While you may have spent a few days in Vegas, you haven’t truly been to Nevada until you hop on one of their epic road trips. Whether you choose the ET Highway, Lake Tahoe Loop, or one of the other eight listed on the Travel Nevada site you will not be disappointed. Today we are taking you along the Free-Range Art Highway.
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Along this wacky and wild route is an art-filled 500 miles. But you won’t find this art in galleries. It dots along the desert highway 95 from Las Vegas to Reno.
Beyond the Casinos of Las Vegas
Getting visions of blinking slot machines and sounds of spinning reels? We are leaving that all behind for a different side of Las Vegas.
Springing up out of the desert along Interstate 15 between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is Seven Magic Mountains. Renowned Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone created this public land art installation in cooperation with the Nevada Museum of Art. Seven three-story towers of rocks (sourced from the nearby desert) are painted in dayglo colors. Rondinone was seeking a location to embody the natural and artificial for his piece. He found it in the mountain ranges and nearby stream of LA to Vegas traffic.
Sips: While you’re in the area head to the historic nearby Pioneer Saloon.
Neon Museum
On the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip), you will find the Neon Museum. It is where retired neon goes to be refurbished and loved for years to come. This boneyard of neon is nearly three acres of retired and historic Vegas signs.
Tip: Choose the sunset tickets to see some of the neon-lit.
Fremont Street
Those interested in public art should take a stroll along Fremont Street while in the area. The (somewhat) recently revitalized area includes multiple murals, a giant fire-shooting praying mantis, and even a Banksy.
Area15 (Home of Meow Wolf Las Vegas)
Few words can adequately describe Area15, but their words are “A wanderland of art, music, and amusement.” This is an ever-changing art installation filled with experiences only Area15 can provide.
Beatty, Nevada
Beatty is often called the “Gateway to Death Valley” pausing here for a day or two will give you the opportunity to explore the Death Valley Rally road trip as well.
Rhyolite
There may be no better way to leave the lights and giant casinos of Las Vegas in your rearview mirror like a visit to Rhyolite Ghost Town. Crumbling buildings today were once a bustling gold mining boomtown. From 1904-1906 the area was a place of action and hope complete with a school for 250 children, a hospital, a bank, and of course brothel.
However, the financial panic of 1907 began the town’s demise and by 1910 the population was reduced to just 600. The mine closed in 1911. Most buildings were abandoned leaving the town to become a Death Valley ghost town attraction when it became a national park in the 1930s.
Don’t miss the “bottle house” built by miner Tom T. Kelly in 1906 using discarded beer and liquor bottles.
Goldwell Open Air Museum
Visible from Rhyolite is the Goldwell Open Air Museum. Officially founded in 2000, the art installations began with its most famous piece, “The Last Supper” by Albert Szukalski (1984). The ghost-like figures rise from the desert arranged like the figures in DaVinci’s painting. Complete with the painter.
Additional pieces have been added through the years. Szukalski added the Ghost Rider and Desert Flower, Hugo Heyrman’s Lady Desert: The Venus of Nevada, and Fred Bervoet’s Tribute to Shorty Harris.
Sips: Happy Burro is a small (very small) bar located on the main strip. Its former life was the town jail.
Goldfield, Nevada
Once the largest and richest city in the state (due to gold being discovered nearby) the town is now a shell of its former glory but filled with the quirky and weird Nevada finds we all love.
During its boom, the town hosted famed lawmen Virgil and Wyatt Earp. The Earps came to town in 1904 when Virgil was hired as sheriff. However, Virgil passed from pneumonia shortly after arriving and Wyatt left.
Conman George Graham Rice fled town after his Sullivan Trust Company collapsed in 1907 causing the town’s bank to fail.
George Wingfield made his fortune here founding the Consolidated Mining Company and building the Goldfield Hotel. It was the third hotel to be built in this location after the other two burned down. It was once the fanciest in the state with private bathrooms, gilded columns, and crystal chandeliers. Although no longer open for overnight guests, the building still stands today with legends of hauntings surrounding it (of course).
The largest mine closed in 1919 and was followed by the 1923 fire from a moonshine still. The explosion and resulting fire burned most of the town.
International Car Forest of the Last Church
As you arrive in Tonopah a glimpse to the right may give a peek at the largest car art exhibit in the country. Yes, bigger than the Cadillac Ranch and Carhenge. An immediate focal point is the school bus jutting up on end toward the sky.
What’s in a name? “International Car Forest” originates from the idea that it is able to be freely visited like a forest, but made of cars. The “Last Church” is a nod to the founder, Mark Rippie’s website and beliefs.
Rocket Bob’s “Art Cars”
Long before the Car Forest existed, Rocket Bob made his art cars for Nevada’s Black City Burning Man. These cars “winter” in Goldfield and participate in Burning Man’s famous art car parades every August on the Playa.
Goldfield Cemetery
Not truly a part of the Free-Range Art Highway, but worth a stop to see a little more quirky weird Nevada. This cemetery is home to the “unknown man who died eating library paste” headstone. Need I say more?
Sips: Santa Fe Motel and Saloon. This 100+-year-old establishment boasts that you can have “Nevada’s Meanest Bartender” pour you a drink.
Tonopah, Nevada
Nearly the halfway point between Las Vegas and Reno, Tonopah offers more dining, lodging, and gas options in comparison to other towns you will pass through.
Clown Motel
You’ve likely seen the memes highlighting the Clown Motel. It is the worst nightmare for anyone suffering from coulrophobia or those who watched Stephen King’s IT at a young age. While not an art installation, it is a collection of clowns housed in the small motel. That’s it, but worth a stop.
Mizpah Hotel
Historic and renovated, the Mizpah is not an official part of the Free-Range Art Highway, but a must-see for anyone interested in historic architecture.
According to local legends, Wyatt Earp kept the bar while Jack Dempsey was a bouncer. Howard Hughes is said to have married Jean Peters at the Mizpah. The Lady in Red is another local legend. She is said to be a prostitute that haunts the hotel.
Sips: Tonopah Brewing Co
Continuing on highway 95 at Hawthorne will take you directly into Reno, but a great detour is alternate 95 through Smith Valley, into Carson Valley, and through Carson City.
Reno, Nevada
Get lost in Reno (midtown to downtown) while touring its nearly 200 murals, sculptures, and other art installations.
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