This Is Nevada's Quirkiest Little Town

Just as Paris is tantamount to France, Las Vegas shines as Nevada's heart and soul. Drawing millions with its Elvis-officiated weddings and showgirl-lined boulevards, Sin City encourages visitors to expect the unexpected. However, Nevada's love of the eccentric and zany does not end with its famous city. Given the Silver State’s mining heritage and Wild West past, many of its small towns boast their own iconic quirks. In place of light-up signs and casino-lined strips, visitors can find truly unique cultural, historic, and commercial attractions.

Tonopah, a rough-around-the-edges mining town located around 3 hours away from Vegas, is no exception. While the award-winning Stargazing Destination features more traditional tourist attractions like Stargazing Park, it offers even more unusual ones. From a haunted hotel and underground tunnel to a clown-themed motel and Wild West cemetery, it would be exceptionally hard to find a Nevada town quirkier than Tonopah.

Tonopah’s Billion Dollar Legacy

Although Tonopah is famously known as "Queen of the Silver Camps," the historic mining town was once worth its weight in gold. By the turn of the 20th century, after enduring a twenty-year slump, Nevada’s economy was in desperate need of a revival. As legend goes, the state’s prayers were answered in the spring of 1900. Jim Butler, camping in the area known as Tonopah Springs, discovered ore in the rock he intended to toss at his wandering burro. After enlisting the help of a lawyer and chemistry teacher to assess the sample, Butler’s wife encouraged him to collect more.

Following the success of their first ore shipment, Butler and his partners purchased better equipment, expanding their operations—thus, the Tonopah Mining Company was born. Inspired by this triumph, several other mining districts quickly spawned, along with countless mills and a railroad. At its peak, around 10,000 people lived in the area. However, the most impressive feat of the boom was the mining itself. Historians estimate that the mines produced over five million tons of ore, amounting to over $1,200,000,000 by today’s estimates.

From Mining Camp To Tourist Town

In the 1920s, mining in the Tonopah area reached a steep decline. However, while many of the area’s camps and communities succumbed to the crash, Tonopah persevered. Closing temporarily in 1930 when the price of silver declined, the Tonopah Mining Company went down kicking, only shutting down for good in 1948. While its surrounding ghost towns are lost to time, Jim Butler’s legacy lives on in the 21st century. Today, Tonopah thrives as a resort town, attracting visitors with its mining history, quirky attractions, and Wild West spirit.

Explore The Mines That Made Tonopah Famous

While mining is no longer active in Tonopah, its history is more alive than ever. At Tonopah Historic Mining Park, visitors can “Explore more than 100 acres of Mining History.” Spanning four sections of the town’s former mining companies, the museum features a great blend of interactive sites and traditional exhibits.

Across the grounds, attendees can explore preserved buildings, an extensive mineral display, and historic mining equipment. For more of a thrill, you can also venture underground. The “Underground Adventure” experience, guiding guests through the Burro Tunnel, ends with a daring finale. Atop a metal grate at the end of the tunnel, guests can peer down the Mizpah Mine Shaft. The metal cage, while carefully constructed to ensure your safety, is the only thing separating you from the slope’s 500-foot drop.

Travel Back In Time In Downtown Tonopah

Named one of the “Top 10 True Western Towns” by Truewest Magazine in 2019, downtown Tonopah is the next best place to experience its history. Visitors can step back in time to the Wild West on a Historic Self-Guided Walking Tour, whose map is available for free online. At the heart of it all, Main Street features some of Tonopah’s most iconic sites and historic architecture. When mining boomed, it was here that the town evolved into a commercial hub, lined with saloons, hotels, and Wild West storefronts.

Although it faced hardships in the mid-20th century, Main Street Tonopah has since been revived, once again serving as a lively town center. Businesses like the 1906 Belvada Hotel have been carefully restored, preserving its Classical Revival exterior. Built that same year, the Tonopah Liquor Company is another historic site worth seeing. Formerly a saloon and brothel, today it is a vibrant whiskey club with a haunted basement.

Other Main Street landmarks date back even further, like the 1902 Frank Golden Block. Formerly a jewelry store, saloon, and bank, today it houses businesses like Vanwood Variety Store. Right next door, inside the Belvada Hotel, the Belvada Coffee Shop is the perfect place to stop for a drink before continuing your Wild West stroll.

Spend The Night In A Haunted Wild West Hotel

If history and hauntings intrigue you, consider a stay at the Mizpah Hotel, one of the “10 best haunted hotels in the US,” according to USA Today readers in 2022. Built in 1907 during Tonopah’s mining boom, the five-story structure was once Nevada’s tallest building. Then declared “the finest stone hotel in the desert,” the grand hotel was the best spot in town to conduct business.

While it once welcomed investors and politicians from around the globe, today the Mizpah Hotel attracts a different crowd. History buffs are drawn to its immersive interior, the lobby adorned with era-authentic Victorian furniture, chandeliers, and decor. Paranormal enthusiasts are also drawn to the Mizpah for its stories of spiritual guests. Although some have claimed to hear the ghostly sounds of children in hotel hallways, Mizpah is mainly known for The Lady in Red. While legends of this “permanent visitor” vary, many guests recount hearing her whispers and finding her pearls beneath their pillow.

Stay At The World-Famous Clown Motel

If you love a good scare with a bizarre twist, Tonopah is home to The World-Famous Clown Motel, also dubbed “America's Scariest Motel." Located right next to the Old Tonopah Cemetery, the motel’s setting is as unusual as its theme; however, the two are inextricably linked. When Clarence David died in a local mining fire in 1942, he left behind a sizable clown collection. Years later, in 1985, David’s children opened a clown-themed motel in honor of their father—right next to the very cemetery he was buried in.

Since its founding, the motel has changed hands a few times, but its essence has remained the same. After years of welcoming documentarians, ghost hunters, and clown enthusiasts, the eccentric business has expanded both its reputation and its collection of clown memorabilia. Today, the motel offers an eclectic range of rooms, from horror-themed to classic clown suites.

Visit The Old Tonopah Cemetery

Right beside the iconic Clown Motel, the Old Tonopah Cemetery is like something straight from a Western. Unlike your typical green-grass burial ground, the historic cemetery is set on land so arid, one almost expects a tumbleweed to roll by. Founded in 1901, the plot went on to bury over 300 of the town’s pioneers and locals, many of whom passed in mining accidents or from the 1902 "Tonopah Plague.” Visitors can wander aisles of weathered headstones, crosses, and markers, resilient like the townspeople who made Tonopah what it is today.

Embrace The Unconventional In Nevada’s Quirkiest Little Town

While many picture travel as an earnest immersion in a new culture, sometimes it is fun to let loose and enjoy a more light-hearted getaway. Tonopah offers a great blend of both, allowing guests to learn about its mining origins and impact on the Nevada landscape while also offering an incredible range of whimsical attractions. Whether visiting the Old Tonopah Cemetery, listening for The Lady in Red at the Mizpah, or adventuring underground at Tonopah Historic Mining Park, Tonopah is the perfect Nevada town for travelers who love all things unconventional and quirky.