For three days each year, the “Gateway to Death Valley” fills up for town-wide revelry powered by great chili, live music, and some of Nevada’s most interesting competitions. Our faves? Root Beer Belching, Chicken “Drop” Bingo, the Pickle Liquor Hoot-N-Holler (drink a shot with pickle juice and hot sauce, then yell!), and the infamous Bed Races. Load the whole fam up for an #NVRoadTrip you won’t forget, then hit the road to Beatty Nevada for this top annual Nevada event.
Ready for a three-day Weird Nevada extravaganza? Brimming with parades, cook-offs, art shows, only-in-Nevada races, and a whole lotta award-winning chili, there’s no better way to celebrate the spirit of southwestern Nevada than Beatty Days.
One of Beatty Days’ main events is the legendary Bed Races—and nope, not a typo. Head for downtown Beatty to watch teams of adults and kids race actual beds down main street, then be sure to catch parades, historical reenactments and gunfights, Miss and Junior Miss Beatty Days crowning, the International Chili Society-sanctioned cook-off, and more. Other exciting events include a pet parade, car show, trunk-or-treating, Tombstone 2K Walk/5K Run, desert art show, poker walk, piñata breaking, model railroad exhibit, cornhole and horseshoe tournaments, pumpkin carving and hula hoop contests, and tricycle races. And during your time in Beatty Nevada, be sure to keep an eye out for the storied Beatty Cowboys—your trip to Beatty is incomplete without snagging a selfie with this photogenic bunch.
Bullfrog Biennial
Since its inaugural inclusion in Beatty Days 2019, the Bullfrog Biennial complements this signature Nevada event with even more festivities happening in Rhyolite ghost town, just minutes up the road from Beatty. Both Rhyolite and Beatty (along with many more mining camps) were part of the Bullfrog Mining District during their early 1900s gold mining booms, and are now all that’s left of this massive mining district. Celebrating their Old West roots and modern-day artist revival, head to Rhyolite where artists take the stage for live music, poetry, and performance art at the Goldwell Open Air Museum and Red Barn Art Center.
