Nevada's 'Gateway To Death Valley' Is A Scenic Town Brimming With Wild West Charm And Unique Attractions

Death Valley has the most metal name in the history of named valleys. How do visitors get to this most brutal of desert locales that hits 120 degrees Fahrenheit in summer? Do they head down Agony Avenue? Damnation Drive? No, the road goes through the charming town of Beatty. Beatty is the Wild West-era "Gateway to Death Valley" on Death Valley National Park's eastern side at the junction of U.S. Highway 95 and State Route 374. It's got a population of about 500, some wild burros (donkeys) loitering around town, an open-air museum replete with iconic ghost statues, and loads of other completely oddball roadside attractions.  

From Las Vegas, Beatty is a 75-minute drive, and Death Valley National Park is just over the California state line once you arrive. This location tells Beatty's entire story. Named after Montillus "Old Man" Beatty, a gold miner who settled in the area in 1896, Beatty became the largest town in the regional Bullfrog Mining District by 1914. It received the moniker "Gateway to Death Valley" in 1933. The town's industry had switched from mining to tourism by then, but began to dwindle in the 1940s regardless. 

Today, Beatty is basically one big tourist attraction where residents also happen to live. The desert sculptures of the Goldwell Open Air Museum and the steampunk-inspired design of the Exchange Club Casino and Motel are just the beginning. There's also an abandoned brothel, Angel's Ladies, with its own graffiti-covered airplane rotting outside in the desert sun, the ruins of the neighboring Wild West-era ghost town of Rhyolite, and some seriously good eateries like Happy Burro Chili and Beer. Ultimately, Beatty doesn't just make a good stop on the way to Death Valley, but a cool destination in its own right.

Beatty, Nevada, is just one of many Wild West towns in the area, including Vulture City, a former gold-mining boomtown that's deteriorated into an assemblage of ramshackle 19th-century buildings; Calico, California, with its pay-to-enter theme rides; and Goldfield, Nevada, a near-abandoned ghost town whose 200 or so inhabitants refuse to let the town die.

But Beatty stands unique among them as it's still a completely functioning settlement, complete with a working post office, courthouse, schools, a hospital, and churches. At the same time, it has all the trappings of a tourist town. Beatty's attractions start with Rhyolite, a neighboring town a mere 10 minutes away that, unlike Beatty, was abandoned in 1916. Rhyolite boasts a collection of remarkable structures, notably the stone walls of the town's three-story bank. 

Rhyolite is also home to the Goldwell Open Air Museum, which features several permanent outdoor exhibits set against the desert backdrop. Arguably the most striking of these is "The Last Supper" by Albert Szukalski, a set of sculptures that look like white bed sheets draped around invisible, ghostly figures. The museum's founding artist, Szukalski intended the "open air" part of the museum to represent the free spirit of the American Old West. Beatty is also home to Angel's Ladies, an abandoned brothel. The plane on its property crashed during a botched promotional stunt and was left there as a tourist attraction. A livelier, functioning establishment on the horizon is the Exchange Club Casino and Motel, with its steampunk vibes and metal octopus sculpture wrapped around its outer walls. The casino is under new management and has yet to open to the public, but the motel portion is open.  

Yes, there really are wild donkeys hanging around Beatty. However, as illustrated by numerous encounters posted on social media, they don't shy away from approaching visitors (especially those with food). Around 800 of these fuzzy desert critters call Beatty home, so there's a decent chance you'll come across one. This is a rare opportunity to encounter the animal, as certain states and parks, like the Grand Canyon, have removed wild donkeys from their grounds. And as unassuming as donkeys may seem, they've played an immense role as beasts of burden throughout human history, including in the West. Seeing them might give you an appreciation of the original, hardy settlers who dared to set up lives in Beatty and other mining communities. 

If you've worked up an appetite, Beatty's got some food and drink choices on hand that would have made the town's original settlers swoon. The tavern-like interior of the aforementioned Happy Burro Chili and Beer is decked out with Wild West memorabilia, while the grandly named World Famous Sourdough Saloon sits right next door. 

The building resembles a genuine 19th-century saloon, complete with a hitching post out front. Smokin' J's Barbecue is right across the street, Roadhouse 95 bar and grill is right down the road, and Gema's Cafe is inside the Exchange Club Casino and Motel. Beatty also features a surprising number of inns and motels for a town of its size, with rooms starting from around $80 per night.