NEVADA

(does not include Las Vegas)

CARSON CITY
Carson City
Sights & Sites
●Secret Cove (Nude Beach) – Nevada Highway 28 (Incline Village, on Lake Tahoe); secretcovenevada.com/beaches.html and/or outdoorproject.com/adventures/nevada/hikes/secret-cove-chimney-beach-loop; unbelievably beautiful; nude bathing.



CLARK COUNTY
Boulder City
Hotels
●El Rancho Boulder Motel – 725 Nevada Highway; 702-293-1085; elranchoboulder.com; clean, up-to-date 1950s motel; pool.
Restaurants
●Mel’s Diner – 558 Nevada Way; 702-293-1508; closed Wednesdays; no-frills fare; burgers, chicken-fried steak, and sandwiches.
Services
●All Mountain Cyclery – 1404 Nevada Highway, Suite C; 702-453-2453; allmountaincyclery.com; bicycle rentals.
Sights & Sites
●Hoover Dam – US 93; 702-293-8321; bcmha.org.
●Lake Mead National Recreation Area – 601 Nevada Way; 702-293-8990; nps.gov/lake.
●River Mountains Trail – 35 mile bike trail connecting Boulder City and Henderson; 702-365-2191; rivermountainstrail.com; circles River Mountains; connects with Historic Railroad Tunnel trail, which ends near Hoover Dam.

Sloan
Sights & Sites
●Alkali Hot Springs – Silver Peak Road (between Goldfield & Tonopah, take US 95 4.4 miles north of Goldfield & turn left on Silver Peak Road, follow Silver Peak Road 7 miles & springs on left); big, flat parking area by huge, rectangular pool; hot spring pools are just up hill above manmade pool; 2 very small, cement-lined pools whose temperature adjusted by moving PVC pipe that channels source water; nice stop on drive from Reno-Vegas.



DAWSON COUNTY
Overton
Sights & Sites
●Double Negative – directions: Nevada Highway 169 (a/k/a Moapa Valley Boulevard); at Nevada Hwy 169 & Cooper Street intersection, turn north onto Cooper Street (if you are coming from I-15, this is left turn); follow Cooper Street up hill until you reach Overton Airport; at airport, turn right onto Mormon Mesa Road; continue on Mormon Mesa Road towards large mesa ahead of you (Mormon or Virgin River Mesa); road is only partially paved & most of rest of way is graded gravel; follow Mormon Mesa Road to mesa top; as you come to mesa top, will pass cattle guard; continue east across mesa for 2.7 miles; do NOT leave mesa; if you are descending down east edge, have gone too far; just before 2^nd cattle guard at east edge, there is less-traveled road that extends along mesa rim; turn left onto rim road & follow north 1.3 miles; after 1.3 miles on rim road, park vehicle & walk east towards rim to earthwork (you will be within 50 yards of earthwork; moca.org/visit/double-negative; piece of land art located in Moapa Valley on Mormon Mesa (or Virgin River Mesa) near Overton, Nevada; completed in 1970 by artist Michael Heizer; consists of long trench (30' wide, 50' & 1.5K' long), created by displacing 244K tons of rock, mostly rhyolite & sandstone; 2 trenches straddle either side of natural canyon (into which excavated material dumped); work essentially consists of what is not there, what has been displaced, hence its name.
●Valley of Fire State Park – 6 miles from Lake Mead & 55 miles northeast of Las Vegas (via I-15 and on exit 75); 702-397-2088; parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire-state-park; 3K year-old petroglyphs; self-guiding trail; Nevada’s oldest and largest state park, dedicated in 1935.



ELKO COUNTY
Wells
Hotels
●Mustang Monument – Nevada Highway 93 (access Mustang Monument by entering Warm Creek Ranch, approximately 50 miles north of Lages Junction); 858-759-5507 or 888-979-1422; mustangmonument.com; wild horse eco-resort; sleeping in hand-painted tepees outfitted with leather chairs, hardwood floors & handwoven rugs.



ESMERALDA, INYO & NYE COUNTIES
Death Valley National Park (includes Beatty & Rhyolite)
Sights & Sites
●Goldwell Open Air Museum – just off State Route 374 (near Beatty (just outside Rhyolite ghost town), at Amargosa Valley's northern end); 702-870-9946; goldwellmuseum.org; 7.8 acres; prominent Belgian artist group, led by late Albert Szukalski, created self-described "art situation"; 7 outdoor sculptures colossal not only in scale, but also placement; “Last Supper” (13 “ghostly” figures), as well as metal penguin, ceramic sofa, and Cubist nude; artist residency and artist workspace programs offered in nearby Red Barn Art Center; free and open to public 24/7.



HUMBOLDT COUNTY
Virgin Valley (includes Denio)
Hotels
●Denio Junction Motel – State Highway 292; 775-941-0171, deniojunctionmotel.com; only place within hour of Royal Peacock Opal mine; modest.
●Denio Junction Motel – State Highway 292; 775-941-0171, deniojunctionmotel.com; only place within hour of Royal Peacock Opal mine; real cowboys chow down here; hamburger-heavy menu; breakfast, lunch & dinner — grill closes at 6 pm sharp — & is good stopping point on way to or from mine.
Sights & Sites
●Royal Peacock Opal Mine – 10 Virgin Valley Road (Denio); 775-941-0374; royalpeacock.com; possible your discovery will more than pay cost of getting to northwest Nevada, home to among world’s rarest gemstones, black opal; excluding airfare to Reno & rental car, trip will cost roughly $600 for 2 for 2-night stay at mine, digging fees & food; “finders keepers” policy means guests may head home with valuable souvenirs; nearest motel — and it’s modest — is nearly 1 hour’s drive away, so it’s best to reserve accommodations right at Royal Peacock Opal Mine, where cabin & trailer each rent for $75 nightly (both have cooking facilities, so stock up on groceries in Winnemucca, 130 miles away); unique geological happenings 14M years ago left this remote corner of Nevada rife with opals; digging fees are $75-190 per person per day; this is true backcountry, with nearest paved road 15 miles away; electricity is relative newcomer to these parts; forget trying to get cellphone signal & enjoy seclusion.



LINCOLN COUNTY
Hiko
Sights & Sites
●City Art Installation – Garden Valley (near Nye County line); earth art located in desert valley in rural area; begun in 1972 by Michael Heizer & ongoing; when complete (open to public in 2020), will be among largest sculptures ever built; awkwardmovements.com/2012/10/michael-heizer-city-installation.html.



WASHOE COUNTY
Gerlach
Sights & Sites
●Fly Ranch Geyser – Route 34 (21 miles north of Gerlach, on private land, but highly visible, sitting about ⅓ mile off of Route 34); matadornetwork.com/read/visit-fly-geyser-nevada and/or bmflyrnch.wpengine.com; Fly Ranch sold to Burning Man, which is in process of deciding how to make public; can try contacting them.

Nixon
Sights & Sites
●Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation – 208 Capitol Hill; 775-574-1000; plpt.nsn.us; several boulders carved with petroglyphs; designs carved between 16.2-14.8K years ago.

Reno
Shopping
●Animal Artistry – 2795 Vassar Street; 775-284-4706; animalartistry.com; taxidermy.



WHITE PINE COUNTY
Ely
Hotels
●Hotel Nevada – 501 East Aultman Street; 775-289-6665; hotelnevada.com; otherwise grim place with clean rooms; at one time, Nevada’s tallest building (6 stories).