker, who along with his brother owns the whole extraordinary ensemble. Mark spent years in the film industry supplying props, which explains rather a lot. We ended up having a proper conversation, swapping stories and discovering shared roots back in the UK.
🚗 2. The Goldfield Art Car Park Gallery
Just along the main street, we came across a small storefront with a modest parking lot tucked alongside it. Nothing about it screamed “must stop here” from a distance, which is precisely why it nearly caught us out. The lot itself was compact — you wouldn’t lose your children in it — but what it lacked in size it more than made up for in sheer visual madness.
Crammed into that small space were a handful of cars so heavily modified, decorated, and generally interfered with that calling them “vehicles” felt slightly inadequate. Every surface had been pressed into service as a canvas. We wandered slowly around each one, peering at details, nudging each other, and making the sort of appreciative noises that middle-aged people make when something genuinely surprises them. You could quite easily lose an hour here without noticing.
🍾 4. The Bottle House
Just across the street from the Court House sits one of Goldfield’s more quietly peculiar landmarks — an abandoned house with glass bottles embedded directly into its walls. It sounds odd, and it looks odd, but back in the early 1900s this was actually a perfectly sensible thing to do out here in the desert. When proper building materials were expensive, scarce, or simply miles away across hostile terrain, resourceful settlers discovered that empty bottles, packed together and set in a mixture of adobe clay and straw, made surprisingly solid and well-insulated walls. Waste not, want not — a philosophy the Victorians understood rather better than we do.
This particular bottle house dates from 1905, right in the thick of Goldfield’s hectic boom years, when the town was throwing up buildings as fast as it could and using whatever came to hand.
🚒 5. Goldfield Fire Station No. 1
Built in 1908, right in the thick of Goldfield’s extraordinary boom years, the Fire Station sits just off the main drag on Crook Street — which is a genuinely brilliant name for a street, and I’ll leave that there.
What’s immediately striking is the building itself. Constructed from locally quarried ashlar stone — that’s the neatly cut, finely dressed stuff — it’s one of the finest examples of this type of construction in Goldfield. And remarkably, despite floods, fires, and more than a century of desert weather doing its worst, the building is still standing. Which is more than can be said for most of the town.
Inside, there are several beautifully restored fire engines, including a 1907 Seagraves Ladder Trailer and a 1917 American LaFrance Tractor, alongside various other historic engines and ambulances. They’re genuinely impressive, and well worth a look even if, like me, you don’t know a great deal about vintage fire appliances.
The Goldfield Historic Fire Station is now part of the Goldfield Historic District and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s open by appointment only — call (775) 485-3560 to arrange a visit. Admission is free, though donations are very much appreciated and genuinely needed to keep the preservation going.
🚗 6. Classic Vehicles
Wandering Goldfield’s streets, we kept stumbling across vehicles — some charmingly eccentric, others held together largely by optimism and dry desert air. And that, actually, is the desert’s one great gift to abandoned machinery: almost no rain. No rain means no rust, which means a 1950s wreck here looks considerably more dignified than the same car would after a single Midlands winter.
The old Shell garage on the main street has clearly not pumped petrol in a very long time — it has the authentically derelict look of somewhere that gave up quietly and never made a fuss about it. Round the back, though, things get interesting. There’s what might generously be described as an ambulance — though I wouldn’t fancy my chances in it — along with several other vehicles in various stages of their long, sun-bleached retirement.
🏛️ 7. Historic Buildings
The courthouse has been in continuous use since it opened in 1908, which is rather remarkable when you consider what the rest of the town has been through. Still serving as the Esmeralda County seat, it was built from local sandstone and was, by all accounts, one of the more elaborate and ambitious public buildings of its era. What really stops you in your tracks, though, are the original Tiffany and Co. lamps still in situ — actual Tiffany lamps, sitting quietly in a Nevada desert courthouse as if that’s perfectly normal. Just beyond the courthouse sits the original jail, a sobering three-storey structure of metal cells that presumably housed many of the less reputable characters that a booming gold-rush town inevitably attracted.
🍺 The Santa Fe Saloon — Nevada’s Meanest Drink
If you fancy a drink after poking around Goldfield’s atmospheric streets, the Santa Fe Saloon was right there waiting. Trading continuously since 1905, it claimed the title of Goldfield’s oldest operating business — and, rather brilliantly, home to Nevada’s meanest bartender. Quite what that means exactly, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to find out.
From the outside, it didn’t inspire enormous confidence. A rough hand-painted sign, peeling walls, the general appearance of somewhere that last had a lick of paint during the Eisenhower administration. But inside was a genuine surprise — spacious, creaking original floorboards underfoot and a beautifully preserved Brunswick bar that had been serving thirsty miners since the Gold Rush days. The sort of place that has absolutely no interest in being fashionable, and is infinitely better for it.
🏫 The Goldfield Historic High School
Wandering the streets, we came across the old High School — an impressive but distinctly down-at-heel building that somehow managed to look both grand and forgotten at the same time. Back in Goldfield’s heyday, no expense was spared on public buildings, and prestigious architects like J.B. Randall were brought in to do the job properly. Completed in 1907, the school was built for 450 students — though in that first year, only 125 actually turned up, served by 25 faculty members. Still, it was a statement of intent from a town that fully expected to be around forever.
It wasn’t. As the mines collapsed, so did everything else. By 1918, the town’s other three schools had consolidated here, and by 1947, grades 9 through 12 were being bussed north to Tonopah. By 1953, the building was abandoned entirely — the foundations, much like the town’s fortunes, having quietly given up.
Today, the Goldfield Historic High School is one of only two historic schools still standing. The exterior has been carefully preserved, and work on the interior is now underway.
Tours are $20 for 90 minutes, by appointment only. Contact Jeri Foutz at (775) 485-3738 or (541) 218-8236 to arrange a visit.
🏨 The Goldfield Hotel — Champagne, Chandeliers and Things That Go Bump in the Night
Right in the heart of town stands the Goldfield Hotel, and you simply cannot miss it. When it opened in 1908, it was reportedly the most luxurious hotel between Chicago and San Francisco — which, given the distances involved, is quite a boast. The stone and brick building came fitted with telephones, electricity and central heating, all of which must have felt like witchcraft to anyone arriving from the surrounding desert. Champagne apparently flowed down the entrance steps on opening day, while inside, mahogany woodwork, overstuffed black leather furniture, gold-leaf ceilings and crystal chandeliers set the tone nicely.
Today, the hotel is firmly closed and apparently absolutely heaving with ghosts. The reported residents include former owner and mining magnate George Wingfield — you can allegedly still smell his cigars — his mistress, his illegitimate child, two guests who took their own lives, two children, a mischievous little person, and the charmingly named “The Stabber,” who attacks visitors with a knife but, reassuringly, causes no actual harm. The hotel has featured in numerous TV shows and documentaries, which honestly seems about right.
8. 📻 Radio Goldfield & the Goldfield Gift Shop
Directly across the street from the Goldfield Hotel sits Radio Goldfield, the town’s very own community radio station — and brilliantly, it has a glass storefront, so you can watch the DJ in full flow as you walk past. When we visited, there was a tremendously energetic middle-aged woman absolutely giving it everything behind the desk. It is genuinely difficult to keep walking. We managed it, but only just.
Next door in the same block is the Goldfield Gift Shop, and we always make a point of supporting local businesses in small towns like this, where every passing car is essentially the entire economy. Inside, it was a wonderful jumble — souvenirs, snacks, collectables, and gift items that seemed to span the entire history of the town, from the gold-rush days right up to last Tuesday.
But the real surprise was through a doorway at the back of the shop: a proper little museum dedicated to the Tonopah and Tidewater Railway, complete with a diorama of the old network. I do love a model railway. Always have.
We got chatting to the people running the place — Sherry, Diana, Elaine and Kevin — who were generous with their time and gave us some genuinely fascinating local colour about Goldfield’s past. Lovely people.
🚗 9. International Car Forest of the Last Church
Just outside Goldfield sits one of the more genuinely baffling things we’ve ever pulled over for, and given our track record, that’s saying something.
At first glance, the International Car Forest of the Last Church looks like Stonehenge — if Stonehenge had been designed by someone with a salvage yard and a serious grudge against conventional thinking. Instead of ancient standing stones, over 40 cars, trucks, and vans have been nosed nose-first into the desert floor or stacked improbably on top of one another, like a giant toddler’s abandoned toy box. Each one has been painted — skulls, political caricatures, abstract designs — no two the same.
It was the brainchild of artists Chad Sorg and Mark Rippie, who began the project around 2010. The rather magnificent name came from Rippie himself, rooted in his personal belief system that takes a fairly dim view of organised religion. Fair enough, frankly.
There’s no explanatory sign, no gift shop, no helpful leaflet. It simply exists, magnificently strange, in the Nevada desert.
Sadly, Sorg and Rippie had a spectacular falling out at a party — as artistic collaborations so often end — and no longer work together.
Planning Your Visit to Goldfield
📍 Overview
Goldfield is a small, remote settlement in Esmeralda County, south-western Nevada — a place that straddles the line between ghost town and living community. Sitting at an elevation of around 5,700 feet in the high desert, it is the county seat of Esmeralda, one of the least populated counties in the United States. Today fewer than 300 people call it home, yet at its peak in the early 1900s it was Nevada’s largest city, with a population estimated at between 20,000 and 40,000 people.
Gold was discovered at the base of Columbia Mountain in 1903, and the rush that followed was extraordinary. Within a few years the town had railroads, banks, newspapers, schools, saloons, and its own stock exchange. Wyatt Earp lived here for a time. A brutal labour dispute in 1907–08 brought in federal troops. Then came the slow decline — a flash flood in 1913, a devastating fire in 1923, and the gradual exhaustion of the mines. What remains today is a haunting, fascinating stretch of original buildings, desert art, and deep Americana. It is often described as a “living ghost town,” and that captures it perfectly.
🗺️ Location
Goldfield lies along US Route 95 in central-western Nevada, roughly 200 miles north of Las Vegas and 250 miles south of Reno. The nearest sizeable town is Tonopah, approximately 25 miles to the north. The surrounding landscape is open high desert, ringed by mountain ranges and vast, unpopulated terrain. The nearest larger city for services and supplies is either Las Vegas to the south or Reno to the north.
✈️ Getting There
There is no public transport serving Goldfield. A private vehicle is essential.
The most practical gateway is Las Vegas, with Harry Reid International Airport roughly 190 miles to the south — a drive of around three to three and a half hours north along US-95. Reno-Tahoe International Airport is approximately 250 miles to the north, also reachable via US-95 heading south. Both routes are straightforward desert highway drives, though long and remote.
A small local airstrip exists at Goldfield, but it handles only light aircraft and has no commercial services.
US-95 is the principal road through town and connects Goldfield to the rest of the state. There is no bus service, no taxi service, and no rideshare coverage in this area. Hire a car at whichever airport you fly into and ensure it is adequately fuelled before setting out — petrol stations along this stretch of highway are few and far between.
🚗 Getting Around
Goldfield is a small town and most of its central sights are walkable, though the surrounding attractions require a vehicle. A four-wheel-drive or high-clearance vehicle is advisable if you plan to explore the off-road areas, dirt tracks, and rockhounding sites nearby. Road conditions on unpaved routes can deteriorate significantly after rain.
Parking is informal and unrestricted throughout town. Most visitors drive between points of interest, then park and explore on foot. There is no public transport of any kind within the town itself.
The Best Time to Visit Nevada
🌸 Spring (March to May)
Spring is widely regarded as one of the finest times to explore Nevada, particularly for those drawn to the outdoors. Temperatures across the desert regions climb to a pleasant 15–25°C, making hiking, cycling, and sightseeing comfortable and enjoyable. The Mojave Desert and the Valley of Fire see mild, golden days with crisp evenings, and wildflowers — lupines, desert marigolds, and brittlebush — bring vivid colour to the landscape. Red Rock Canyon and Great Basin National Park are especially rewarding in spring, with manageable crowds and ideal trail conditions.
Las Vegas enjoys busy but not overwhelming visitor numbers during spring, and hotel rates remain reasonable outside of major events such as March Madness, which draws large crowds. Easter weekend and spring break periods (mid-March to mid-April) bring a spike in visitors, so booking ahead is advisable. Overall, spring offers an excellent balance of good weather, relative affordability, and natural beauty.
What to pack: Lightweight layers, a breathable waterproof jacket, comfortable walking shoes or trail boots, sunscreen (factor 50+), sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, a reusable water bottle, and a light fleece for cool evenings.
☀️ Summer (June to August)
Summer in Nevada is intense. Temperatures in Las Vegas and the southern desert regularly exceed 40°C, and in Death Valley — just over the Californian border — they can surpass 50°C. The heat is not merely uncomfortable; it can be genuinely dangerous for the unprepared. That said, summer is Nevada’s busiest tourist season, driven largely by school holidays and the irresistible pull of Las Vegas, which thrums with energy, poolside parties, and headline entertainers.
If you are visiting Las Vegas, summer is manageable provided you stay close to air-conditioned casinos, hotels, and indoor attractions during the peak heat of midday and venture out in the early morning or evening. For outdoor enthusiasts, the higher elevations of northern Nevada — Reno, Lake Tahoe, and the Ruby Mountains — offer a far more temperate escape, with temperatures in the mid-20s°C and spectacular scenery. The Tahoe basin is superb for watersports, hiking, and mountain biking in summer.
Be aware that July and August bring Nevada’s monsoon season, with brief but powerful afternoon thunderstorms that can cause flash flooding in canyons and desert washes. Always check forecasts before venturing into the backcountry.
What to pack: Ultra-lightweight, light-coloured breathable clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, high-factor sunscreen applied frequently, UV-protection sunglasses, insulated water bottles (carry far more water than you think you need), sandals and trainers, a compact umbrella for monsoon showers, and electrolyte tablets to guard against heat exhaustion.
🍂 Autumn (September to November)
Autumn is arguably Nevada’s best-kept secret. As summer visitors depart and temperatures begin to ease, the state settles into a deeply pleasant rhythm. September still carries warmth — often reaching 30°C in Las Vegas — but without summer’s brutal excess. By October, daytime highs drop to a wonderful 20–25°C across much of the state, and the desert air takes on a clarity that makes photography a particular pleasure.
The scenery in autumn is stunning. Aspen groves in the mountains around Reno and in the Great Basin blaze gold and amber from late September through October, offering some of the most photogenic landscapes in the American West. Hotel rates in Las Vegas drop considerably after the busy summer season, and while major conventions (including the colossal Consumer Electronics Show, which begins in early January and affects autumn bookings) can temporarily inflate prices, autumn is generally excellent value.
Outdoor activities — hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking — are at their finest in autumn. Zion National Park in neighbouring Utah is often visited on Nevada road trips at this time of year, and the combination of mild temperatures and autumn colour makes it breathtaking. This season suits almost every type of traveller.
What to pack: A mix of light daytime clothing and warmer layers for evenings, a mid-weight jacket, comfortable walking and hiking shoes, sunscreen (the desert sun remains strong even in autumn), a camera or high-quality smartphone, and a light scarf for cooler nights in higher elevations.
❄️ Winter (December to February)
Winter in Nevada divides sharply by geography. In Las Vegas and the southern Mojave Desert, winters are mild and largely sunny, with daytime temperatures hovering between 10–15°C — not warm by any means, but refreshingly cool and far more comfortable for sightseeing on foot than the summer heat. The famous Las Vegas Strip is at its most walkable in winter, and the city buzzes with festive energy in December. New Year’s Eve on the Strip is one of the world’s great celebrations, though it comes with enormous crowds and premium pricing.
Northern Nevada and the Sierra Nevada mountains tell an entirely different story. Lake Tahoe transforms into one of North America’s premier ski destinations, with resorts including Heavenly, Northstar, and Squaw Valley (now called Palisades Tahoe) attracting skiers and snowboarders from across the country. Snowfall can be heavy and dependably excellent from December through March. Reno, meanwhile, enjoys crisp, clear winter days and serves as a gateway to the ski fields.
Winter is the low season for Nevada’s national parks and outdoor areas south of Las Vegas, meaning visitor numbers are minimal and accommodation is cheaper. However, some roads into higher-elevation parks such as Great Basin National Park may be closed due to snow. Always check conditions before setting out.
What to pack: For Las Vegas and the south — a warm coat, jumpers, jeans, and comfortable walking shoes with grip. For the mountains and ski resorts — full ski or snowboard gear (or hire on arrival), thermal base layers, waterproof outer layers, insulated boots, gloves, a neck gaiter, and goggles.
🗓️ The Overall Best Time to Visit Nevada
If you can only choose one season, autumn — specifically October — stands out as the single best time to visit Nevada for most travellers. The heat has relented, the crowds have thinned, hotel prices are attractive, and the natural landscape is at its most spectacular. Whether you are drawn to the electrifying pace of Las Vegas, the golden aspen trails of the Great Basin, or the rust-red rock formations of the south, October offers a version of Nevada that is accessible, affordable, and genuinely beautiful. Spring runs it a close second, particularly for hikers and nature lovers. Summer is best reserved for those committed to the Las Vegas experience or heading north to Lake Tahoe, while winter suits skiers and those who prefer the quiet magic of the desert in the cool season.
Nevada rewards visitors in every month of the year — but come in autumn, and it will likely exceed every expectation.
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