8 Idyllic Small Towns In Nevada To Visit In 2025
Every year, millions of tourists flock to Nevada. Specifically, Las Vegas. The lights, the sounds, the shows, restaurants, and atmosphere keep people coming in flocks all year round. But there is more to this state than what’s under those neon lights. Learn about history, immerse yourself in the culture, and get lost outdoors. Get the most out of the Silver State with a visit to any of these eight idyllic small towns in Nevada in 2025.
Ely
A rather desolate town, but not short on entertainment, Ely provides a range of things to see and do. Starting with the Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park. Found in the Egan Mountain Range, the park contains six charcoal ovens that were used in the 1800s to process silver discovered nearby. After the mining had stopped, the ovens were used as shelters for travelers and hideouts for bandits. Walk the grounds of the park and enjoy the natural landscape, and venture inside the ovens for a tranquil encounter.
For another visit to the past, find a world of wonder at the Ely Renaissance Village. Containing murals that tell the story of western settlers, the 11 houses on the property, and one barn have been converted into a unique museum that tells the story of the town’s multicultural population. For another out-of-the-ordinary historical stop, take a train ride at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. The vintage steam engine gives riders a hands-on experience of the history of this important era in the US's past. Over 70 buildings and 30 miles of track are available to explore at this not-so-typical museum.
Lovelock
Lover’s Lock Plaza, in the town of Lovelock, is a special place where visitors have left locks with their names on them hanging from a chain in the center of the plaza. Over 1,000 locks hang here, symbolizing friendships, families, and romantic relationships. For another tour involving unique local trinkets, visit the Lovelock Cave. Once the home of the state artifact, the Tule Duck Decoy, the cave is a frequented tourist spot in town. Due to its frail nature, the duck decoy, which is over 2,000 years old, is no longer located in the cave, but the cave is still open for visitors to ponder.
Replicas of the Tule Duck Decoy can be found on display at the Marzen House Museum. Built in 1874, the museum includes exhibits related to mining and farming equipment, as well as Native American artifacts and an Indian Cave exhibit.
Rachel
Paranormal and extraterrestrial fans, strap in for a journey through Rachel to visit all things alien-related. Begin your journey with a drive down the Extraterrestrial Highway. This stretch of road reaches over 100 miles and has many interesting and unexplained attractions along the way. It even runs past Area 51, a known area for UFO-related activity. Find more along the way and get out to stretch your legs at some of their more famous pit stops. A highlighted landmark along the route is The Black Mailbox.
Decorated with stickers from passerby enthusiasts, the mailbox is filled with letterings and offerings to our out-of-world visitors. Leave a note, a trinket, or even a snack for our alien friends, knowing that the next time someone visits, it will already be filled with new offerings. After an already jam-packed alien-filled day, end the night at The Little A’Le’Inn. Enjoy the hotel, campsite, restaurant, and gift shop all rolled into one grand accommodation for weary travelers. The original Area 51 restaurant, hotel, and bar prides itself on the unique experience it offers.
Winnemucca
Winnemucca was named in honor of a local Native American chief, and has a rich history of tribes and settlers. Learn about the Winnemucca history at the Humboldt Museum. The museum is located at the very spot where pioneer wagons traversed the Humboldt River. The former church, now museum, features remains from the ice age, beaded and quilled antiquity from American Indian collections, and an early soda manufacturing exhibit. To learn more about the town’s heritage, but during a different era, visit the Buckaroo Hall of Fame & Heritage Museum. Memorabilia include western collectibles, featuring chaps and saddles, and paintings and sculptures. But the most enticing part of the Hall of Fame is that over 70 inductees have been included for their skills of bronc riding, rawhide braiding, roping, and cattle handling. Local celebrities, the original pioneers who shaped this town, are featured in this tiny museum.
For another look into the past of Winnemucca, visit the Sundance Casino. This local secret treasure features 99 games, including Lots-O-Slots! The casino considers slot machines its main attraction and has an abundance of them scattered throughout the casino floor.
Boulder City
Start writing down all the dam jokes you can think of before heading to Boulder City, because its largest attraction is notorious for its dam-related puns and jokes. The Hoover Dam offers tours through the tunnels and power plant, as well as the viewing platform, a 30-foot diameter floodgate that allows visitors to feel the vibration created by rushing water. After the dam tour, stop in at the Boulder City Hoover Dam Museum. The museum shows the story of the settlers who came to Boulder City during the Great Depression and not only built up the town, but the Hoover Dam as well.
Displays and exhibits of the museum feature photographs, artifacts, oral histories, and sounds created by the Hoover Dam construction ringing off the walls of Black Canyon. If you have had enough of the dam museum for one day, another highly unique museum to visit is Tom Devlin’s Monster Museum. The museum preserves the history and art of special effects makeup by showcasing movie props, creature suits, and custom pieces representing monsters throughout movie history. With Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Hellraiser all in attendance, this is one stop horror movie fans won’t want to miss.
Tonopah
Hailed as America’s Scariest Hotel, what started as a memorable gesture towards a family member quickly grew to something much more sinister. In 1985, Clarence David’s two children opened a motel next to the cemetery where he was buried and displayed his 150 clown dolls throughout. However, real fame hit in 2015 and 2016 when TV shows and short films related to ghosts and paranormal activity were filmed at and around the hotel. Guests can stay at The Clown Motel, in one of the horror-themed rooms, and be amazed at the clown collection, which has grown to 6,500 clowns! Understandably, creepy clowns are not everyone’s cup of tea, so for a slightly tuned-down somber stop in Tonopah, history enthusiasts will want to see the Old Tonopah Cemetery.
Located directly next to The Clown Motel, the cemetery is the original plot and the oldest one in the town. A walking tour through the cemetery highlights local notables who made an impact on the town’s upbringing and creation. The tombstones themselves also feature some less-than-traditional epitaphs. “Died in a fire while saving others” or “Accidentally fell from mine while being hoisted to the surface” are just some of the inscriptions you will read on the grounds.
If gore, ghosts, and the like aren’t your thing, but history is, find out about the town’s thriving mining times at Tonopah Historic Mining Park. Nicknamed Queen of the Silver Camps due to its rich mining history, the park is located at the original mining site. Restored equipment and buildings, historic exhibits, a video presentation, self-guided tours, and a guided ATV tour are all features of the park that preserve and educate visitors on the mining rush.
Incline Village
The cobalt blue waters of Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America, can be found atop the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. On the eastern shoreline, relax at Sand Harbor. Visitors will enjoy swimming and kayaking, boating and fishing in the crystal-clear waters, or relaxing on the gently sloping beaches. Alongside the beach runs the Tahoe East Shore Trail. Hailed as “America’s Most Beautiful Bikeway,” the three-mile paved path provides immaculate views of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding forests.
Visitors can take the path from Incline Village to Sand Harbor. Another momentously popular trail in Incline Village that has tourists coming in from all over the globe is the Flume Trail. The singletrack trail is carved into steep granite cliffs that overlook Lake Tahoe and follows the path where wooden square-box falls once delivered water to Virginia City.
Gardnerville
Experience a once-in-a-lifetime trip through Balloon Nevada in Gardnerville. Explore the beauty of Carson Valley from 2,000 feet above ground in a hot air balloon. Peep the valley, Carson River, and snowcapped Sierra Mountains during your flight. For those who want to stay a little more grounded with their activities, make your way over to the uniquely distinct Heritage Park Gardens. While the park does feature 26 garden beds, it holds more than just flowers. There is a children’s garden for young horticulturists to develop a love for gardening, a walking labyrinth, large-scale chess and checkers sets, and a recognition wall honoring the garden’s volunteers.
Step out of nature and back in time at the Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center. The displays reflect the history of the Carson Valley, dating from 1915 to the present. Those displays include Washoe Indian and Basque heritage items and other artifacts regarding agriculture, the telephone, doctors, and restored 19th-century vehicles.
Believe it or not, aliens, clowns, and outlaws are some of the highlights of visiting Nevada. The smaller towns hold hidden gems that some might otherwise not think to frequent. The Vegas Strip, Reno, and Lake Mead cast a shadow over other equally appealing and entertaining attractions. Get the most out of your vacation in 2025 with a visit to any of these eight idyllic small towns in Nevada.
