My first visits to the famous Virginia City centered on C Street. I visited historic buildings, shops, and enjoyed a Bloody Mary at the Bucket of Blood. For years I rarely visited Virginia City, thinking C Street was all it had to offer.
I discovered that the Comstock Lode has a wealth of historical riches beyond the famous main street. You could spend a week and not see everything. Below are my ten favorite things to do around Virginia City; this is what I suggest when friends ask me where they should visit.
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Sutro Tunnel and Ghost Town
When I decided to visit every ghost town in Nevada, one I thought I would never check off my list was Sutro. For decades, Sutro was closed to visitors and shrouded in mystery.
Comstock Lode mines had issues with shaft flooding. In 1860, Adolph Sutro proposed a drainage tunnel to allow deeper mines. The six-mile tunnel connected the Savage Mine in Virginia City to Sutro in 1878. The mines had reached greater depths than the Sutro Tunnel, but the tunnel continued to transport ore and drainage. The town of Sutro developed around the portal.
Sutro Tunnel railroad spike
& 150th anniversary medallion
The Sutro Tunnel Site Restoration Project has been restoring and preserving the tunnel and ghost town. Unfortunately, a cave-in occurred beyond the portal, but the group is planning on reopening a portion of the famous tunnel. The town remains much as it was when ghosted and includes multiple houses, barns, and outbuildings.
Sutro became one of my favorite ghost towns. I expect Sutro to be the Bodie of Nevada, a ghost town preserved in its glory. Sutro is open by tour only. Friends of Sutro host group tours throughout the year. Better yet, purchase a membership that includes a private tour. For more information, contact Sutro Tunnel Site Restoration Project, or email program director Chris Pattison at chris@thesutrotunnel.org.
Bonus Stop
Explore nearby Dayton, the site of Nevada’s first gold discovery. Settled in 1850, Dayton was the first settlement in Nevada. Take a walking tour of the historic downtown, featuring many buildings from the 1860s. After, grab a burger for lunch at 1st and Ten.
Union Hotel: Site of Dayton Pony Express Station
Rock Point Mill
Charles S. Stevenson, future Governor of Nevada, constructed Rock Point Mill in 1861 to process silver ore from Virginia City and Silver City. Rock Point was one of the earliest mills on the Carson River and one of the most extensive in the country.
Extensive ruins remind visitors of the importance of milling to the Comstock Lode. Stone retaining walls date from the 1861 mill. Concrete foundations and footings, water storage tanks, and battery footings remain from the second mill. The former mill site was established as a portion of Dayton State Park in 1977 and opened in 1979. The park has trails, information signs, and picnic facilities.
Bonus Stop
Visit the Dayton Schoolhouse Museum, housed in the 1865 Dayton Grammar School. In the evening, relax over drinks and an amazing dinner at J’s Old Town Bistro.
Butters Mill: Six Mile Canyon
Mining began in Six Mile Canyon in 1859, but miners abandoned the canyon ten years later. Butters Mill was built in 1902 to reprocess tailings left from earlier mining operations. The mill closed in the 1930s and is returning to a natural state.
Hike the mill foundations which cover the hill below Sugarloaf. View Virginia City from a different perspective, west of the mill.
Bonus Stop
In my mind, no trip to Virginia City is complete without a stop at the Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory. Chocolate Factory is known for delicious fudge, brittle, and chocolates; my favorite is chocolate-dipped orange peel and Key Lime melt aways.
The Chocolate Nugget is my… I mean my kids’ favorite stop!
Gold Hill Hotel Ghost Town Tours
Originally known as the “The Riesen House,” Nevada’s oldest hotel was built in 1861 and has been a rooming house, private residence, bar, and brothel. Gold Hill Hotel is reported to be one of the most haunted locations in Nevada. You can rent an original hotel room in Nevada’s oldest hotel or enjoy a chef’s dinner at Crown Point Restaurant.
Northern Nevada Ghost Hunters lead a dinner and ghost hunt. After a delicious dinner, we visited several of the hotel rooms and the hotel grounds, which contain foundations of original Gold Hill.
Bonus Stop
Wet your whistle at the historic Gold Hill Hotel bar! Stay in one of the rooms or miner’s cabin and enjoy a decadent Sunday brunch.
Donovan Mill
Donovan Mill began as a 5-stamp mill in 1890, constructed on a previous stamp mill site. Owners added a mill relocated from Rock Point (see above), which eventually totaled a remarkable 50 stamps. Donovan Mill extracted an astonishing 95% of metals from the ore. This mill operated until 1959.
You can tour the 50-stamp mill, office, and power plant. The Comstock Foundation has plans to restart 5 stamps for demonstration. For more information contact Steven Saylor at Steven@Comstockfoundation.org.
Bonus Stop
Visit the headframe and ore chute of the Yellow Jacket Mine, infamous for being the worst mining disaster in Nevada. On April 7, 1869, fire overtook the mine and two neighboring mines. Over thirty-five people died, many of the bodies remain in the tunnels.
The Comstock Foundation has restored the Yellowjacket upper hoist workings before it was lost to time and elements.
Combination Shaft
Hike or drive across the draw to the Combination Shaft. To reach greater depths on the Comstock Lode, three mining companies combined effort and dug this 3,250′ shaft. The combination shaft had issues with flooding and intense heat and was closed in 1886.
Bonus Stop
Continue along the road and visit the 3000′ deep Sutro Airshaft #4, and unmarked pioneer graves. Pay your respect to Julia Bulette, the famous prostitute known for her heart of gold. Following her murder in 1867, mines, mills, and saloons closed for a period of mourning for the woman who nursed the ill and supported the fire department.
Chollar Mine Tour
William “Billy” Chollar staked his claim in 1859. The Chollar Mine became one of the greatest producers in the Comstock heyday. Over eighty years of operation, the mine would produce an astonishing $17 million in gold and silver.
Follow the miners’ path over 400′ into the mine, ending up below C Street. Learn about mining techniques, history, and equipment. The tour is as close as you can to experiencing what miners’ lives were like 160 years ago. Chollar Mine has a museum with a variety of unique pieces of equipment.
Bonus Stop
St. Mary’s Hospital established 1876
Tour St. Mary’s Art Center. It opened in 1876 as a hospital and orphanage. Each room had hot and cold water, almost unheard of at the time. St. Mary’s is now an art center that features many programs and private events.
Geiger Grade 1930s CCC Campground
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary work relief program from 1933 to 1942 to address unemployment during the Great Depression. The program focused on manual labor jobs relating to state and federal lands conservation and development. They built many campgrounds, including one on Geiger Grade.
The decommissioned campground has a two-sided outhouse, an overlook, and campsites, each with a unique fireplace. Workers built the campground using locally quarried stone.
Bonus Stop: Geiger Grade & Robbers Roost
Geiger Toll Road
Stop a the overlook for the original Geiger Grade toll road, created in 1861 to connect Truckee Meadows to Virginia City. Guess which corner was “Robbers Roost” and possibly the final resting place for the infamous Black Bart.
With 4WD, you can drive the original Geiger Grade, a fun way to reach Virginia City.
At the end of “C” Street Visit: Forth Ward School Museum
The Fourth Ward is on C Street, but it is at the end of town, and many people drive past without stopping to visit one of my favorite museums. Virginia City built the four-story school in 1876, which could accommodate one thousand students and boasted state of the art heating, ventilation, sanitation facilities, and water on every floor.
The museum has phenomenal displays on the historical school, mining in the Comstock, and Mark Twain. However, many don’t realize that the museum features events and educational speakers.
Bonus Stop
My favorite place for Sunday brunch
I am reluctant to mention Cider Factory because I want to get a table! Cider Factory is a hidden gem on B street. The building was constructed in 1863 and used as a cider factory. The dynamic mother and son have maintained the history and charm and have a delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu.
Want more ghost towns?
For information on more than three hundred ghost towns in Nevada, visit the Nevada Ghost Towns Map or a list of Nevada ghost towns.
For information on more than 300 ghost towns in Nevada, visit Nevada Ghost Towns Map