Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Nevada → St. Thomas Ghost Town

Location: North Lake Mead, North of Las Vegas, Nevada

Time Required: 1-2 hours

Distance: 2.5 miles

Elevation Gain: 50 feet? (mostly flat, only one hill dropping down from the parking area)

Red Tape/Notes: Access requires a day pass (valid for 7 consecutive days) to Lake Mead NRA, which is $25 per vehicle. You’ll pass by a creepy former Lake Mead entrance station just before the turn off for the dirt road to the St. Thomas parking area (presumably it’s no longer used because Lake Mead doesn’t extend this far north anymore). If you want to read more about the history of St. Thomas, there’s load of info on the NPS website here.

What’s Nearby?: The Fire Wave, White Domes Loop

One of the few upsides to enduring years of drought is that you can now visit the remnants of St. Thomas. Once an oasis along the route between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, St. Thomas thrived due to its proximity to the Muddy River, which had created good soil for farming and provided easy access to irrigation. Despite the lack of electricity and indoor plumbing, clever use of irrigation channels and cisterns throughout the town provided consistent access to water and the residents create a lovely town. The tree-lined streets of St. Thomas were flooded under 60 feet of water when Hoover Dam was completed in the 1930’s and Lake Mead was formed, but receding waters have provided periodic access, including a long period since 2012. The short trail follows former streets of the town, past the foundations of some of the more prominent buildings. Occasional panels with maps of the town and historical information help provide context, making it easy to imagine what life was like for the residents.

Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Nevada → St. Thomas Ghost Town