Folklore40.8325° N, 115.7624° W
Elko, NV
The home of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering preserves and presents ranching traditions, music, poetry, gear-making, and contemporary folklore of the American West.
- Access
- Open to visitors
Strange stops in Nevada
Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Folklore1
Suggest a stopStories a place tells about itself, passed down and still repeated.
Haunted10
Suggest a stopHotels, theatres, prisons and back roads with a reputation.
- Haunted39.2924° N, 119.6576° W
Gold Hill, NV
One of Nevada’s oldest hotels survives beside the Comstock mines and is associated with stories of named resident ghosts and unexplained activity.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Haunted37.7081° N, 117.2356° W
Goldfield, NV
The imposing 1908 hotel is central to Goldfield ghost lore, including stories of an apparition called Elizabeth; unless an authorized event or tour is offered, view it only from public space.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Haunted39.3093° N, 119.6502° W
Virginia City, NV
The Washoe Club is one of Virginia City's best-known historic saloons and paranormal stops, with a museum and tours exploring the building's history and reported ghost activity. Visitors can see preserved rooms and displays during regular visits, with more intensive paranormal investigations offered separately.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Haunted39.3066° N, 119.6501° W
Virginia City, NV
A preserved 1860s mining-era mansion filled with period furnishings and Comstock history also carries persistent apparition stories reported by visitors and staff.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Haunted38.0685° N, 117.2307° W
Tonopah, NV
This restored 1907 mining-era hotel is associated with the 'Lady in Red' ghost legend and preserves the elaborate atmosphere of Tonopah’s silver-boom years.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Haunted37.9297° N, 114.4513° W
Pioche, NV
A historic Pioche hotel and saloon trades heavily on local ghost stories while preserving the atmosphere of the old mining camp.
- Access
- Open to visitors
UFOs8
Suggest a stopSighting sites, crash lore and the towns that kept the file open.
- UFOs37.5330° N, 115.2426° W
Hiko, NV
A towering silver alien marks this Quonset-hut gift shop and UFO stop near the eastern end of Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- UFOs36.6438° N, 116.3960° W
Amargosa Valley, NV
A brightly themed alien travel stop near the Death Valley junction combines UFO souvenirs, oversized extraterrestrial imagery, and Highway 95 roadside kitsch.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- UFOs37.5940° N, 115.8988° W
Rachel, NV
A public-road approach ends at the restricted Area 51 back-gate boundary; view only from the lawful public side and obey every sign, barrier, and instruction.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- UFOs37.3511° N, 115.6468° W
Rachel, NV
The Groom Lake Road approach reaches the famous restricted boundary associated with Area 51; stop before all warning signs and never cross the military boundary.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- UFOs37.5324° N, 115.2321° W
Hiko, NV
The State Route 375 sign marks Nevada’s officially designated Extraterrestrial Highway and the start of the state’s best-known UFO road trip.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- UFOs37.6469° N, 115.7458° W
Rachel, NV
Rachel’s alien-themed motel, restaurant, and bar is filled with Area 51 memorabilia and has become the social center of the Extraterrestrial Highway.
- Access
- Open to visitors
Weird history87
Suggest a stopReal events too strange to have made the textbook.
- Weird history36.4228° N, 114.5507° W
Overton, NV
A staircase leads to a major Valley of Fire petroglyph panel that includes an image interpreted as an atlatl; the rock art is protected and must not be touched.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Weird history36.1141° N, 115.1483° W
Las Vegas, NV
Nevada’s official atomic-history museum covers the Nevada Test Site, nuclear testing, Cold War culture, and artifacts tied to the state’s unusual atomic legacy.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Weird history38.2871° N, 118.9007° W
Aurora, NV
Once a major gold-and-silver camp claimed by both Nevada and California, Aurora is now a remote landscape of foundations, mine remains, and cemetery traces.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Weird history39.0144° N, 114.1225° W
Baker, NV
A short trail overlooks the excavated footprint of a large Fremont-period village, with interpretive signs explaining the community without exposing artifacts for collection.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Weird history38.5964° N, 116.8759° W
Belmont, NV
The monumental 1876 Nye County courthouse still stands in a near-ghost town; restoration and interior-access schedules are limited and should be checked before travel.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Weird history38.5967° N, 116.8750° W
Belmont, NV
Belmont retains an unusually large collection of stone and brick buildings from an 1860s silver boom, including saloon ruins, homes, and the old courthouse.
- Access
- Open to visitors
Museums20
Suggest a stopSmall, specific collections run by people who care far too much.
- Museums36.9060° N, 116.7614° W
Beatty, NV
The local museum interprets Beatty, nearby Rhyolite, railroads, mining, Indigenous history, and the hard-lived communities around the Bullfrog district.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Museums36.1601° N, 115.1530° W
Las Vegas, NV
An unusual museum dedicated to the history, costumes, performers, and ephemera of American burlesque.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Museums38.0603° N, 117.2206° W
Tonopah, NV
A regional museum packed with mining, railroad, military, ranching, and pioneer material, including outdoor historic structures and heavy equipment.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Museums36.1301° N, 115.1747° W
Las Vegas, NV
A museum examining erotic art, sexuality, social history, and cultural taboos through rotating and permanent exhibits; adults-only policies apply.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Museums39.5095° N, 115.9608° W
Eureka, NV
The former Eureka Sentinel newspaper building preserves original printing presses, type, equipment, and mining-town exhibits in an unusually complete historic workspace.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Museums39.3031° N, 119.6523° W
Virginia City, NV
A four-story 1876 schoolhouse preserves classrooms, exhibits, and an unusually intact example of Second Empire public architecture from the Comstock boom.
- Access
- Open to visitors
Roadside oddities31
Suggest a stopGiant objects, odd monuments and things built for no clear reason.
- Roadside oddities36.4131° N, 116.4235° W
Amargosa Valley, NV
An oversized cow figure in the Amargosa Valley is the sort of inexplicable desert roadside landmark that fits OddWay almost perfectly.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities40.7480° N, 119.2865° W
Gerlach, NV
The enormous dry-lake playa is a stark landscape used for land-speed records and Burning Man; surface conditions can become dangerous or impassable when wet.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities38.0300° N, 115.4361° W
Garden Valley, NV
The massive land-art complex 'City' stretches across the desert with abstract concrete and earth forms; visitation is controlled by reservation through Triple Aught Foundation.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities36.2620° N, 116.0656° W
Pahrump, NV
A private property devoted to coffin-shaped art, structures, a cemetery, and macabre handmade objects; tours require advance arrangement and there are no walk-in visits.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities39.0302° N, 116.6666° W
Monitor Valley, NV
A steaming geothermal sinkhole rises as a travertine mound on private ranch land in remote central Nevada; landowner permission is required, and the unstable rim and scalding water make this strictly a look-don’t-touch site.
- Access
- Private land, view only
- Roadside oddities36.6176° N, 114.3447° W
Moapa Valley, NV
Michael Heizer’s monumental 1969 earthwork consists of enormous trenches cut into the Mormon Mesa, making the removed earth itself the artwork; the route is remote and rough.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed