Nevada is the most abandoned state per capita in America — the driest climate in the continental US preserving ghost towns for over a century while the boom-and-bust mining economy created and emptied communities faster than anywhere else in the West. A 1905 gold rush city of 10,000 gone by 1916. An 1850s silver canyon where miners were killed over claim disputes. The most nuclear-bombed landscape on Earth. Here are 5 of the best abandoned places in Nevada, selected from our Abandoned Places Map USA — 5,000+ GPS locations across the United States.
Why Nevada Is a Hidden Gem for Abandoned Buildings & Urban Exploration
Nevada's desert climate is the finest preservative on Earth for abandoned structures — what would rot in a decade in the humid South stands intact for a century in the Nevada desert. The state's history of silver and gold mining booms created more ghost towns per square mile than anywhere else in America; the surrounding desert has kept them intact for generations.
1. Rhyolite Ghost Town – 1905 Gold Rush City of 10,000, Cook Bank Three-Story Ruins and Bottle House Still Standing, Nye County (Known Location)
Founded after a gold strike in the Bullfrog Hills in 1904, Rhyolite exploded to an estimated 10,000 residents by 1907 — electric lights, a stock exchange, an opera house, three railroads and the three-story Cook Bank Building with marble imported from Italy. The financial panic of 1907 wrecked Nevada mining; by 1916 Rhyolite was nearly empty. What survives: the three-story Cook Bank ruins, the Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad depot, the Tom Kelly Bottle House built from 50,000 beer and liquor bottles and the school building walls — all freely walkable on BLM land near Death Valley's eastern edge. One of the most photogenic ghost towns in the American West and one of the best abandoned places in Nevada.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Rhyolite, Nevada
2. Nelson Ghost Town – 1775 Spanish Mine, 1850s Gold Canyon Town, Rusting Ore Processing Equipment and Vintage Aircraft Props, Clark County (Known Location)
Mining in Eldorado Canyon dates to 1775 when Spanish explorers first worked the silver deposits — making it one of the oldest mine sites in Nevada. The 1850s gold canyon town of Nelson that grew around the Techatticup Mine was one of the most violent mining camps in the West — a sheriff shot dead, miners killed over claim disputes, lawlessness that kept the area dangerous for decades. What remains: the original assay office, a general store, miner cabins along the canyon walls, rusting ore processing machinery and — incongruously — vintage aircraft and vehicles left from film productions using the dramatic canyon backdrop. Free access, 45 miles from Las Vegas. One of the most layered and most visually dramatic abandoned places in Nevada.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in the USA →
3. Belmont Ghost Town – 1865 Silver Mining Town with Intact Courthouse and Hotel Ruins, Nye County (Exclusively on Our Map)
Founded in 1865 after rich silver deposits were discovered in the Toquima Range, Belmont served as the Nye County seat for nearly two decades with a courthouse, hotels, saloons and a population of several thousand. When the silver played out in the 1880s and the county seat moved to Tonopah, Belmont emptied. The original courthouse still stands — the most imposing abandoned government building in the Nevada desert — alongside brick hotel ruins, wooden commercial buildings and the mill complex ruins. One of the best abandoned places in Nevada for courthouse-era historic architecture preserved by desert climate. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
4. Abandoned Goldfield Hotel – 1908 Luxury Hotel in the Gold Rush Town of Goldfield, Boarded But Still Standing, Esmeralda County (Exclusively on Our Map)
Built in 1908 at the height of Goldfield's gold rush — when the town of 20,000 was briefly the largest city in Nevada — the four-story Goldfield Hotel was the most luxurious building between Denver and San Francisco, with mahogany furniture, gold-leaf fixtures and a crystal chandelier. When the gold ran out Goldfield emptied and the hotel closed. It has stood boarded and deteriorating for decades, its facade intact and its reputation as one of the most haunted buildings in Nevada drawing paranormal investigators. Goldfield itself is one of the best preserved large-scale Nevada ghost towns. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
5. Abandoned Churchill County Lovelock Cave Site – 1912 Archaeological Site with Duck Decoy Artifacts, High Desert Lovelock Area (Exclusively on Our Map)
Lovelock Cave in Churchill County was excavated in 1912 and yielded one of the most significant Native American archaeological finds in Nevada history — duck decoys made of tule reed, baskets, weapons and organic materials preserved for thousands of years by the desert cave conditions. The cave itself is accessible in the high desert above Lovelock, while the surrounding area contains abandoned early 20th-century homestead infrastructure from the Humboldt River valley's brief agricultural era. One of the most historically unusual abandoned places in Nevada — a site where human occupation spanning millennia meets 20th-century desertion. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
Safety Tips for Urban Exploration in Nevada
- Desert heat: Nevada summers exceed 115°F — never explore without 2 liters of water minimum per person; avoid any outdoor activity between 10am and 6pm June through September
- Abandoned mine shafts: Nevada has tens of thousands of open and partially concealed mine shafts — never approach unfenced holes and always stay on established paths around mining sites
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and let someone know your location
The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
❓ FAQ – Abandoned Places in Nevada
What is the most famous abandoned place in Nevada?
Rhyolite Ghost Town near Death Valley — a 1905 gold rush city that reached 10,000 residents by 1907 and was nearly empty by 1916. The three-story Cook Bank ruins with marble imported from Italy, the Bottle House built from 50,000 beer bottles and the railroad depot all still stand freely accessible on BLM land.
What is Nelson/Eldorado Canyon?
A gold and silver mining canyon 45 miles southeast of Las Vegas where Spanish explorers worked silver deposits as early as 1775. The 1850s mining camp of Nelson was one of the most violent in the West — a sheriff shot, miners killed over claims. Today vintage ore processing machinery, original buildings and incongruous film production props occupy the canyon.
Why does Nevada have so many ghost towns?
Nevada's mining economy was uniquely volatile — single ore bodies created cities of thousands that collapsed completely when the deposit played out, often within a decade. The desert climate then preserved what was left for generations. Nevada has over 600 documented ghost towns, more per square mile than any other American state.
🎯 Summary
Nevada's abandoned buildings are shaped by the fastest boom-and-bust cycles in American history — a gold rush city of 10,000 gone in a decade, a silver town whose courthouse still stands in the desert a century after the county seat moved and an 1850s gold canyon where the violence has been replaced by silence. Each of these 5 abandoned places in Nevada captures a different dimension of the state the desert built, preserved and left behind.
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