From aliens to cowboys and from cars to sculptures, the Silver State is home to the quirky, the colourful and the mind-boggling. Leave the neon signs behind, hit the open road and check out some of these remarkable and wonderful Nevada destinations before they become as touristy as Vegas.
Here are seven of our favourite lesser-known Nevada road trip destinations:
Seven Magic Mountains
You’ve seen them off to the east, driving on Interstate 15 south of Las Vegas. Tall, colourful stacks of giant rocks, gleaming in stark contrast to the dusty tones of the desert. You’ve always wondered what they were, but were either too busy hurrying to Vegas to lose money or driving back to California to forget how much money you lost.
Next time, do yourself a favor and take the detour to one of the best Nevada road trip destinations. Their beauty and surprising height make the Seven Magic Mountains absolutely worth a stop.
Created by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone, this installation of colorful boulders celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2026, and will remain there until at least the end of the year. It’s even getting a fresh coat of paint.
Laughlin Labyrinths
As the story goes, in early 2012, Laughlin local Wes Dufek was walking his dog above the strip of casinos along the Colorado River and just, well, decided he found a nice place to build a bunch of stone labyrinths “for the purpose of using [for] walking, meditation, contemplation, prayer, introspection.”
Over the course of three years (and with nobody stopping him), he hauled rocks up to the slight plateau and built nine intricate (and pretty) Laughlin Labyrinths in various shapes and sizes, creating one of the best stops in Nevada at the same time.
This wonderful oddity, definitely an essential stop on the list of Nevada road trip destinations, is a 15-minute walk from the Colorado River, and a delightful contrast to the casinos it overlooks.
International Car Forest of the Last Church
This expansive and surreal open-air art installation is located on the southern outskirts of the historic mining town of Goldfield. It is the largest ‘car forest’ in the United States, featuring over 40 vehicles including cars, delivery trucks, and full-sized buses, all covered in intricate graffiti and buried nose-first in the ground.
International Car Forest of the Last Church installation feels positively dystopian: it is located in a remote part of the Mojave Desert along the Free-Range Art Highway (US-95), so visitors often find themselves completely alone amongst the towering, rusted sculptures. Moreover, on windy days, hanging metal parts creak and groan against the desert breeze adding an eerie, post-apocalyptic dimension.
Tom Devlin’s Monster Museum
For more than a quarter century, special makeup effects artist Tom Devlin has brought monsters to life for more than 160 films. And for nearly a decade now, his Monster Museum in Boulder City has delighted horror movie fans (and those who just happen upon the museum at random).
Screen-used props, full classic and contemporary monster suits, and a host of custom pieces all fill the museum (inside and out), located just minutes from the Hoover Dam. Fully quirky and absolutely one of the best Nevada road trip destinations.
E.T. Fresh Jerky
At the junction of highways 93 and 318, more than 100 miles from anywhere you’d call civilization, stands a pair of derelict-looking single-story structures among miles of almost completely desolate desert. You’d blink and miss the place if you were pushing the posted speed limit of 70 miles per hour on your way to various other Nevada road trip destinations.
But turn into the dirt driveway, and you see the hand-painted sign: E.T. Fresh Jerky. Then you see ‘crashed’ flying saucers surrounding the place. Then the murals. It only gets more entertaining from there.
Are these delicious, salted meats of extraterrestrial origin? Doubtful. Is E.T. Fresh Jerky the most oddly located alien-themed souvenir and jerky shop on earth? Positively.
World-Famous Clown Motel
You knew it was coming. No list of Nevada road trip destinations is going to leave out Tonopah’s famed Clown Motel, now rebranded as the World-Famous Clown Motel.
Equal parts humorous (because, clowns) and terrifying (again, clowns … and it’s right next door to a cemetery), the 30-plus-room hotel has been around since 1985, and it’s undergone numerous owners and numerous ups and downs. But the clowns have remained as constant as the summer heat.
First, there were 150 clowns and assorted clown-related items (outside, in the lobby, in your room). Then more than 500. Since its most recent change in ownership in 2019, more than 4,000 pieces of clown memorabilia inhabit the property.
Those suffering from coulrophobia should look away. Otherwise, you absolutely can’t miss this gem right next to U.S. Route 95.
Goldwell Open Air Museum
Open-air sculpture parks and the American West go hand in hand, from the surreal Porter Sculpture Park in Montrose, South Dakota, to the oddball Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum in Joshua Tree, Calif.
The title of Nevada’s top open-air exhibit absolutely goes to the Goldwell Open Air Museum, located just outside the Nevada side of Death Valley National Park, near the ghost town of Rhyolite.
With permanent artwork dating back more than 40 years, and a slew of new introductions over the last six, Goldwell’s collection is certainly one the best Nevada road trip destinations and ranges from serene to contemplative to nostalgic.
Conclusion: Nevada road trip destinations
It’s easy to think of Nevada and Las Vegas as one and the same. But cast away any aspersions: the pulsing neon lights, never-ending rows of slot machines and unlimited lobster buffets are only one tiny part of The Silver State.
Even the more ‘out there’ destinations like the Extraterrestrial Highway showcase a tiny sliver of what the state has to offer during a Nevada road trip.
Rent a car and get out into nature for endless adventures in vast open spaces: sample some delicious local food and meet some charismatic locals along the way. We hope you enjoy these underrated Nevada road-trip stops as much as we do!
