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Howdy Campateers,
Beatty is the closest town to Death Valley National Park and is only a half-hour's drive from the valley floor.
If Beatty had an official town animal, it would have to be the burro. During the gold rush era in the 1800s, prospectors came to the Amargosa Valley with their belongings on the backs of sturdy burros (usually one burro to a miner). Realizing that the gold fields of California were far away, they hiked over the mountains, leaving their burros behind. The little pack animals thrived in the desert, breeding thousands of descendants. By 1950, there were so many herds of wild burros around Beatty and in Death Valley that a program to export burros was begun, and it continues today. However, you'll still see plenty of burros grazing in the desert, paying no attention to highway traffic.
Beatty: What to See & Do
Beatty was the railroad service center for the Bullfrog Mining District in 1900. Nearby Rhyolite, the mining camp, was a booming town of 10,000. Today, Rhyolite is a ghost town (although a new gold mine and mill operate near the old townsite), and Beatty is a casual highway stopping point for travelers to Death Valley. Rhyolite is worth the short drive south of town. The wind has knocked down many of the buildings on the old mining town's main street, and only a few walls remain. The mission-style railroad station still stands, as does a bottle house that was constructed with 50,000 liquor and beer bottles by a miner, Tom Kelly. Some of the features of the old town are to be restored by the Friends of Rhyolite, a nonprofit society recently formed. The bottle house is high on their list of priorities.
With six campgrounds and RV parks, Beatty provides a cooler place to camp than Death Valley during summer months. There are also several motels, as well as casinos, bars, and cafes. One campground is at Bailey's Hot Springs, located 6 miles north of Beatty on U.S. 95. The hot springs resort has a picnic area and offers swimming in addition to providing campsites for overnight visitors.
Beatty, Nevada is 105 miles north of Las Vegas, a short 1 & 1/2 hours. If you're ever out this way and want to find a place to camp with a tent, trailer or RV and you don't to travel far from Hwy 95, Bailey's Hot Spring is okay.
Beatty is the closest town to Death Valley National Park and is only a half-hour's drive from the valley floor.
If Beatty had an official town animal, it would have to be the burro. During the gold rush era in the 1800s, prospectors came to the Amargosa Valley with their belongings on the backs of sturdy burros (usually one burro to a miner). Realizing that the gold fields of California were far away, they hiked over the mountains, leaving their burros behind. The little pack animals thrived in the desert, breeding thousands of descendants. By 1950, there were so many herds of wild burros around Beatty and in Death Valley that a program to export burros was begun, and it continues today. However, you'll still see plenty of burros grazing in the desert, paying no attention to highway traffic.
Beatty: What to See & Do
Beatty was the railroad service center for the Bullfrog Mining District in 1900. Nearby Rhyolite, the mining camp, was a booming town of 10,000. Today, Rhyolite is a ghost town (although a new gold mine and mill operate near the old townsite), and Beatty is a casual highway stopping point for travelers to Death Valley. Rhyolite is worth the short drive south of town. The wind has knocked down many of the buildings on the old mining town's main street, and only a few walls remain. The mission-style railroad station still stands, as does a bottle house that was constructed with 50,000 liquor and beer bottles by a miner, Tom Kelly. Some of the features of the old town are to be restored by the Friends of Rhyolite, a nonprofit society recently formed. The bottle house is high on their list of priorities.
With six campgrounds and RV parks, Beatty provides a cooler place to camp than Death Valley during summer months. There are also several motels, as well as casinos, bars, and cafes. One campground is at Bailey's Hot Springs, located 6 miles north of Beatty on U.S. 95. The hot springs resort has a picnic area and offers swimming in addition to providing campsites for overnight visitors.
Beatty, Nevada is 105 miles north of Las Vegas, a short 1 & 1/2 hours. If you're ever out this way and want to find a place to camp with a tent, trailer or RV and you don't to travel far from Hwy 95, Bailey's Hot Spring is okay.
A canvas campateer