8 Of The Most Walkable Towns In Nevada

Nevada is sprinkled with many small towns whose quaint charm and uniqueness draw tourists from all over. Of course, nothing compares to walking through these towns to explore and experience all they have to offer. Here, underground mines, quirky museums, elegant architecture, historic parks, haunted saloons, quaint restaurants, and lush riverside greenery keep pedestrians constantly busy. So, plan your Nevada itinerary this year to stroll around these eight walkable Nevada towns.

Virginia City

Virginia City is a small community with a large number of attractions. Just around 800 people occupy this former mining boomtown, as do hundreds of restored relics that can be seen on dozens of walking tours. You can saunter through 19th-century manors like the Mackay Mansion and Cobb Mansion and then travel underground for a guided tour of the Chollar Mine before getting drunk off views on the Virginia City Saloon Tour.

Speaking of spirits, Virginia City is also a hub for ghost tours. Many of its buildings, including the aforementioned Mackay Mansion, are supposedly haunted and can be explored via Bats in the Belfry Guided Ghost Tours. The Gold Hill Hotel, which may be the most haunted place in town, is specifically targeted for ghost hunts. Even if you do not believe in ghosts, you can spend the tours admiring architectural haunts.

Goodsprings

You will have a spring in your step in Goodsprings, a tiny community with a good cache of walkable wonders. Twenty-three sites are listed on the Goodsprings Historical Society's Walking Tour. They include the Yellow Pine Mill Company Cottage, Robbins Family Home, Goodsprings School, and Pioneer Saloon & Goodsprings General Store. If Goodsprings and some of its attractions sound familiar, you may have played the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas. The community, its school, and its saloon/store are locations in the very walkable, very post-apocalyptic game. Today, the real-world saloon hosts an annual Fallout festival. Also, as one of the oldest and most "haunted" bars in Nevada, it hosts historical ghost events that might make you fall out of your chair.

Genoa

Although Goodsprings claims the oldest bar in southern Nevada, Genoa claims the oldest bar in all of Nevada. That checks out because Genoa is the oldest surviving settlement in the state. Its bar, which is called the Genoa Bar & Saloon, dates to approximately 1853 and is the 4:00 PM stop on the Historic Genoa Tour. Yes, this self-guided tour is timed. Of course, you do not have to follow the times, but if you do you can take an 11:30 AM stroll around Mormon Station State Park and book a 5:00 PM dinner at The Pink House, which is a modern restaurant in a colorful home that is almost as old as the bar—and therefore almost as old as Genoa itself.

Eureka

"Eureka!" is allegedly what a prospector screamed after discovering silver in a place that would be named after the exclamation. You might yell the same thing while prospecting for silver-funded relics in the same town 160 years later. Your search will be easy, as the Eureka Opera House, Eureka Sentinel Museum, Eureka County Courthouse, and dozens of other historic estates are within walking distance. Mixed with those sites are active businesses like El Tapatio and the Urban Cowboy Bar and Grill, so you can collect both ancient and synthetic gems in modern Eureka.

Winnemucca

Winnemucca is classified as a city, but its population is low enough to qualify for this list. Around 8,500 residents and countless tourists can visit 72 locations on the Winnemucca Historic Walking Tour. It begins at the 1907-built St. Mary's Episcopal Church, which is now part of the Humboldt Museum and ends at the Record House, which was erected in 1874 and is one of the oldest houses in town—er, city. Although 72 stops might sound exhausting, some are at bars and eateries. You can relax and refuel at Butch Cassidy's Hole In The Wall, Key's Pool Hall, and the Cheers Taphouse.

Tonopah

Take a walk on the weird side of Nevada in Tonopah. This 2,200ish-person community is home to The Clown Motel, which is exactly how it sounds. Many people think clowns themselves are creepy; staying at a clown-themed hotel is horrifying, and staying at a clown-themed hotel next to an abandoned cemetery is unfathomable. If you are brave enough, make the motel your base for a total tour of Tonopah. You can grab a brochure from the front desk and explore the Old Tonopah Cemetery (including the alleged grave of the motel founder's father) before heading downtown to such sites as the Mizpah Hotel and the Tonopah Liquor Company.

Laughlin

Laughlin is like a little Vegas just south of the real thing. It is full of bright lights and hotels and casinos and bars. Differentiating Laughlin from Vegas and many other Nevada communities is its river, the Colorado River, which offers the most refreshing jaunts in the driest state. A designated Riverwalk takes pedestrians from Don Laughlin's Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino to the Laughlin River Lodge while passing ships and wildlife and providing extraordinary views of a true Nevada oasis. If you travel the path in the evening, you can have your journey scored by various live bands. A walk during certain months will put you in the middle of vibrant riverside festivals.

Pioche

Pioche is known as "Nevada's liveliest ghost town." That does not refer to ghosts of the kind we already mentioned (although Pioche, like most Nevada towns, is allegedly haunted). Rather, it is called a ghost town because it once flourished from mining and then, when mining died, the town nearly died and left "ghosts" of past prosperity such as abandoned buildings and machinery. "Nearly" is the operative word, as Pioche retains about 1,000 residents and draws enough tourists to earn its moniker. They explore ghostly attractions like the Pioche Aerial Tramway, which transported ore from the hills to the valley about 100 years ago, before walking to lively sites like the Million Dollar Courthouse, which is a 19th-century Classic Revival courthouse that was built for an exorbitant amount and now serves as a museum. The highlight, to many visitors, is a Wild West-era jail.

Nevada's small communities are walkable in ways that Vegas is not. Instead of a gaudy and tawdry Strip, Virginia City, Goodsprings, Genoa, Eureka, Winnemucca, Tonopah, Laughlin, and Pioche have strollable saloons, haunted hotels, explorable mines, huntable historic sites, foot-friendly festivals, tourist-friendly courthouses, pedestrian-friendly parks, open-air museums, open-to-the-public mansions, and a riverside walkway. Viva rural Nevada!