DON'T explore ghost towns near LAS VEGAS

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]Southern Nevada is home to more than a dozen ghost towns, y'all. And today, we're going to go check out some of the closest ones to Las Vegas. This has been on my bucket list literally since I moved here, and I can't imagine [music] a better group of folks to take along with me. Let's go check out some of the history of the Mojave together.

[00:00:22]We're heading southeast through Henderson, then onto the 95, and then onto the 165, a tiny little highway that starts [music] out as dirt right here. This is 42 mi from the strip, and it took about 50 minutes to get down here. [music] Pretty quickly after getting on the 165, we saw signs for Nelson, Nevada, and then coming around this little bend [music] down into the canyon is the most incredibly themed mining ghost town. It looks like a specialty built Disneyland ride, y'all. And the whole thing can't be more than 100 yd across. There are these old sheds and mining [music] equipment and rusted out cars, and I am here for it. Y'all, this is so cute.

[00:01:03]>> [music] >> As you pull into the canyon, you can see a bunch of cars and motorcycles parked on the left, and I'm pretty sure that must [music] be where we start. We have just arrived to Nelson, Nevada, y'all.

[00:01:14]This [ __ ] is so cool. Oh, sorry. The first ghost stop The first ghost town in our tour today is Nelson, [music] Nevada. This place is completely legit.

[00:01:25]It's an old mining town, and so we're going [music] to show you guys some of the highlights of it today. As you can see behind me, there are a lot of cars.

[00:01:32]It's a very busy here. If you want to go and explore on your own, you can do so for [music] free under 15 minutes, or it's just a buck to wander around if you're going to be here over 15 minutes.

[00:01:42]All right, let's go explore. [music] There's this welcome building with a fee area sign that seems like [music] that's where we need to go first. Oh, and as we go in, I'd love if you could click the subscribe button on my channel, and thank you.

[00:01:57]Holy [ __ ] this place is huge and absolutely packed with random desert souvenirs. We're necklaces, alligator heads, little skeletons pondering life, and a t-shirt that I really liked.

[00:02:09]Apparently, David Blaine has been here and super cool. Part of the first Desert Feigns was filmed [music] here in 2024.

[00:02:17]This haunted room was really creepy and it was time to go outside to explore the ghost town. So, I had to look it up because I wanted to know, is a ghost town just a place where people don't live anymore or is an old town that actually has ghosts? ChatGPT tells me, well, technically both. It looks amazing. I bet this thing has tour someish up. This is super cool.

[00:02:44]So, up there here, I think this is the outline of the old mine and they do offer mine tours, [music] but they're about an hour long, so we decided to forego that and explore ourselves today.

[00:02:54]But, this is an option if you come out here.

[00:02:57]These are giant water tanks made out of redwood and cedar. The mining operation, which ended back in 1942, needed a ton of water to operate. In fact, it didn't close because it ran out of gold, it closed [music] because the cost of pumping water to the mine was more than the value of the gold they were extracting.

[00:03:16]As we look around, it's important to note that some of these properties are actually private residences. Like, people live within this crazy cool living museum sort of thing. Anyways, the lady said if it says private, you have to stay out, so we'll obviously respect those rules.

[00:03:39]And that says private property, too.

[00:03:41]Okay. Well, we basically explored all that we can here. Like I said, a lot of these places are private residences or say no trespassing. Super cool, totally worth your time to come out here. Oh, and if you're looking to do a photo shoot, they have the coolest sets.

[00:03:56]Unfortunately, we didn't see any ghosts today. If you have, let me know in the comments below and what some of your ghost stories or tales at all from Nelson Canyon are. I look forward to reading them.

[00:04:07]Canyon explored, [music] more or less.

[00:04:09]No ghost sighted, though it was probably way too bright outside for them today.

[00:04:14]Time to head to the next closest ghost town to [music] Vegas. Back on the road, this time a little further west off the I-15 way. We're going to Goodsprings, Nevada, which is close to Jean, Nevada.

[00:04:25]If you've driven into Vegas from SoCal, you've driven through Jean, Nevada. Jean was most known for having a casino and gas station [music] and a prison that you can see from the freeway. The prison hasn't operated in almost 20 years, but they film prison movies and shows there all the time. Anyway, [music] Goodsprings is a short distance off the freeway from Jean and pretty quickly we come across the Pioneer Saloon.

[00:04:47]We just got to Goodsprings, [music] Nevada, y'all. This is about 30 minutes south of the strip and then about 7 miles into the mountains, so not too far of a drive. This is an old historic mining town. There are only about 120 to 160 people that live here now, but back in the '40s it reached a booming population of around 800. Let's go check out some of the sites and see what it's like. Apparently, Pioneer Saloon is like super cool and very original around the 1900s sort [music] of decoration, so I'm really excited to go check it out. Let's go see.

[00:05:25]Pioneer Saloon opened here in 1913 and is unquestionably [music] the oldest bar in Southern Nevada. It has an appropriate vibe inside for a ghost town saloon, for [music] sure.

[00:05:36]But, it's also packed with people and there's a live band playing outside on the stage.

[00:05:40]Literally, no [music] seating inside and the only spots outside were right in front of the speakers, so we skipped having a snack.

[00:05:48]Sure.

[00:05:58]At least they're cool.

[00:06:00]>> [music] >> Pioneer also has its own gift shop with merch and Nevada desert souvenirs.

[00:06:11]>> [music] >> super cool >> I am so happy to say we were unable to get seating inside of the [music] Pioneer Saloon. Absolutely every single seat was jam-packed. They did have like two right next to the stage outside, [music] but that would make sense because we can't show you guys or tell you anything about what's going on. So, [music] with that being said, this is an amazing place. If you come to Goodsprings, you're definitely going to have to try it out. We're going to have to come [music] back and try it, but we're going to keep showing you the rest of the town now. It looks super interesting. They are slam-packed.

[00:06:46]>> [music] >> A few hundred yards away, we saw an off-roading tour going up and down this hill. [music] Looks super fun.

[00:06:54]Helicopter gunship tours is also out here. Let me know in the comments if you want to see me shoot an M134 minigun while hanging out the side of a military chopper. Just like Nelson Canyon, there are a lot [music] of people and cars here in Goodsprings.

[00:07:11]We spent a little time driving around the actual [music] town of Goodsprings, but honestly, it's just like a little rural town without too much going on. A giant mining tanks, a bunch of little desert houses, and no ghosts. But, just in case, we did stop at the cemetery on the way out. These are just a few of the spooky spots here right outside of Las Vegas. Let me know, are there any hidden gems [music] that we don't know about?

[00:07:35]Where have y'all been? Have you been to Goodsprings? Let me know your thoughts.

[00:07:39][music] I'll see you guys next week.

[00:07:40]Bye.