Abandoned Towns
A weathered two-story store, an old Jeep and a gas pump in the Techatticup Mine yard below the rocky Eldorado Mountains

Gold mining town

Nelson

Eldorado Canyon had a name for violence when its gold mines were running. Today about two dozen people live in Nelson, and the old Techatticup Mine runs tours from a yard full of rusting cars that film crews love.

35°42′26″N 114°49′34″W · ≈3,010 ft

Photo: Don Ramey Logan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tours by reservation

Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours runs guided tours of the Techatticup Mine at 9 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., by reservation, with at least four adults. Closed Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve from noon and Christmas Day. The operator lists $20 for adults and says prices are subject to change. Reservations: 702-291-0026. Most of Nelson itself is private ranch property. Checked October 19, 2026.

Overview

A lawless canyon above the Colorado

A rusting sedan by a gas-station front in the Techatticup Mine yard
A rusting sedan by a gas-station front in the Techatticup Mine yard · Photo: raduranga, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Eldorado Canyon cuts through the Eldorado Mountains down to the Colorado River, southeast of Las Vegas. Gold and silver turned up around 1859, and a rush began in 1861. The Techatticup was the best-known mine, and with its neighbors it produced several million dollars in gold, silver, copper and lead before the last mines closed in the 1940s. Steamboats on the Colorado called at Colorado City, at the mouth of the canyon, until the railroad made the landing unnecessary.

The canyon was rough. Deserters from both sides of the Civil War are said to have hidden here, and the Techatticup was notorious for killings over labor and ownership. The town took its name from Charles Nelson, a camp leader killed in 1897. In 1907 the Eldorado post office moved up the road to Nelson.

In 1974 a flash flood destroyed Nelson's Landing on Lake Mohave and killed ten people. The 2020 census counted 22 residents, most in private ranch houses. A river and mine tour business runs from a former gas station that has been a backdrop for films including 3000 Miles to Graceland.

Video

Nelson in 30 seconds

Eldorado Canyon's gold camp: the rush of 1861, the Techatticup Mine yard, the old gas station film backdrop and mine tours today.

Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Don Ramey Logan (CC BY-SA 4.0), Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova (CC BY-SA 4.0), Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova (CC BY-SA 4.0), raduranga (CC BY-SA 4.0), Hypersite (CC BY-SA 3.0). Original music; narration by Google Gemini text-to-speech, with captions.

Timeline

Gold, guns and floods

Old trucks and a timber building in the Techatticup Mine yard
Old trucks and a timber building in the Techatticup Mine yard · Photo: Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  1. Spaniards call the area Eldorado, by Wikipedia's account.
  2. The Ives Expedition passes through.
  3. Gold and silver are found in the canyon, and a rush begins in 1861. The Techatticup Mine opens that year.
  4. Civil War deserters from both armies are said to hide in the canyon. Colorado City, at its mouth, serves as a steamboat landing on the Colorado River.
  5. Charles Nelson, a camp leader, is killed. The town later takes his name.
  6. The Eldorado post office closes and moves to Nelson.
  7. The canyon's mines, active since about 1858, shut down. Showcaves.com dates the Techatticup's closing to 1942; Wikipedia says the canyon mines ran to about 1945.
  8. A flash flood destroys Nelson's Landing on Lake Mohave and kills ten people.
  9. The census counts 22 residents.

What's left

What you'll see

A 1960 Cadillac in the yard
A 1960 Cadillac in the yard · Photo: Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
A school bus, a water tower and the main store in the mine yard
A school bus, a water tower and the main store in the mine yard · Photo: Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Most visitors stop at the Techatticup Mine, about 2 miles past Nelson on NV 165. Its yard is crowded with old cars, trucks, gas pumps and weathered buildings, and the business rents it out for photo shoots, film work and weddings. The guided tour walks into the old mine. Nelson itself is mostly private ranch houses; look from the road. The road continues down the canyon toward the Colorado River.

The oldest USGS sheet in the next section, from 1886, shows El Dorado Cañon running down to the Colorado River, with Miners Spring and a well along the canyon road.

  • Techatticup Mine (tours)
  • Mine and mill buildings
  • Former gas station (film location)
  • Vintage vehicles
  • Ranch houses (private)
USGS topographic map of Nelson in Eldorado Canyon
USGS The National Map, topo. Nelson where NV 165 drops into Eldorado Canyon.
Aerial view of Nelson's few streets of houses beside the highway in a desert canyon
Aerial imagery, same area. Nelson's small grid of houses beside NV 165.

Historic maps

Nelson on USGS maps, 1886–1984

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Nelson, 1886
Camp Mohave sheet, 1886, 1:250,000 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Day trip

Plan a day trip to Nelson from Boulder City

Take it with you

Day trip itinerary

The essentials, the sample day with boxes to tick, what to photograph and the coordinates, on two printable pages. Handy where there's no signal.

Download the PDF (504 KB)

Nelson is a half-day trip from Boulder City or Las Vegas: the drive down NV 165, a mine tour and time to photograph the yard. Book the tour ahead, because it runs only with a reservation and a group of four adults or more.

A sample day

  1. Leave Boulder City. Head south and turn onto NV 165 into Eldorado Canyon, about 35 minutes.
  2. Morning mine tour at the Techatticup.
  3. Photograph the cars, pumps and buildings in the yard.
  4. Drive back through Nelson, looking at the town from the road.

Coming from Las Vegas? Allow about 55 minutes and leave by 8 a.m. for the 9 a.m. tour.

What to photograph and film

  • The yard. Rusting cars and gas pumps against the canyon walls, as in the photo at the top of this page.
  • The cars. In 2018 a pink 1960 Cadillac sat in the yard with the mine buildings on the slope behind it.
  • Inside the mine. Bring a light source or raise your ISO; the tunnels are dark.
  • Photo shoots. Organized shoots and filming are rented from the operator. Call ahead.

Map & directions

Getting there

From Boulder City or Las Vegas, head south toward Searchlight and turn east on NV 165, Nelson Road, into Eldorado Canyon. It's paved all the way, about 45 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip.

USGS topographic map between Boulder City and Nelson with the route drawn on it

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From central Boulder City25.1 miabout 35 min
  1. Head out of town on Arizona Street, Nevada Way and Boulder City Parkway.3.6 mi
  2. Take the ramp and turn left onto the Veterans Memorial Highway, signed SR 173 in the route data, heading south.10.3 mi
  3. Turn left onto Nelson Road, NV 165, into Eldorado Canyon.11.0 mi
  4. Continue onto Western Road in Nelson.0.2 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and safety notes

  • NV 165 is paved. Eldorado Canyon floods in heavy rain; the 1974 flood killed ten people at Nelson's Landing. Don't drive into a running wash.
  • Most buildings in Nelson are private. The mine yard is a business; ask before wandering.
  • Mine tours need a reservation and at least four adults.

Photos

Nelson in photos

Visitor reports

Been to Nelson?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

Gold mining

More gold mining ghost towns

The nearest in Nevada.

Searchlight's low buildings spread across the desert below a rocky hill, with Joshua trees in frontGuide

Searchlight

35.47, -114.92

Clark County, Nevada

An 1897 gold strike in the desert south of Las Vegas made a town of 5,000 by 1907. It shrank to about 50 people, then came back as a highway town of…

Lived inGold mining
DelamarGuide

Delamar

37.46, -114.77

Lincoln County, Nevada

For five years Delamar was the richest gold camp in Nevada, and its dry-crushed quartzite filled the air with the dust that earned it the name…

Ruins · BLM landGold mining

All 96 gold mining ghost towns →

Nearby

Other sites near Nelson

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Nevada index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Nelson": fact sheet fields (roads, climate, best time, remains).
  2. Wikipedia, "Nelson, Nevada", retrieved October 2026: Eldorado name, discovery and rush, deserters, Techatticup, Colorado City, Charles Nelson, post office, 1974 flood, 2020 census, film location.
  3. Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours, official site, with its "Mine Tours" and "Directions/Contact Us" pages, as of October 19, 2026: tour times, four-adult minimum, prices, length, holiday closures, location 2 miles past Nelson, rentals, 45 minutes from the Strip, 1861–1942 mine dates.
  4. Showcaves.com, "Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours": operator, location 2.5 km past Nelson, 1861 opening, 1858 Ives Expedition, 1942 closing.
  5. Travel Nevada, "Eldorado Canyon and Techatticup Mine", as of October 2026: tour length of about 90 minutes, private ownership, film use.
  6. Coordinates: Wikipedia (from USGS GNIS). Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits