nevada

HAs anyone taking a trip through Nevada explore their ghost towns? We are heading that way in a few weeks and wonder where to go?

Use your Google search to look for Nevada ghost towns. Just be careful if you are going in winter as roads can be impassible with snow, tell somebody where you are going and when you plan to return, and it can be a very loooong way to help or the next town. The old ghost town of Berlin also has co-located a very interesting prehistoric fish fossil museum as part of a state park.

Pick up a copy of Nevada ghost towns by Lambert Florin before you go. You wont regret it. Definitely out of print, so check ebay or amazon for a copy.

Wouldn't a Ouija Board be the best guide to ghost towns??

A second thumbs up for Berlin. Blog post clicky.

I've been to some of the ghost towns in the state. However, December may not be the opportune time to get to many of them. Most were located in mining districts and the mines were primarily located in the mountains. I've gotten stuck out there in December because of snow. Be careful if you go, take supplies if you get stuck out, and let someone know where you are going.

Many of the ghost towns are true ghosts, with little left but a few rocks indicating where building foundations had been. Others, like Eureka, never were real ghosts, but still had many empty buildings. With the new gold mine north of town, everything is "booming" again. Belmont is a good one to visit this time of year. Manhattan another. Both are lower elevations with decent roads as there are still residents there. But even places like Caliente have interesting things to see. I'd stay to the south, although there are lots of ghost towns around Ely.

There are a few ghost towns/sites that were associated with the Pony Express Trail, the stagecoach roads, and the railroads (check out Palisade near Carlin). While they may be lower in elevation, they're also often on dirt roads that get tough to traverse when they get wet. Take chains to be safe.

A few of my links:

http://www.cmdrmark.com/ghosttowns.html
http://www.nevadadventures.com/index.html
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/nv.html
http://silverstateghosttowns.com/ghosttowns.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ghost_towns_in_Nevada

Second the post about traveling in Nevada in the winter. Nevada has the most mountain ranges in the lower 48, maybe even the entire US. We drove to Delamar last month. Definitely not for the faint of heart; drop offs on one side, an uphill on the other and protruding boulders on a single lane. When we arrived, most of the town was gone.

Berlin is cool and the Rangers are very friendly and knowledgable. Belmont has a neat red brick courthouse but the rest is fallen down ruins. And, there are people who live in the town or else are boondocking for an extended time.

Tybo is cool but you may need a 4x4 to get there. Rhyolite has some interesting buildings and the RR station is being restored.

We plan a ghost town trip in May so will be researching the many more that exist. Be aware that some of the mines are being reworked. We went to check out Murietta for the burros and ghost town but the town is revived and there was blasting over the next hill, I mean, KABOOM.

Northern Nevada in the winter months is not a user friendly place to be, I have been through Wells,NV when the temperature was -25F.

Northern Nevada in winter can be very cold and there is always the possibility of snow. I would make sure of the weather before heading off road. Berlin is good. There will not be water out there this time of year. You might want to travel across hwy 50. You could visit Austin and Eureka. Not true ghost towns but they are old mining towns. Virginia city is another option. Its definitely a tourist place but there is a lot too see there. Around there is gold hill and silver city. Fort Churchill state park is another option.

Nevada ghost towns and desert atlas is a good book. It is by Stan Paher. Volume one covers north and volume two is south. They are around $17.00 each.

We traveled across Highway 50 from Utah through some high passes and the towns of Austin and Eureka. It began to snow there only a few weeks ago.

Gotta put a plug in for Rhyolite, NV. Located only about 4 miles outside of Beatty, NV. Easy access to Death Valley, and far enough south that you should enjoy some reasonably nice weather. One of my favorite spots to photograph, especially at dawn. The Goldwell open air museum (located on the road to Ryholite) is quirky fun, too!