Ely In The News
Meet the people and events that have contributed to Ely’s history and the ones who are defining its future.
Influential Baker
Influential Baker: Maria Pavlakis gave sustenance, emotionally and physically, to others most days of her life in Ely.
Schellraiser 2024 Artist Announcement
SCHELLRAISER MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES LINEUP FOR 2024 Micro-event will feature 25+ artists in McGill, Nevada.MCGILL, NEVADA - October 10th, 2023 - Schellraiser has announced the lineup for its third annual micro-music festival, set to take place from May 30 - June 1,...
For a Fun and Safe Eclipse in White Pine County
For a fun and safe eclipse in White Pine County, check out this page. BLM’s road map, eclipse safety instructions, and more!
Viewing Prometheus
In the summer of 1964, Prometheus, the oldest known tree of its time, was cut down. Today, viewing Prometheus can be beyond insightful.
Highway to Schell
Over the first weekend in June, music lovers gather in Nevada’s eastern edge for Schellraiser, a high-end music festival in the high-desert.
In Memory of Dirt, Nevada Northern’s Boss Shop Cat
It is with a very heavy heart that we report Dirt, our Boss Shop Cat, passed away yesterday. He was 15 years old, and beloved by everyone here at the railroad and around the world. Here’s Dirt’s story. In the spring of 2008, a little kitten of orange and white fur was...
White Pine County Selected for New Destination Development
White Pine County has been selected to build our tourism appeal through Travel Nevada's new Destination Development Program. "Travel Nevada has selected six proposed projects to develop new experiences for visitors across the state through its new Destination...
The Historian
Sit down and spend some time talking with 86 year-young Keith Gibson and you’ll quickly realize you’re talking to a renaissance man. Whether it’s ranching, construction, medical research, restaurant ownership, corporate sales, state health inspection, land surveying,...
The Rider
A lot of metaphors in life can be found through riding a bicycle long distance. The discipline it takes to push through muscle cramps, driving rain, unrelenting headwinds and never-ending climbs is the same kind of discipline it takes to successfully raise a family...
The Curator
Some people are born knowing what they want to do with their life. In the case of East Ely Railroad Depot Museum director Sean Pitts, it’s always been working to keep history and heritage alive. And for railroad enthusiasts, there may be no better time portal to step...
The Cattlemen
Tradition. It’s the heart and soul of the oldest amateur rodeo in Nevada, the Lund Rodeo. First held in 1898, the Lund Rodeo has always maintained its amateur status, serving as a form of entertainment and bragging rights, originally for the founding ranching families...
Couple’s Weekend in Ely
Experiencing Ely and White Pine County can be a life-changing experience. Visiting, exploring, and taking in all that the 10,000 square miles the county has to offer will always be memorable. Some of our top attractions are truly unique to this area. Nowhere in the...
A Family Weekend in Ely
We're more than proud to boast about how awesome an Ely adventure is. We never miss an opportunity to mention how our mountain biking trails can be a welcome challenge, how epic an OHV ride in the WPC can be, or how exhilarating several events are for even the most...
July 4th Parade Honors Lee and Leanna Anderson
The White Pine Chamber of Commerce has selected Lee and Leanna Anderson as Grand Marshals for the upcoming 2022 July 4th Parade. Celebrating influential locals to lead the biggest annual parade in Ely is a time honored tradition, and this year’s selection has been...
The Mailman
There’s a lot people in the modern world take for granted, like the mail. You send a letter, and a day or two later, the mail arrives to its intended recipient as reliably as the sun rises. Even quicker, emails and texts get sent and received immediately, creating a...
The Daredevil
Nevada is known for its long stretches of straight, visible road extending well past the horizon, inviting drivers to push pedal to metal, but the thought of a hefty speeding ticket keeps most in check. For those speed demons who live life north of 100 mph, for nearly...
Top 5 Places for Dark Sky Photography
Artificial light has revolutionized the way we live and work outdoors, but it does come with a price. 80% of the global population suffers from light pollution, which not only affects wildlife and human health, but it also blocks the view of our universe. For all...
Lights, Camera… Ely!
Born and raised in Ruth, Dutch Marich was like many children, chasing lizards, building tree forts, sledding, and running around all day with friends. However; the son of Dan and Kathy Marich came from a family of miners, and he very well might have surprised his...
Top 5 Reasons to Visit Ely in February
One of the biggest advantages to being the most mountainous county in the most mountainous state in the lower 48 is that when it snows, it sticks around. We're here to help with just some of what you can do and enjoy winter this February. 1. Fat Biking: Our...
Nevada Receives $160,000 For Nation’s First-Ever Recreation Trail Building School
Nevada leaders are excited to announce the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is providing a $160,000 grant to the Nevada-based Great Basin Institute (GBI) to establish the nation’s first-ever professional recreation trail building school in Ely, Nevada....
Ice Fishing in White Pine
When snow has fallen here in the high desert, Ely's Winter Season is in full swing. Our backcountry terrain has already become legednary to snowmobilers and skiers, but did you know that White Pine County is the southernmost point in the state for consistent ice...
Treasure Hunting in Ely!
“Ely would have been a terrible place to live 37 million years ago,” says William Wilson, chair of the White Pine Public Museum. And unless you really like the heat, he’s right. It was at that time the volcano now known as Garnet Hill, was in the middle of a 3-phase...
Ely’s Top 5 Adventures For Kids of All Ages
We've spent alot of time focusing on the future of Ely - with things like the expansion of our single track mountain biking trails underway. But Ely is also a place where we embrace the past. Ely's rich history is always on display and it's a great place for kids to...
Fears, Tears, and Beers Enduro in Ely, NV
2020 has been the year of busted plans, particularly if you are in the events business. But there's one event that didn't get shut down this year, the longest-running mountain bike Enduro in North America, Fears, Tears and Beers (FTB) in Ely, Nevada, founded in 2004....
The History and Tales of Ely Cemetery
Many travelers come into Ely on Highway 50, The Loneliest Road in America. This infamous two-lane highway serves as our main street. Driving in from the west means you’ll first pass through our historic downtown, which includes our city courthouse built in 1870, the...
Jake and Kate of Kerouac’s Restaurant
“Maybe that’s what life is… a wink of the eye and winking stars.” – Jack Kerouac Great Basin National Park is one of Nevada’s greatest treasures, well grounded in White Pine County. Being the only full national park within state lines, Great Basin is a land of...
White Pine MTB Mission
White Pine MTB Mission Your Mission If You Choose To Accept it.... Mission Orders: Length of time: The Entire Month of May and June Location: The Many Mountain Biking Trails Throughout White Pine County Task: Ride at least 50% of the mountain bike trails...
Ranching Family Evolves to Further Help Their Community
This rugged, scenic, and rural area in eastern Nevada is home to people who pride themselves on being hard working, independent, and resilient. One ranching family is creating a new paradigm and evolving the way they serve the community through the trend of conscious...
Top 5 Educational Places
Are your kids missing out on the rest of the school year because of COVID-19? Learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom. In fact, many of the most memorable and impactful educational experiences are made out in the real world. When you feel comfortable traveling...
Our New Trains to Trails Ticket!
Enjoy having you and your bike shuttled to the end of the line during any regular scheduled train and ride one of many routes back to town at your own pace with the brand new “Trains and Trails Ticket”.
Ely Honors Its film History With Inaugural Film Festival
Movies have been said to be America’s favorite pastime. But in today’s modern age of streaming and binging, it’s easy to forget what going to the movies meant: the neon marquee in the distance, smell of popcorn in the air, and a darkened room with a giant screen...
Public Art Celebrates Ely’s Past, Directs Future
Like many Western towns, Ely, Nev., has experienced major highs and lows thanks to the mining industry. Mining, primarily for copper, founded the town in the late 1800s and has long been its largest employer. But the whims of geology and commodities markets have also...
Restored cabins offer a glimpse into rugged mountain life
Have you ever thought about living in a log cabin, amid the deep silence and solitude of a mountain winter, at 10,000 feet elevation? Well, Great Basin National Park near Baker, Nev., now makes it a lot easier to imagine what that kind of life would be like. The park...
Every runner sure to experience ‘Success’ at Take it to the Lake half-marathon
Regardless a runner’s place or time at the annual Take it to the Lake Half-Marathon Run, everyone inevitably leaves with a taste of success.That’s due to the fact that every entrant in the 13.1-mile race gets a heaping helping of Success Summit on the rural course...
McGill Drugstore Preserves Memories Of Bygone Era
No one has yet invented a time machine. So for now, one of your best options for a time-travel experience is found in the tiny eastern Nevada town of McGill. There lies the McGill Drugstore Museum, which exists in a kind of suspended animation. The drugstore on main...
Take It To The Lake
If you want to run a half-marathon, but don’t want to pound the pavement in some smoggy city, how about this: A dirt road among aspen-filled mountains, bathed in clean air and the music of nature? That’s what you get with Take It to the Lake, a half-marathon, 10k and...
Historically a hot spot for UFO sightings in Nevada
Some UFO investigators say Ely is second only to the infamous Roswell, N.M., as a locus of UFO events.
Ely’s Centennial Fine Arts building on the verge of revival
Across the street from Courthouse Park in Ely, Nev., stands a grand brick building that appears to be abandoned. Many of the windows are boarded up, the roof is sheathed in plastic, and pigeons are constantly trying to nest in the eaves. But the Centennial Fine Arts...
Long-time volunteer keeps historic train on time
If you visit Ely to ride a historic steam train on the Nevada Northern Railway, there’s one person you’re almost guaranteed to meet: The conductor, Bill Hohlt. Bill has served as conductor on almost every Nevada Northern passenger trip for the past five years. He’s...
Terry Long local photographer
Terry Long sees beauty where others may only see the ordinary. It’s one mark of a good photographer. Long’s images of White Pine County, Nev., capture scenes that thousands of people — locals and tourists alike — drive past every day without so much as a second...
The Pony Express still rides with historical re-enactment
Most of us know the Pony Express had a short service: The telegraph put it out of business only about 18 months after it began in 1860. But many people don’t know that it still lives on: The nostalgia and grit embodied by America’s pony-supported mail delivery...
“Be The Engineer” for A next-level experience
I had been put in control of 72 tons of steel, barreling down a mountain pass toward a town of 4,500 people. Numerous tunnels, blind curves and road crossings lay ahead. The only thing between us and disaster was the thumb-sized brass lever I held in a death grip: The...
Ely celebrates 150th anniversary of transcontinental railroad
On May 10, 1869, an event occurred on a remote swath of Utah desert that would transform Ely, Nev., just 150 miles away. A golden spike was driven into the duff at Promontory Point, Utah, marking completion of the first railroad tracks spanning America from coast to...
Formula 1 Pylon Air Racing returns to White Pine County
Nevada is known around the world as host for one of the most spectacular motorsports events: The Reno Air Races, in which aircraft race around a pylon course just 50 feet above the ground at over 400 mph. Soon, Ely, Nev., may become similarly reknowned. The second...
Garnet Mercantile showcases largest collection of Nevada artists
Deep below street level in one of Ely’s most historic commercial buildings lies a hidden treasure: Possibly the most extensive art collection on public display in all of rural Nevada. The Garnet Mercantile on Aultman Street — formerly a JC Penney store — is a...
White Pine County surprising site of Nevada’s lone cross country ski race
First contested in 1983, the Ely Outdoor Enthusiasts club bills its annual Bristlecone Birkebeiner Cross Country Ski Race in rural White Pine County as the longest running Nordic event contested in Nevada. But the race is more than the Silver State’s oldest event —...
Growing a world-class trail system
Not many people know this. But word is spreading anyway, so we’ll let it out: For those in the know, Ely is a world-class destination for mountain biking. And it’s about to get even better. There’s a brand-new connector trail on Ward Mountain — the town’s signature...
White Pine County celebrates 150 years
White Pine County is set amid wild open spaces and some of the tallest mountains in Nevada. Yet despite its remoteness, the county has always had a central role in the world. In 2019, the county celebrates its 150th anniversary as an important cog in the delivery of...
Local woman forges career at historic train yard
At the age of 23, Angela Stevens was making her living building sandwiches at the Subway fast food restaurant in Ely. Just a few years later, she would be building trains for a living. Not toy trains, but vintage steam locomotives. Angela, an Ely native, is now 31 and...
Art Deco And entertainment at Ely’s Central Theatre
All across America, small towns are littered with historic movie theaters that haven’t felt the heat of a projector or the anticipation of a crowd in years. Fortunately Ely, Nev., is not one of those towns. Ely’s Central Theatre, listed on the National Register of...
Cave Bear discovery links to county’s past
Only about 30 miles from Ely as the crow flies, deep in the High Schells Wilderness, lies a remote cave that has yielded many secrets about prehistoric America. The most impressive stands about 6 feet high in a corner of the White Pine Public Museum: The most complete...
Silver State Classic Returns For 30th year of racing
For car racing enthusiasts, the Silver State Classic Challenge may seem too good to be true. An open-road race on a closed public highway? And I can drive my street car as fast as I want? But it is true, and car enthusiasts from around the world flock to Ely, Nev.,...
Historic Georgetown Ranch
In the late 1800's a group of Mormon settlers led by George Morley arrived in the Steptoe Valley and established a farming community at its southern end. Named Georgetown for its founder (or, alternately, for a church official of the time--there is controversy...