The Attractions Group

09/11/2026

Here’s one of those little pieces of local history that really shows just how fast things could change during the mining boom.

In 1905, lots in the new town of Bullfrog were selling for as much as $1,500.

Think about that for a minute.

Bullfrog had barely gotten started, but people were spending serious money betting that this little town in the hills west of Beatty was going to be the next big thing.

And for a while, it looked like it might be.

Bullfrog and Rhyolite sat less than a mile apart, both growing out of the same gold rush and both trying to become the town that would come out on top.

Rhyolite won that race.

By 1906, businesses were already leaving Bullfrog for Rhyolite, and on May 15, 1909, the Bullfrog post office closed for good.

Just four years from booming town lots and big plans to no post office at all.

Today, most people know Rhyolite. Bullfrog is much quieter, with only a few remnants left behind.

That’s one of the things I love about the history around Beatty. Sometimes an entire town can rise, compete for its place on the map, and almost disappear again in the span of just a few years.

If you go exploring the area, bring water, stay on established roads, respect private property, and leave anything you find right where it is.

09/04/2026

08/30/2026

This is amazing!

The oldest known picture of the Pioneer Saloon, 1/2 size, thanks to the UNLV archives. 1913.

08/30/2026

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One of the things people love about Beatty is seeing the wild burros wandering through town.

They may look calm and curious, but they’re still wild animals. Give them plenty of space, especially around foals, and enjoy them from a distance.

Please don’t feed them or encourage them to come up to your vehicle. When burros learn to associate cars and people with food, it can put them in danger along the highway.

They’re part of what makes this place special, and the best way to enjoy them is to let them stay wild.

Take the photo. Enjoy the moment. Just give them a little room to be burros.

08/29/2026

Beatty is turning 122 this fall, and Beatty Days is right around the corner!

Join us Friday, October 30 through Sunday, November 1 at Cottonwood Park for a full weekend of celebrating our little town.

The downtown parade rolls out Saturday, October 31 at 10:00 AM. Parade line-up begins at 8:30 AM in front of Beatty Middle School on 4th Street, and all participants need to check in by 9:30 AM to receive their number and category.

This year’s Honorary Grand Marshal is Steven Sullivan.

Whether you’re planning to be in the parade, cheering from the sidelines, or spending the whole weekend at the park, Beatty Days is one of those weekends you don’t want to miss.

It may still be a couple of months away, but Beatty Days has a way of sneaking up on us. Mark your calendar now and come help us celebrate 122 years of Beatty!

08/25/2026

Mizpah Hotel

08/25/2026

Beatty is the last town with a full set of services before the road drops into Death Valley.

From here it is 7 miles to the park boundary and about 41 miles on to Furnace Creek, over Daylight Pass on State Route 374. There is fuel in town and there are markets in town. Once you are past the boundary, the next reliable stop is a long way off.

Cell service is the one people forget. The Park Service describes Death Valley as having limited to no cell coverage, and it does not come back for a long stretch. Download your map before you leave Beatty, not after.

Two things the Park Service asks every visitor to do, and they are worth repeating. Carry at least one gallon of drinking water per person per day. And if your vehicle quits on you out there, stay with it until help comes instead of walking for help. A car is easier to spot than a person.

Fill the tank here. Fill the water here. Load the map here. Then go see it.

Beatty, Nevada, Gateway to Death Valley.

08/24/2026

Four or five miles west of Beatty there are two places sitting right next to each other, and people mix them up constantly.

Goldwell Open Air Museum is the outdoor art. Albert Szukalski's The Last Supper is the one everybody photographs, thirteen ghostly figures out in the open desert, but there's more out there than that. It's free and it's always open.

Rhyolite is the ghost town. Different thing entirely. In 1907 it had electric streetlights, and the Cook Bank building had marble staircases, mahogany, and indoor plumbing. The bank was closed by 1910. The power got shut off in 1916.

Two very different reasons to make the same short drive.

Go at either end of the day. Morning or the hour before sunset is when the light does something to both places that midday flatly does not.

Beatty, Nevada, Gateway to Death Valley.

08/23/2026

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Best time to spot the burros is early morning or right around dusk. Middle of the day in August they're doing the same thing everybody else is doing, which is finding shade and staying in it.

They're descendants of the pack animals miners turned loose when the work dried up over a century ago. Nobody put them here on purpose. They just stayed.

You'll see them along the edges of town, out toward the washes, and sometimes standing in somebody's front yard like they pay rent. A group is usually a jenny or two with a foal, and the jacks tend to keep to themselves.

Here's the part people forget. They are wild animals. They bite and they kick, and it happens most often when somebody is holding food. So don't feed them, keep your distance, and use the zoom on your phone.

Watch for them on the highway too, especially at dusk. They're dark, they're slow to move, and they do not care about your headlights.

Stay in Beatty - Explore everywhere!