Best Ghost Towns Tours in Las Vegas

Having a great time in Las Vegas doesn't just mean visiting casinos, spas or seeing the Grand Canyon. There are other things to see and do in Las Vegas to enjoy your vacation. Among them are the ghost town tours around Las Vegas.

These towns used to be heavily populated in the early 20th century and subsisted on the gold, silver, zinc and other minerals found in the mines. Many treasure hunters came to these towns and fought for these riches, which generated internal conflicts that claimed many lives. Today, very few people live in these cities and there are only abandoned buildings and curious objects worth seeing.

Goodsprings is a town located in Nevada approximately 61 kilometers from Las Vegas. In this practically abandoned town you can take a guided tour to explore its ghostly corners. The tour has an average duration of 4 hours and costs about 150 ¤. Are you brave enough for this excursion? Let's try it!

This activity is one of the night tours that you can do in Las Vegas. During the tour your guide will take you to the local cemetery. Here you will hear spooky stories about ghosts that the few inhabitants of this city have been able to see. To make this adventure even more exciting, the guides provide ghost hunting equipment and explain how to use it.

Afterwards you will visit the Pioneer Saloon and Gallery, a famous and historic bar and restaurant where the ghost of a miner is said to appear. Here you will enjoy dinner, which is usually included in the tour package. Take the opportunity to hear more horror stories and continue ghost hunting in the area.

After dinner you will take the bus back to Las Vegas. I recommend that you talk to your guide so that you can be picked up at your hotel at the beginning of the tour and dropped off at the starting point.

Details of interest

• Price: around 150 €.
• Duration: approximately 4 hours.
• Means of transportation: bus.
• Advantages of this option: besides getting to know a ghost town, you can have some fun discovering paranormal activity in this abandoned site in Nevada.
• Disadvantages of this option: if you are too scared to talk about paranormal activity, then this would not be the tour for you.

Fancy a comfortable ride through one of the most famous ghost towns in Las Vegas? If so, the city of Nelson is waiting for you! Aboard a luxury bus you can take a tour of about three hours from Las Vegas to this town steeped in history. The entire experience costs an average of $200.

Originally this ghost town was named by the Spanish as El Dorado. This site is now home to the old Techatticup gold mine which has a sinister history. Many people came there in search of the precious gold and lost their lives in the attempt. Conflicts, fights and murders were common.

After unexpected floods, the town lost some of its appeal. However, over time it has become a tourist site and even the filming set for some movies such as 3000 Miles to Graceland. For the filming they used a crashed plane that is now an attraction for tourists and their cameras.

During your visit to this city you will be able to enjoy the history and curious facts that your professional guide will tell you. In addition, you will be able to eat some snacks included in the cost of the tour and you will be able to stay hydrated with the water bottles you will be given for the tour.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately 200 €.
• Duration: about 3 hours.
• Means of transportation: luxury bus.
• Advantages of this option: it is a simple and interesting tour that takes only one morning to do.
• Disadvantages of this option: it only includes one destination and for some tourists it can be boring. If you are one of those, I recommend you to look for tours that include more things to do.

Searchlight and Nipton are two abandoned cities that are about 35,000 miles apart. Because of their proximity, it is worth visiting both on the same tour. In addition, Nipton is located in the state of California, so it is one of the destinations you can explore beyond Las Vegas. A tour to these locations can last 3 to 4 hours and cost around 200 €.

On your way to these cities your guide will take you to make a short stop at Primm Valley Resort & Casino in Primm, where you can see an exhibit of some of the belongings of Bonnie & Clyde, the famous lovers of crime, including their iconic car. Depending on your guide, you can spend some time gambling in the casino or just enjoy the exhibit.

The town of Nipton has about 20 inhabitants, while Searchlight has about 500. Walking through its abandoned streets you'll feel like you're in an old Wild West movie. Like other similar towns, both towns were created from mining, but now you can explore the town and photograph the dilapidated and abandoned buildings.

One of the iconic sites in Nipton, the first town you will visit, is the Nipton Hotel which offers eco-friendly cabins for tourists wishing to stay in this ghost town. Note that the town is located on the edge of the Mojave National Preserve, so you can see beautiful scenery.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately 200 ¤.
• Duration: about 4 hours.
• Means of transportation: bus.
• Advantages of this option: with this type of tour you can see two cities in one trip to explore a little more.
• Disadvantages of this option: these cities do not offer a variety of activities. It is mostly a trip to explore and learn a bit of the history of these places. If this type of plan does not appeal to you, I recommend choosing another type of tour.

Chloride was a mining town that currently has many abandoned buildings and houses. However, it has picturesque scenery ideal for a photo shoot that makes you feel like you've traveled back in time. This type of photographic tours usually last 4 hours and cost 300 ¤. Do you dare to live this experience?

This Arizona city owes its name to the silver chloride that was abundant years ago. In 1840 this city also had other treasures such as gold, zinc and lead. The city was prosperous for a time, until the late 1920s when it suffered a massive fire. Years later the silver was devalued and the mines closed, making it a ghost town.

On your way through here you will see quaint houses, the Sheriff's office, the post office, the jail, the cemetery, the church and the abandoned stables. At each of these sites you can stop to take your well-deserved pictures and selfies. In addition, you can stop by Cyanide Springs, a small replica of what the town once was. It is located in the middle of Chloride and is an ideal place for John Wayne fans.

Other things you'll surely want to photograph are the pieces of art made from recycled materials that are located in various parts of town. After taking all the pictures you want, I invite you to visit Yesterday's restaurant to enjoy a good burger. If you like to try new food in places like this, I recommend you to take a gastronomic tour in Las Vegas.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately 300 ¤.
• Duration: about 4 hours.
• Means of transportation: bus.
• Advantages of this option: this kind of excursions are ideal because they leave you with a special memory. Your guide will take you to special places so you can take the best pictures of your trip.
• Disadvantages of this option: Chloride is a city in Arizona, more than an hour's drive from Las Vegas. This means that the trip may take some time.

The main attraction of this type of tour is Death Valley National Park. However, on the way to this park your guide can take you to tour the remains of the ghost town of Rhyolite. The duration of these tours is about 10 hours, as both destinations are almost 3 hours by road. The average cost of these excursions is 250 €.

As this is a long trip, the driver will take care of the logistics, while another guide will tell you about the history and geology of this park. On the way you will make a stop in the town of Rhyolite, one of the most photographed ghost towns. Take advantage of the time here to see the ruins of several buildings, the old saloon and abandoned houses.

This is one of the best national park tours from Las Vegas that you can do. You will be able to visit very famous tourist spots such as Hell's Gate and Area 51. If you want to visit this site with more time, I recommend an Area 51 Tour from Las Vegas. Other sites you will see are the Badwater Basin and Artists Palette.

These tours usually include lunch, some snacks along the way and bottles of water. However, I recommend checking these details with your tour guide. This way you will be better prepared for the day. At the end of the tour, the bus will take you back to the starting point, which is usually the hotel where you are staying.

Details of interest

• Price: around 250 €.
• Duration: approximately 10 hours.
• Means of transportation: bus.
• Advantages of this option: with this type of tour you can visit Death Valley and an abandoned city, all in one trip. It is an ideal experience to do different things on your Las Vegas vacation.
• Disadvantages of this option: if you will only be in Las Vegas for a few days, this may not be your best option because you will spend more than half of your day on this tour. Also, it is a long bus ride that not everyone likes.

Traveller tip
This type of tour is usually very long in a desert area. Needless to say that this is a place with very strong weather conditions if you are not used to the sun and heat. That is why I recommend you to bring sunscreen and stay hydrated.

On the tours to the ghost towns of the far west from Las Vegas you will encounter a desert road and high temperatures. Most of the towns look very similar to each other. This is because they all came about during a time when mining was booming.

In each town the most common sites are a hotel, sheriff's office, saloon, post office, restaurant and store. Today these sites are abandoned and rusting. You will also see abandoned cars or dilapidated train cars.

Although it sounds a little bad at first, it is an interesting experience to see the ruins of these cities. Some have even been able to take advantage of their situation and have replicas of what was their city in its best days.

On the other hand if you like to photograph nature, along the way you will see many desert plants such as cactus. If you are lucky you will also see some animals like lizards and even snakes, be careful where you step!

For this kind of tours I always advise you to wear comfortable and breathable clothes. This will allow you to stay cool during the day. Also, your shoes should be comfortable and also heat resistant.

Sunscreen is something you can't forget. Before leaving, apply some to your skin and take it with you to touch it up along the way. Although many of these excursions include water bottles for the road, it is always good to bring your own water bottle.

Finally, I advise you to bring a professional camera or a cell phone with a good camera. This way you will be able to take good pictures day or night in the ghost towns of Nevada and Arizona.