Hey Guys!
Today we decided to check out a nearby “ghost town” called Nelson Ghost town in Eldorado Canyon.
Read reviews here.
Book an ATV or UTV tour here.
The “ghost town” is located approximately 45 mins from the Las Vegas Strip.
The drive to Nelson was very scenic
Approaching the Ghost Town
This place is literally the only thing around on this road!
There is no cost to tour the ghost town but they do offer a mine tour for $12.50 for adults and $7.50 for children 12 and under. Reservations are essential as tour groups are limited to 12 people.
The mines are from the 1880’s and have a year round temperature of 68 degrees.
The family that owns this place owns a total of 51 acres and basically considers themselves hoarders. They were very nice and loved talking about all of their “treasures”.
Read more about the family here
They offer canned drinks & chips but no other food. There are bathrooms available as well.
Once we arrived, we noticed a sign asking visitors to check in at the store. We walked in and no one really acknowledged us so we just started checking out all the cool antiques and oddities in the store.
Make sure to check out the rattlesnakes in the freezer when you go in the store!
There have been several movies and videos filmed on the property including 3000 miles to Graceland, Breakdown, Eye of the Beholder & Highroller.
As well as countless other movie scenes, album and book covers, and model shoots
And if you’re an avid gamer, you may recognize the mine in Fallout: New Vegas, an action role-playing video game set in a post-apocalyptic Nevada.
Beyonce did a photo shoot here in Dec 2008 for Cosmopolitan magazine…so, even though they don’t charge to visit the ghost town, they make plenty of money from all the movies, videos, TV shows & photo shoots that are done here every year.
Once outside, you will see old buildings, amazing rusted-out and antique cars, amazing old road and gas station signs, and even old mining equipment used back when the local Techatticup gold mine was in full swing.
My hubby finally found a motorcycle he could afford! 😉
He also found a piano he wanted for our living room…
We were amazed by all the antique vehicles that were on the property!
This place can be unsafe if you’re not careful…these “jumping” cholla cacti are not to be messed with! We were also warned to watch out for rattlesnakes!
I loved all the old gas pumps….
I decided to relive some bad childhood memories by having my picture made on the yellow school bus! 😉
My hubby wanted to join in…
I took so many pictures here…it was hard to stop! So many neat objects, buildings & cars to photograph!!
Some shots I took from the 2nd floor of one of the barns
You can rent out this space and have it catered …read more here:
This vehicle has been featured in countless music videos, and even in some shots with country music star Luke Bryan.
More old cars
The bathroom..yikes! 
I found a bicycle….it just needed some air in the tires & I was good to go! 😉
The owner told us that Luke Bryan did a photo shoot in this barn for one of his CD covers.
We Loved this old wood stove….the detail was incredible!
Shots from the 2nd floor of the barn
The barn was packed full of antiques!
More shots of the old cars
This “crashed plane’ was used in the movie 3000 Miles to Graceland. After filming the movie, the director asked the owner of the ghost town if he wanted it…he said, he obviously couldn’t turn it down!
We loved this old vintage camper
Have you ever seen school buses that look like these?
Or a bike like this?
More shots of the property and old cars
Lots of people come here for photo shoots and weddings. The owners do have a minimal fee for both.
After leaving here, we drove about 5 miles down the road where the road ended at the Colorado River.
You can rent canoes or kayaks at the Nelson Ghost Town
The scenery was amazing….however, you definitely want to make sure you have plenty of gas and water when driving this area!
First view of the river
On the drive to the river, we spotted these odd looking formations
We arrived to the parking area after a short drive…we parked and walked around to take a few pics.
We spotted this sign….this area was the site of a flash flood in 1974 that claimed 9 lives. It also swept away a marina that once stood by the water’s edge as well as 38 vehicles, 23 boats, boat slips, trailers, cabins, a restaurant and a store.
After taking in the views & snapping a few hundred pics, we decided to head to the Las Vegas Strip.
We wanted to ride the ferris wheel and walk around for a little while before heading back to the condo.
The ferris wheel soars 550 ft above the center of Las Vegas and is the world’s tallest observation wheel. It takes 30 minutes to complete one revolution and features 28 spacious cabins.
Buy tickets here
Once we arrived to the strip, it was a mad house! People were everywhere! We didn’t even think about all the people who flock to Las Vegas for New Years….we decided to skip the ferris wheel and go back to the condo.
Shots I took while driving around the strip
That night we decided to eat at a nearby Mexican restaurant called Sonrisa Grill that was within walking distance of our condo.
Shots from the bridge we had to walk across to get to the restaurant
The food at the restaurant was very good!
The next morning, we headed to the airport.
We ate lunch at one of the airport restaurants before boarding the plane….yum!
We then boarded our plane and headed home…
Goodbye Vegas…it was fun!
Thanks for reading!
Read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here and our day at Valley of Fire State Park here.