The Nevada Northern Railway is a must for those who love trains. The 100+ year old train yard and shops now serve as the home to historic locomotives that you can ride or even see being restored by engineers. Ely, located closest to Great Basin National Park, offers its visitors an opportunity to explore mountain streams and lakes where ancient bristlecone pines grow. It's perfect for renting a camper van.

The Mining Industry in the Old West was a boom or bust industry. Many ghost towns can be found near Ely, and many of those crumbling structures were once part of an active mining town. A few miles from Ely is McGill Pool, which local residents have frequented as a summer destination for decades due to the geo-thermally heated spring water that makes it perfect for swimming on hot days during summers.



The new Trains to Trails ticket allows cyclists to shuttle their bikes via train to the end of the line and then enjoy a leisurely gravel ride back to Ely. The service is open year-round.

Garnet Hill is famous for its very dark colored garnets. In 1970, two square miles of public land was designated as a public recreation area. This was to ensure continued public access to the site’s recreational rockhounding and scientific study value.

The annual Shoshone Pow Wow that takes place in June is a cultural experience not to be missed when visiting Ely.