Railway Heritage Towns and Scenic Drives in Nevada

Riding the Rails in Ely and East Ely

The Nevada Northern Railway in East Ely is the most complete preserved short line in the United States, with original 1900s locomotives, a machine shop you can walk through and scheduled steam and diesel excursions. The railway museum opens Wednesday to Sunday, with rides typically late morning and early afternoon; book ahead for the steam runs, which sell out in summer. The depot sits on East 11th Street, a five-minute drive from Ely's motels and the Hotel Nevada on Aultman Street, the town's 1929 landmark. Expect to spend two to three hours if you ride and tour the shop.

Ely itself is a serving town for Great Basin National Park, 60 miles east on US-50 and US-93, so rooms fill on summer weekends. If you want the railway without the national park crowds, come in late April, May or October: daytime temperatures are mild, the light is good for photography and the train schedule is still running. Skip the shoulder months of March and November if you want guaranteed steam; check the railway's calendar before you commit, because the winter schedule is limited and the high desert can be genuinely cold.

Virginia City and the Comstock Drive

Virginia City is the best-known survivor of the Comstock Lode, and the 1860s wooden storefronts on C Street are the reason to come. The V&T Railway runs a heritage diesel train from the Virginia City depot down to Gold Hill, a short but steep ride through the old mining landscape; it operates seasonally, usually weekends in spring and autumn and more frequently in summer. The drive from Reno on NV-341 through Geiger Summit takes about 45 minutes, and from Carson City on US-50 and NV-342 about 35 minutes. Park once on C Street and walk; the town is built into a hillside and the sidewalks are steep.

Stay in Reno or Carson City rather than in Virginia City itself, where rooms are few and book up for events. Reno's midtown and riverfront hotels give you a base for the railway, the National Automobile Museum and day trips to Truckee, and Carson City's motels near the capitol are quieter and cheaper. The drive from Reno to Virginia City is scenic but narrow in places; if you are not confident on mountain roads, take the Carson City route instead. In winter, check conditions before setting out, because NV-342 can close in snow.

The Loneliest Road and the Depot Towns of US-50

US-50 across central Nevada is marketed as the Loneliest Road in America, and the stretch between Fallon and Ely passes through Austin, Eureka and Ely, each with a preserved or repurposed railroad building. Austin's 1860s Stokes Castle and the old narrow-gauge grade above town are worth a stop; Eureka's 1870s opera house and the Eureka and Palisade Railroad depot give a sense of the silver boom. Fallon, 60 miles east of Reno on US-50, is the last place for a full supermarket and chain motels before the long empty section. Fill the tank in Fallon or Austin; services are sparse and some stations close early.

Allow a full day for Fallon to Ely, about 320 miles, and do not try it after dark if you are unfamiliar with the road, because deer and open range cattle are common. The best months are May, June, September and October, when the heat is manageable and the passes are clear. Book a room in Ely for two nights rather than pushing on to Great Basin; the park's campgrounds fill and the motels in Baker are very limited. If you only have one day, drive Fallon to Austin and back rather than committing to the whole crossing.

Boulder City, the Hoover Dam and the Railroad Pass

Boulder City was built in the 1930s as a federal company town for Hoover Dam workers, and its historic district along Nevada Way has the Boulder Dam Hotel, the 1930s Bureau of Reclamation buildings and a small museum. The Nevada Southern Railway runs excursion trains from the Boulder City depot on Yucca Street, usually weekends and some weekdays, on a short out-and-back toward the dam. The drive from Las Vegas on US-93 is about 35 minutes; from Henderson, 25 minutes. Combine the railway with a dam tour, which takes two to three hours, and you have a full day out of Las Vegas without gambling.

Base yourself in Henderson or Boulder City if the railway is the priority, or in Las Vegas if you want shows and restaurants in the evening. Henderson's Green Valley hotels are a 20-minute drive from the depot and usually cheaper than the Strip. Skip the railway if you are travelling with very small children who will not sit through the ride, and go straight to the dam's visitor centre instead. Summer afternoons at Boulder City regularly exceed 100°F, so ride in the morning and keep water in the car.