Ely

Remote east-central mining town on US 50 — steam trains, dark skies, and the gateway to Great Basin National Park.

Ely (rhymes with steely) is 4,000 people at 6,400 feet on US Highway 50, which Life magazine called "The Loneliest Road in America" in 1986 — a designation the state promptly turned into a tourism campaign. Kennecott Copper built the town in 1906 around the Robinson Mine, and the Nevada Northern Railway that hauled the ore is now a working steam-train museum where you can pay to drive the locomotive. The Hotel Nevada on Aultman Street opened 1929 and still has the original neon.

At 9pm Aultman Street is quiet — the Hotel Nevada casino, a few bars, and the murals on every third building (Ely commissioned 20+ historic murals starting in the 1990s). Great Basin National Park is 70 miles east on US 6/50, the closest gateway. Suits astronomy travelers (the dark skies here are Bortle 2), train enthusiasts, and cross-country road-trippers. Skip if you have a plane to catch — the nearest major airport is 3.5 hours in any direction.

Ely sits at 6,400 feet, so summer days top out in the mid-80s while nights drop into the 50s even in July — pack a jacket for the depot platform after dark. Winter is a different town: snow closes the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive at Great Basin from roughly October through June, temperatures fall into the teens, and the steam train switches to a lighter weekend-only winter schedule. Spring and early autumn (May, September) are the sweet spot — warm days, cold clear nights for stargazing, and the murals and rail yard both fully open.

The Robinson Mine that built Ely is still working, three miles west near the ghost-adjacent town of Ruth, and copper trucks still rumble along US 50 into town — a reminder this isn't purely a museum piece. Ely is also the White Pine County seat, and the 1907 courthouse on 4th Street is worth a look if you're already downtown for the murals. The town's population has held steady near 4,000 for decades; there's no boomtown energy here, just a working county seat that happens to sit on the loneliest road in the country.

Where to stay

Hotel Nevada & Gambling Hall on Aultman Street is the atmospheric pick — 1929 six-story tower, rooms from $85, uneven floors and celebrity autographs in the halls. Prospector Hotel and Gambling Hall is the practical modern option at the east end. Chain hotels (Ramada, La Quinta) sit off the highway. For Great Basin National Park visits, Border Inn on the Nevada-Utah state line is 70 miles east and closer to Lehman Caves. Nothing to avoid; Ely is small enough that everything's fine. High season (June through September) pushes Hotel Nevada's better rooms toward $110-140 a night; low season (November through February) drops the same rooms back near the $85 starting rate. The Ramada By Wyndham Ely, at the west end near the highway split, is the easiest same-day online booking if the historic hotel is full or its stairs-only upper floors are a problem. Book Hotel Nevada for the atmosphere and the autographs; book the Ramada for a guaranteed modern room.

The essentials

Ely Mural Trail (2.5 km)

Start at the White Pine Public Museum on Aultman and 15th East. Walk west on Aultman past the Hotel Nevada, taking side trips onto 5th, 4th, and Campton to see the biggest murals — the copper miners, the buckaroos, the railroaders. End at the Nevada Northern Railway Depot on 11th East for a look at the working rail yard even if you're not riding. The full loop takes about 40 minutes at an unhurried, photograph-everything pace, longer if the rail yard is running a steam departure while you're there.

Getting there & around

Ely-Yelland Field handles small aircraft only; commercial flying means Salt Lake City (3.5 hrs east on US 50), Reno (5 hrs west), or Las Vegas (4 hrs south on US 93). No Amtrak, no scheduled bus service. You need a car. Once in Ely, downtown is walkable; Great Basin National Park requires the drive. Cell service is spotty between towns — download offline maps. Gas up before leaving town in either direction — the next station east is in Baker, 70 miles off, and west it's over 60 miles to Eureka. Downtown parking is free and easy to find on Aultman Street itself. If you fly into Salt Lake City, renting a car at the airport is the only practical option; there's no shuttle or rideshare coverage out here once you leave the interstate.