Northern Nevada Ghost Town Tour - Tonopah to Virginia City

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Last week, Cindy I got a call from our good friends Chris and Jen and they wanted know if we might want to hook up with them to do some ghost town exploring in the Northern Nevada desert. The idea was to meet up in Tonopah on Thursday night and then work our way up to Virginia City while making stops along the way to explore some of the many ghost towns and mining camps in the area. And, as luck would have it, our good friends Tony and Stephanie decided to meet up with us in Virginia City as well if only for a day and just to have some fun. Anyway, it isn't much but, here are a handful of photos that we took from our trip.

Shot of Rubicat all packed up and ready to head out.
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Making a stop along Walker Lake to take in the pretty view.
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It sure is hard to travel across the Northern Nevada desert without being tempted to explore at least some of the many trails that go up into the mountains. And, being that we still had plenty of daylight, we decided to make our way up to the old ghost town of Silver Dyke.
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Silver was discovered in Silver Dyke back in 1916 but it would be the abundance of Tungsten and the significant demand for it during WWI and WWII that would make mining in this rugged canyon so profitable.
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50/50 tires! Here's a shot of Rubicat after working our way up the road to the big mine. Thanks to all the recent rains, there were still some patches of mud we just couldn't avoid.
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The road leading up to the mine had seen better days and we would have to hike the rest of the way up.
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At the base of the main hopper.
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About mid way up the hill looking at what little, or maybe I should say, how much is still standing.
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Up on top and looking across the canyon.
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After exploring the ruins from above, we made our way down to the base of the tailings and to the large entrance at the bottom of the canyon.
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Not far beyond the mouth of the mine, the tunnel had been collapsed but you could still see support structure and a path leading upward.
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Looking back out the mouth of the mine.
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Originally, we weren't too sure what this can might have held but after doing some research, we found that it very well could be an old beer can as this is what they would have looked like around 1920-1948.
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Making our way back to pavement and to meet up with our friends.
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Our room for the night in the historic Mizpah Hotel.
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The following morning, we decided to spend some time over at the Tonopah Historic Mining Park.
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What's so cool about the Tonopah Historic Mining Park is that is located on the actual site of the mining claims that made Tonopah the “Queen of the Silver Camps” and helped bring the United States into the 20th Century. The more than 100 acre park encompasses portions of four of the original major mining companies and most of the structures on it are still accessible if you're willing to hike around it on a self-guided tour.
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Back at the power house which has since become a museum, there was an awesome DJ on display.
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After leaving Tonopah, we ventured off the highway to do some exploring.
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There was still a surprising amount of water out there too.
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Of course, that means there was a lot of mud too.
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Our first stop was over at the ghost town of Candelaria which is Spanish for Candlemans Day. Candelaria saw its first inhabitants back in 1864 when Mexicans came to prospect for silver near Mt. Diablo. However, it wouldn't be until 1879 when German and Slovakian miners arrived that the small camp blossomed into a boomtown. Being so close to the highway, this once amazing ghost town is quickly becoming a victim of boneheads who feel the need to spray paint graffiti and destroy it.
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Looking through some of the trash in the area, we found a couple of bottle bases that we're going to have to look up.
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Just because it was so cool, we then took Chris and Jen back up to Silver Dyke to show them all the cool things you can see there.
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Driving into the sunset.
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Even though we pulled into Virginia City late at night, we were happy to see it was still alive and that there was plenty going on.
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After meeting up with Tony and Stephanie, we made our way over to the Red Dog Saloon to have some dinner and drinks - CHEERS!
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After dinner, we decided to do some bar hopping and made our way over to the Virginia City Brewery & Taphouse for desert.
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Of course, what would be a night out in a living ghost town without having a night cap over at the Gold Hill Hotel Saloon - CHEERS AGAIN!
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The following morning after a restful night at the Gold Hill Hotel. Established in 1861, it is Nevada's oldest hotel.
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After packing up, we made our way back into town for some breakfast.
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And, before calling it a weekend, we made a stop over at Camp WAYALIFE to let our friends take some of our old Jeeps for a spin.
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How can you not smile when you're driving a Willys :)
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A BIG THANKS needs to go out to Chris and Jen for inviting us out for a fun filled weekend and to Tony and Stephanie for being such last minute people who were willing to make a drive all the way up to our neck of the woods just to have some fun. Cindy and I had a great time with all of you and look forward to doing it again soon. :cool:
 

highoctane

Caught the Bug
Looks like an awesome trip! The old ghost towns you have in NV look like some fun destinations. I need to see if I can find any in AZ when I'm home from work in December.
 

DWiggles

Caught the Bug
Looks like you guys had an awesome weekend! Much better then us over in Texas anyway :thumb: we lost the whole weekend to nonstop rain. :naw:

Thanks for sharing! its definitely nice to see!
 

10frank9

Web Wheeler
Man what a great trip thanks for sharing! BTW who is the pretty lady sitting next to the old bald guy in Pappy? :thinking: :cheesy:
 

AllAmericanInfidel

Caught the Bug
Great pics! My wife and I love exploring old ghost towns and that is what mainly got us into wheeling when we lived in AZ. Thanks for sharing, makes us miss the west!
 
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