If you’re ever in the vicinity of Beatty, Nevada, spare an hour of time to head to Rhyolite, a ghost town just five miles out of town and on the road to Death Valley. The ghost town not only has some interesting ruins of architectural interest, but it is also the home of the Goldwell open art museum, which hosts some interesting pieces of artwork, including three works from Charles Albert Szukalski. We went to the area twice during our initial visit to catch both the exhibit and the buildings in the ghost town itself in different light; its close proximity to town leaves few excuses not to check it out.

Driving report: Stay alert for rapidly changing speed limits around the Beatty area. In town, the speed limit is 25.

Wheels report:
Strollers and wheelchairs: The museum exhibits are located on gravel mixed with sand, but many of the exhibits can be seen from the road. The majority of buildings in the ghost town are next to the paved road, including the bank, school, train station, and bottlehouse.
Bikes: An easy bike ride from Beatty along highway (no bike lanes).

Tech report: This area is remote enough to still have problematic wifi. Expect slow connections in the local hotels if spending the night and don’t expect much at all outside of town.

Kids report: This is a short side-trip adventure, just five minutes from Beatty. There are primitive facilities near the train station area, but fortunately it’s close to town and not large enough for them to have the opportunity to get bored (theoretically,anyway… results may vary).

General tips: Summer months can be extreme in this area, so going in the early morning is recommended in hotter conditions, as well as wearing hats and sunglasses. There are no entry fees and the area is always open, except for the gift shop.

Web report:Official resources: http://goldwellmuseum.org/ , http://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyculture/rhyolite-ghost-town.htm