Eerie ghost town on edge of world's biggest party city thousands visit each year

Las Vegas remains the go-to destination for millions of tourists from all over the world. The bright lights of the Vegas Strip entice more than 40 million visitors each year looking to party or gamble the night away.

But just 30 minutes outside of the city lines, a very different destination is proving wildly popular with tourists. Despite holding a population of around just 200 people, the town of Goodsprings is overrun by thousands of visitors at least once a year. Nestled at the base of the Spring Mountains in the Nevada desert, Goodsprings was once a thriving mining town.

During its peak in the early 20th Century, it was home to 800 people and boasted a hospital, hotels and a school - which still runs today, even though it has just two students on its register. But as the ore deposits in the Goodsprings mines depleted, so too did its population.

In 1942, the town was the base of a special search expedition after actress Carole Lombard died in a plane crash. Her plane crashed into the Potosi Mountain and Hollywood star Clark Gable, Carole's husband, waited for news at Goodsprings' Pioneer Saloon.

Gable's cigar burns are said to still adorn the bar to this day. As a result, there is a memorial room at the Pioneer commemorating its link to the golden couple.

Now, Goodsprings has an eerie atmosphere. Driving through the town has an ominous feel.

As a result, Goodsprings has a reputation as being a 'ghost town'. This is perhaps enhanced thanks to stories of ghastly hauntings and folk tales.

Reddit users discussing the town have spoken about their experience while visiting. One said: "When I went to Goodsprings a few years back with my wife, it was completely dead.

"No one was outside or driving around, it looked like a wild west ghost town that time had forgotten". But the proprietors of the Pioneer Saloon are keen to ensure a warm welcome to visitors, despite its remote location.

Owner Stephen Staats, also known as Old Man Liver, bought the landmark bar in 2021 and learned of Goodsprings' unique standing in pop culture. The town is the starting point for cult classic video game Fallout: New Vegas, which sees players return from the dead having been buried alive in Goodsprings cemetery.

Many of the game's characters are inspired by real-life residents and the Pioneer itself is immortalised in New Vegas, renamed as the Prospector Saloon. After acknowledging the town's popularity, Staats hosted a Fallout-themed event on National Video Game Day, July 8, in 2022.

Expecting "maybe 100 in a crazy world", he was stunned when more than a thousand fans attended. Since then, it has grown exponentially.

Following the launch of the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series based off the game, 6,420 people visited Goodsprings in 2024. Fallout fans have praised the town's atmosphere and welcoming spirit on Reddit, with one saying: "The locals love it, and it's kind of their only form of tourism."

Another, who visited before Staats took over the Pioneer, said: "They were incredibly friendly and welcoming both times I went, and there's even a marble wall inscribed with the town's residents since it's founding, movies and TV shows that have filmed there, all sorts of stuff."

With a second season of the Amazon Prime show greenlit and likely to be set in and around 'New Vegas', popularity in visiting Goodsprings looks set to soar once again.