Has anyone heard or been to Mt. Charleston? How far is it from Vegas? If I wanted to go to a ghost town while visiting Vegas which one would you recommend? Thank you.

I've been to Mt.Charleston and a few surrounding ghost towns. I only went to the Mt. Charleston Lodge for lunch. The drive up and the views were a much needed respite from Las Vegas. It is about 45 minutes to 1 hour noth of Vegas. I have visited (explored) 3 ghost towns near Las Vegas. Goodsprings (the closest - about 45 minutes to 1 hour south) is a "living" ghost town. There are still some residents, but the place is mainly deserted. It is the closest to Vegas. The local cemetery is complete with mounded graves and tumbleweeds. There is a local saloon complete with gun shot holes in the wall and a friendly place to stop and talk with locals. 2 hours north of Vegas is the quintessential ghost town, Rhyolite. This is one you will see photographs of in many ghost towns information brochures. It is complete with a decrepit old half standing bank building, old school, a train depot (mean guy lives inside..do not approach too closely), and a house constructed entirely of bottles. There is a corporate gold mine nearby, but if you turn your back to it, you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. I highly recommend a trip to Rhyolite. About an hour north of Rhyolite is Goldfield. This is also a living ghost town (Rhyolite is mainly deserted, expcept for jackrabbits). Goldfield comes complete with a haunted hotel (off limits), some shops and saloons. We had a great lunch at the Santa Fe Club in Goldfield. It is neat to explore these towns, but please remember alot of these places are private property. Also neat is to talk with the locals and proprietors of the saloons and shops. They are very happy to have visitors and make you feel welcome. And even though they live in ghost towns, they are very proud of their home and history. The trips to the ghost towns make great day trips away from Las Vegas.

I agree--- Rhyolite is a don't miss, as well as Death Valley!
I visited both in the same daytrip (with my rental car) from Vegas, I
LOVED IT!!

thanks to the both of you for the info. I wanted something a little closer to Las Vegas so I think Death Vally is out Lisa. Is it much better than the other mentioned towns. Thanks again. I leave tomorrow and can't wait.

Now I must know why is the haunted hotel off limits? sounds creepy~

For Marie B & Kate: Marie, if you go to Rhyolite the same road that goes to Rhyolite continues on into Death Valley. Kate, the Goldfield Hotel is off limnits because of vandalism. Someone bought it years ago in hopes of refurbishing it, but that has never materialized. In old Fodor's Guides to Las Vegas and nearby areas they used to write that (and I paraphrase here) that you could look into the hotel's windows and see the dining room set for dinner like guests were expected soon. Now you can't get near the windows because the entire hotel is encircled by a wire fence. As for the hauntings, the hotel has been featured on the Travel Channel and Discovery Channel on one of their haunted places shows. Mostly people have seen lights flickering around in the upper floors when no-one was there. I'd chalk alot of it up to local lore.

For Marie B & Kate: Marie, if you go to Rhyolite the same road that goes to Rhyolite continues on into Death Valley. Kate, the Goldfield Hotel is off limnits because of vandalism. Someone bought it years ago in hopes of refurbishing it, but that has never materialized. In old Fodor's Guides to Las Vegas and nearby areas they used to write that (and I paraphrase here) that you could look into the hotel's windows and see the dining room set for dinner like guests were expected soon. Now you can't get near the windows because the entire hotel is encircled by a wire fence. As for the hauntings, the hotel has been featured on the Travel Channel and Discovery Channel on one of their haunted places shows. Mostly people have seen lights flickering around in the upper floors when no-one was there. I'd chalk alot of it up to local lore.

I've been to Rhyolite and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND seeing it! Very, very good!