Less Than 2 Hours From Death Valley Is Nevada's Open-Air Art Gallery With Graffiti-Covered Cars And Quirky Charm

The first time I visited the International Car Forest of the Last Church, I got lost trying to find the turnoff and drove up and down the dirt roads of Goldfield, Nevada, looking for something that resembled the colorful outdoor art installation I'd read about in a magazine. I was hesitant to ask for directions, partly because I could imagine the strange looks I'd get if I asked about a mythical-sounding "car forest," and partly because I was embarrassed I'd driven three hours from my home in Las Vegas to see what might very well turn out to be nothing more than a colorful junkyard. When I finally spotted several cars jutting out of the sand at odd angles, like a giant child's collection of rusted sandbox toys, I felt relieved to have finally made it. I felt surprised, too, by how charming I found this quirky exhibit to be.

The International Car Forest of the Last Church is an open-air art gallery that includes 40 cars, vans, trucks, and buses, many of which stand on one end, spray-painted and partially buried in the sand, like colorful, weathered metallic "trees" in some post-apocalyptic "Mad Max" world. Located in Goldfield, Nevada, less than two hours from the Furnace Creek Visitor Center at Death Valley National Park, the Car Forest and the quirky ghost town of Goldfield make for a fun detour or pit stop, especially for those road-tripping along U.S. 95 or traversing the Free-Range Art Highway between Las Vegas and Reno.

The International Car Forest of the Last Church was created by Goldfield local Mark Rippi and completed in 2011. Of course, it's not the only car forest of its kind, as Cadillac Ranch in Texas and Carhenge in Nebraska are two famous examples. Free to visit and easy to navigate, the 80-acre gallery features evolving artwork from graffiti artists from around the world. As the graffiti art is always changing, no two visits to the car forest will be the same. Previous graffiti murals have featured everything from beautiful faces and famous quotes to spooky villains, aliens, and a frowning, yellow-eyed gorilla. For the best photos, go at sunset, when the cars are backlit against a cloudless peach desert sky. 

While the park was once imagined as a canvas that would inspire artists to add their tags, the Travel Nevada website now urges guests to "swap the spray paint for the camera," stating that plans are underway to further shape the car forest into a more curated, open-air gallery with featured work from select artists. While finding the gallery can be tricky, as the roads are unpaved and not clearly marked, I found it easy to maneuver the dirt road in my low-clearance Chevy Spark.

The Car Forest is located on the outskirts of Goldfield, a near-abandoned Nevada ghost town with an estimated 222 residents. Back in 1907, Goldfield was a booming mining town and the largest city in Nevada, but today, it's a quiet, weathered version of its former self. Nevertheless, Goldfield remains one of my favorite stops on the drive between Las Vegas and Tonopah. Like the nearby wild west desert town of Beatty, Goldfield has embraced its quirky charm with several interesting — albeit head-scratching — attractions. 

Just minutes from the Car Forest is Rocket Bob's Art Cars, a roadside collection of Burning Man-esque art vehicles decked out in an array of odd knickknacks, like Barbie dolls, vintage TVs, garden gnomes, and plastic doll houses. The 121-year-old Santa Fe Saloon, home to "Nevada's Meanest Bartender," is also worth a visit, as is the Goldfield Cemetery. There, you can find a tombstone with the inscription "Unknown man died eating library paste," a reminder of the struggles the impoverished faced in the often unforgiving, turn-of-the-century Wild West.

For lodging, Goldfield has several options that include the Santa Fe Motel and a few charming, rustic cabins. I recommend driving 30 minutes north to Tonopah and staying at the luxuriously retro and western Mizpah Hotel, which is one of Nevada's most historic hotels and my favorite place to stay in the area. For those flying in, Tonopah has a small local airport, but the closest international airport is the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, which is about a three-hour drive away.