Scenic Routes of Nevada

Las Vegas reels in visitors with its glitz and glam, endless entertainment, and bustling casinos. But just an hour or two from the Strip, some of Nevada’s most alluring scenery, famous landmarks, and exciting attractions beg to be explored. With day trips in every direction, there’s plenty to satisfy your adventurous side without having to travel too far from the entertainment capital of the world. Explore Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead Scenic Route, Colorado River Recreation or Boulder City & Hoover Dam, The Lost Museum, Mesquite Fine Arts Center & Gallery and the Techatticup Mine and Eldorado Canyon.

Today you will drive 2.5 hours on US-93 N and ogle the literally “gorge-ous” views on KershawRyan State Park‘s easy, 1.5-mile Overlook Trail. It is situated in a colorful, scenic canyon at the northern limit of Rainbow Canyon. Steep canyon walls tower over a long, narrow valley. Early settlers here cultivated a garden of grape vines, trees, and grassy lawn surrounding a spring-fed pond, providing a sharp contrast to the rugged landscape.  Dip your toes into the spring-fed pool and take in the lush  gardens, lovely grounds, and even koi ponds in this verdant park.

No matter what else you have planned, make sure
Cathedral Gorge State Park is on your list. The State Park is a photographer’s dream and located in a long, narrow valley in Southeastern Nevada. The drive is merely 28 min via US-93 N. Once completely under water, this sanctuary of eroding fins, narrow siltstone slot canyons, and towering “hoodoos” are a photographer’s dream and a hiker’s limitless playground. Stop by the visitor center for neat exhibits and info on surrounding parks. On your way out of Cathedral Gorge State Park stop in the town of Pioche for lunch (Entrance fee and lunch is not included).
Continue 1.5 hours on US-93 N and you’ll find a great photo opportunity with six large (30-feet-high by 27-feet-diameter) beehive-shaped charcoal kilns in use from 1876 to 1879. Juniper and pinyon pine were burned in these ovens which created charcoal that was used in the smelters for the Ward Mining District. Later, the structures moonlighted as the occasional hideout for stagecoach bandits and frontier outlaw(Park entrance fee is not included).
Today the drive will take you via Cave Valley Rd/White Pine County Rd 45 and US-50 W/US-93 and N/Great Basin Blvd Sitting at Nevada’s eastern edge of the “Loneliest Road in America”, this remote mountain town packing a big adventure punch, Ely is an unbeatable escape for whenever you need to hit the road and live it up in the great outdoors. You will also find murals, art galleries and a sculpture garden decorating the historic downtown.

Today you will drive one hour via US50 E to Great Basin National Park which boasts a feature that’s hard to come by anymore: no crowds. Though hard to believe with the features lineup this place offers, Great Basin is one of the least visited parks, making your time here even more special. Here, you can bag Nevada’s second tallest peak only crossing paths with a handful of people. A must see at Great Basin National Park is the mighty Lehman Caves, which put the area on a nationally significant radar. Tours of Lehman Caves offers a glimpse at stalagmites, stalactites and rare cave formations called helictites—calcite features that curve into unlikely shapes that seem to defy gravity. When heading out on a guided caves tour of this unique cave system, be sure to keep an eye out for shield formations. Be sure to swing by the Stargazer Inn and Kerouac’s Restaurant & Bar, which sit right on the Nevada/Utah border. After a day of exploration around Great Basin National Park, we recommend you come back to Ely, NV to rest up.

Today you will continue for an hour via US50 W on the Loneliest Road in America. Eureka,  Nevada prides itself as being “The Friendliest Town on the Loneliest Road,” is a modest, yet charming  town. While the township is small in size, there are  endlessly interesting things to do and see, as Eureka is perceived by many as one the American West’s best-preserved mining communities. Although nearly impossible to miss when passing through town, be sure to add the Eureka Opera House to your list of things to see. The original Opera House – which once played host to plays, masquerade balls, operas and more – recently underwent renovations, and is an exemplary memento of the town’s fascinating history. Today you will drive an hour via US-50 W to Austin Nevada. You will break away from the ordinary and treat yourself to some of the treasures that Austin Nevada has to offer. Founded during a silver rush in the 1860s, Austin stands as testament to “the way it was.” On Main Street, there are several antique and gem shops where visitors can browse
jewelry made from locally mined turquoise and silver. Another Austin gem is the privately owned St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, the oldest Catholic church in Nevada. The church is in the process of extensive restoration with plans to reopen as a cultural center that will offer artist workshops and art shows, historic presentations, tours and much more. For more information about St. Augustine’s, ask merchants in the Main Street shops. Nevada offers many hot spring options, on your way from Eureka to Austin you can take a detour to Spencer Hot Spring (59 miles) via US-50 W from Eureka. Built in 1857, Middlegate is a former Overland Stagecoach stop on the fabled Pony Express route through the Nevada desert. When Fredda Stevenson bought it in 1984, she began to restore the historic building to its original splendor.  Today, about 15 people live here year-round. There’s a 10-room motel onsite, and in the main building is a bar and restaurant serving Nevada’s best Monster hamburgers. While you’re in Middlegate, be sure also to check out the legendary Shoe Tree, a massive cottonwood, just a few minutes east along Highway 50, with thousands of shoes dangling from its branches. Damn good hamburgers are one thing, but Middlegate is essential for practical purposes as well: The roadhouse has the only gas pump for 50 miles on either side. People are always rolling through on fumes, grateful for this oasis in the desert. International travelers in particular make use of these pumps, often noting that Nevada alone is three times the size of their entire country.
Continue your 45 minute drive on US-50 W to Fallon, Nevada. Fallon, Nevada is a small town with big smiles. Often referred to as “The Oasis of Nevada,” thanks to the region’s formerly high volume of water, the area is a wonderful host to boundless outdoor activities. On your drive from Middlegate
to Fallon Motorsport enthusiasts will be blown away with one trip out to the mysterious Sand Mountain State Recreation Area, just outside of town. As one of the few singing sand dunes in the world, this monstrous, two-mile long, 600 foot tall sand dune is one of the great places in Nevada to load up
your ATVs and dune buggies for an unforgettable afternoon. Just as popular is the beloved locally owned and operated Lattin Farms, where visitors pick their own fruits and veggies, take their pick of mouthwatering homemade jams and pies and even take a spin on the “Cow Train,” for a leisurely tour
of the farm. Best yet, every fall, one of the leading maze designers in the world gets to work on a threeacre, life-size corn maze intended to puzzle adults and children alike. A definite must during Nevada’s comfortable autumn months! Fallon is also home to Churchill Vineyards and Frey Ranch Distillery, who welcome tours and free tastings on the weekend.
Stroll these unsuspectingly lush grounds, and get the inside scoop on one of the nation’s only true Grain-to-Glass operations. Continue for 75 min to Carson City and combine history & cuisine. Nestled in the northwestern part of the state, just a short jaunt from both Lake Tahoe and Reno, is Carson City, Nevada’s proud state capital. The city, built on the cornerstones of mining, logging and the mighty Virginia & Truckee Railroad, was named for frontiersman Christopher “Kit” Carson, who scouted the area for John C. Fremont in the mid 1840s. And while the city has all the modern amenities for a state capital could hope for, its roots are evident nearly everywhere you look. Carson City does a fine job of melding shopping, dining, cultureand nightlife while still maintaining its old-fashioned charm. In the capital of Nevada, you can follow in the footsteps of those who made state-shaping history while charting your own path to endless adventure. Sightsee Silver State origin stories at the Nevada State Capitol and along the Kit Carson Trail in the West Side Historic District, or seek a cultural connection at Brewery Arts Center and Carson City’s two Nevada State Museums. Hikers, bikers, golfers, anglers, and both water and winter sports enthusiasts flock to this hub of outdoor recreation, too, and the Carson City Triathlon – consisting of an eclectic food joint, a laid back brewery, and a historic hot springs site. Recommended activity: walk the capital grounds and explore the local scenery of Downtown.

Continue via S Carson St and Jacks Valley Rd to Genoa, Nevada. Home to less than 300 people, the town of Genoa is a quaint community with historical charm. Spend the day shopping at Genoa Square, where you’ll find unique gifts, old-fashioned candy and freshly ground coffee; or have a picnic at Mormon Station State Historic Park. Continue for 11 miles via NV-206 S and US-395 S.

Visit the below sights (not included) to fully immerse yourself into what Carson Valley is known for: nature’s beauty, a hometown atmosphere, historic sightseeing and world class outdoor recreation. At this point of your trip, you may choose to overnight in Lake Tahoe or continue down to Reno. Reno - The
Biggest Little City has come a long way from its Wild West origins. And seemingly just as far from its days as “just” a premier casino town in northern Nevada.

Don’t get us wrong; top-notch Reno casinos still serve up the world-class entertainment, grand buffets, spa pamperings, and 24-hour gaming that put Reno and Washoe County on the map (long before Vegas, we might add). It’s just that, today, they are but one thread of a town that’s now equally as known for
its public art obsession, bohemian shops, dynamic music scene, all-the-time events lineup, and localcentric foodie landscape — spread across several distinct, walkable neighborhoods. The Downtown Reno Riverwalk, along the picturesque Truckee River, is a green, sculpture-studded thoroughfare lined with restaurants, coffee shops, craft beer halls, and anchored by island-like Wingfield Park,the site of live music and exciting events, and a harbor for summertime swimmers, river tubers, and kayakers tackling the holes and drop pools of the Truckee River Whitewater Park, especially during the annual Reno River Festival. And then there’s the Midtown District. Here, in Reno’s hippest neighborhood, the pulse of this town’s revivalist spirit beats good and loud. Full of funky boutiques, score-filled vintage shops, Burning Man costume emporiums, swanky bistros, art galleries, and cocktail havens, but also plenty of rockin’ music venues, tap houses, tattoo parlors, and everchanging murals adorning nearly every brick… this formerly—shall we say—grittier, mid-century district feels at once fresh and alive, yet also carefully intent on preserving just enough spunky edge to hold onto its street cred. You may also choose to overnight in Lake Tahoe and continue to Reno the next day.