8 Standout Main Streets In Nevada

Thanks to the Las Vegas Strip, whose bright lights can be seen from space, it is hard to stand out in Nevada. Yet some small-town main streets do just that. Whether with booming businesses or mining relics or historic homes or annual festivals or beautification programs, certain main drags can drag your attention from Vegas—if only for a day. Behold eight Nevada towns with their own standout strips.

Boulder City

Unlike other Nevada settlements, Boulder City lacks a designated "Main Street." Rather, intersecting main streets form the Boulder City Historic District. This district, and Boulder City in general, began as lodging for builders of the Hoover Dam nearly a century ago. Thus, historic homes tell the dam story, as does the Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum from the old Boulder Dam Hotel at 1305 Arizona Street. After learning its history, devour the district at The Coffee Cup Cafe on Nevada Way or Goatfeathers on Wyoming Street. Though stunning in their own right, such downtown staples have been further enriched by Main Street Boulder City, affiliated with Main Street America, a "movement dedicated to reenergizing and strengthening older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts."

Eureka

Eureka does have a Main Street, as well as a Main Street organization, though it is unaffiliated with Main Street America. But by using similar methods (beautification projects, community events, business support, preservation, etc.), Eureka Main Street makes magic out of Eureka's Main Street. What starts as Route 50, AKA "The Loneliest Road in America," becomes a "Eureka!"-worthy goldmine of architectural marvels. They include the Eureka Opera House at 31 S Main and the Jackson House Hotel at 11 S Main. You can explore Main Street by car or on foot via the Eureka Historic Walking Tour.

Gardnerville

Gardnerville was Nevada's first Main Street America community. And yes, it has a legitimate "Main Street." In 2024, Main Street Gardnerville earned $120,000 from investments/sponsorships/donations/fundraising; $36,000 from grants; and $35,000 from facade improvement grants. Those funds, combined with 3,731 volunteer hours, helped maintain the majesty of Main. Among its majestic sights are the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center, which is housed in the former Douglas County High School, and the JT Basque Bar and Dining Room, whose Basque culinary and cultural delights have titillated travelers for several decades.

Like other Main Street orgs, Main Street Gardnerville adds outstanding annual events to the majestic mix. Visit on Saturday, December 6, 2025, to catch the Candy Cane Main Kickoff Event, which commences Gardnerville's month-long holiday shopping extravaganza.

Fallon

As the ultimate left turn in small-town roadway nomenclature, Fallon's main street is called Maine Street. It was named by senator-settler Warren W. Williams, who, hailing from Maine, modeled the new Nevada town after his home state. Lacking the green pines and blue seas of its namesake, Maine Street is instead colored by stupendous structures like The Fallon Theatre at 71 S Maine, the Churchill County Courthouse at 71 N Maine, and the Churchill County Museum at 1050 S Maine. Such sites can be reached on foot during Fallon, Nevada's Historic Walking Tour, which has around 40 stops and is narrated by Mayor Ken Tedford.

Genoa

Genoa is considered the oldest permanent settlement in Nevada. Thus, Genoa's Main Street is more an open-air museum of pre-statehood relics than it is a bustling strip of modern businesses. Yet some Genoa relics bustle with tourists. Mormon Station State Historic Park is one such place, being a reconstructed 1851 Mormon pioneer trading post complete with an authentic 1856-built home, dubbed the Kinsey House. Right across the street is the Genoa Courthouse Museum, which was constructed in 1865 and survived the 1910 fire that destroyed much of the town. Another Main Street fire survivor is the Genoa Bar & Saloon, which, having opened in 1853, is the oldest continuously operating bar in the state.

Tonopah

Along with Gardnerville and Reno, Tonopah is one of three Nevada communities accredited (not simply affiliated) with Main Street America. Backed, therefore, by the Main Street America Accredited Program, Tonopah Main Street has refurbished this former silver mining town by promoting historic businesses like the Mizpah Hotel and adding myriad murals and monuments, which can be found during the Murals & Monuments Walking Tour. But Main Street's most mesmerizing marvel is not a ravishing relic or a modern monument. It is The World Famous Clown Motel, a clown-themed retreat skirting an old graveyard. Dare to stay overnight?

Goodsprings

For 362 days of the year, Goodsprings' main street does not stand out. Yet, on the third weekend of November, this tumbleweed-strewn thoroughfare falls out of obscurity for the Fallout Fan Celebration. Several thousand people, dressed as mutants from the post-apocalyptic Fallout video game series, gather during said weekend in Goodsprings, which was digitized as a setting in 2010's Fallout: New Vegas. Naturally, fans are drawn to the Goodsprings General Store and the Pioneer Saloon, both of which line W Spring Street and appear in the video game. Moreover, store and saloon form the nucleus of the Fan Celebration, hosting a variety of events from a Fallout trivia contest to Fallout karaoke.

Virginia City

A Main Street America affiliate, Virginia City's prized, preserved thoroughfare is called C Street. And boy is it something to see. Built to serve the Comstock Lode, the first major silver deposit discovered in the United States, C Street centered one of the biggest mining boomtowns that eventually busted. Though the mines died and residents left, the streets, having historic and architectural significance, became Virginia City's new gems. Contemporary C Street is lined with wooden-plank sidewalks, gas-style street lamps, and authentic Old West buildings like the Washoe Club Museum & Saloon, Mark Twain Saloon & Casino, and Historic Fourth Ward School Museum. C Street was recently ranked 6th on USA TODAY's list of the 10 best main streets in America.

As should now be clear, Las Vegas' Strip is not the only standout main street in Nevada. Some of the state's smallest settlements stimulate sightseers with spectacular streets, ranging from Nevada Way in Boulder City to Maine Street in Fallon to Spring Street in Goodsprings to C Street in Virginia City. Though not all are called "Main Street," they are all main gateways for a fabulous non-Vegas vacation. Which will you enter first?