Uncommon Overnighters

Haunted Hotels

Home to some of the most famous boomtowns in the West, rest assured that stories of the Wild West come alive at haunted hotels in Nevada’s living ghost towns. The baddest of the bad, Pioche’s gunslinging scene blew Dodge City and Tombstone’s out of the water. With more than 70 people laid to rest in one year’s time before a single person died of natural causes, the streets of Pioche ran red. Today, Pioche is known as Nevada’s “liveliest ghost town,” and ghosts there are aplenty. The Overland Hotel & Saloon is said to be such a paranormal magnet that the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures has filmed many episodes here, surrounding shadowy figures in rooms 8, 10 and 15. 

Open since 1861, Gold Hill Hotel is Nevada’s oldest—and maybe eeriest hotel. Just down the street from Virginia City, rooms 4 and 5 are said to have resident spirits. Room 5 is said to be haunted by William—many visitors have reported the scent of his tobacco—and room 4 hosts an entity named Rosie, Gold Hill’s lady of the night, who loves to trick guests by misplacing personal items and even filling the room with a rose scent. The whole town of Virginia City is one of Nevada’s most haunted places, with a resident spirit at just about every place in town. Ghost hunt for restless spirits at the Mackay Mansion—Johnny Depp once saw a ghost during his stay here—the Silver Queen Hotel, or the historic-hospital-turned-art-gallery St. Mary’s Art Center.

Ghostly figures are said to walk the hallways of Eureka’s Jackson House Hotel and Carson City’s St. Charles Hotel, while the Goldfield Hotel is said to be one of the most haunted places in America—enough that some paranormal investigators even claim it’s a portal to the underworld. The Goldfield Hotel is no longer open for overnight stays or ghost tours, but you can get a taste of the era’s opulence just up the street at the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah. Home to resident ghost The Lady in Red—the most famous spirit of the Silver State—several children who play tricks on third floor guests, and a couple of miner spirits in the basement, the Mizpah is sure to send you home with a ghost story or two.

Off-The-Grid Overnighters

One of Nevada’s best kept secrets is the Ruby Mountains range, about 30 minutes south of Elko in northeastern Nevada. This crowdless, rugged wilderness promises an endless lineup of summer and winter sports, and boasts the oldest family-run heli-ski outfit in the country. Book a skiing trip with Ruby Mountains Heli Experience, which means spending the night in the palatial, newly built 360 Lodge, or book one of their glamp-tastic backcountry yurts any time of year—skiier or not. Snag your spot at the high yurt—perched at 10,000 feet elevation—or doze off to the babbling Conrad Creek low yurt for a whole new way to get to know the Rubies.

With more ghost towns and mining ruins than any other state—it’s great to explore a Nevada ghost town by day, and even cooler if you can overnight it in one. After exploring the lovingly preserved remains at Gold Point Ghost Town—a near halfway point between Reno and Las Vegas along the Free-Range Art Highway—check into the Gold Point Bed & Breakfast, where guest rooms occupy original miners cabins, and kick back in a Sagebrush Saloon that looks straight out of a movie set.

The Nevada Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maintains first come, first served cabins all over Nevada—some in far away ghost towns, and others near natural hot springs. Rock up to one near Silver Peak & Nivloc Ghost Towns, some around the Black Rock Desert, and cross your fingers to score the Soldier Meadows BLM Cabin. There’s nothing better than posting up for the night in a free, off-grid cabin where it’s just you, your campmates, maybe a resident band of wild burros who calls the area home, and a woodfired stove near a flowing river of natural hot springs. 

Settle into Nevada’s Western heritage at a handful of guest ranches that honor the lifestyle and icons of the American West. There aren’t many out there that involve rounding up cows and helping with ranch work, but instead bring you face-to-face with 150 year old ranching operations and the cowboys who wrangle it all. Kick back at the Old Yella Dog Ranch, hear stories from true stewards of the land at the Cottonwood Ranch, and celebrate the majesty of adopted wild horses at the Mustang Monument.

If you’re looking for a vacation that’s irresistibly different and brims with unique accommodations, you’re in the right place. Nevada has always been known for its world-renowned white-glove hospitality at world-class hotels, casino-resorts, and more. And don’t get us wrong; we love it all. But if you’re after something a little different, enjoy your time at a swanky property, but then get out there, take a few roads less traveled, and you’ll soon discover: our quirks are our perks. 

From famously haunted hotels to clown-covered motels, off-grid guest ranch retreats to hot spring haven backcountry cabins places to stay in the Silver State are far from average. Bring your sense of adventure, shift into memory-maker mode, and get ready for the kind of overnight experiences that can only happen here.