Miles of SANDY BEACHES provide access to boating, water and jet skiing, and camping. The lake is a desert terminal water body, one of only four or five in the world and one of two in Nevada. In prehistoric times, it was part of Lake Lahontan that covered much of the state, including the area around Fallon and Pyramid Lake. Near the town of WALER LAKE, Highway 95 winds across awesome CLIFFS with turnouts for lake viewing. BIGHORN SHEEP can sometimes be seen in the area. The lake is overlooked by MT. GRANT, towering 11,245 feet high.

Today there are four federal and state campgrounds on the west side of the lake, just off Highway 95. Some have shaded tables with grills and fire pits and rest rooms. A minimal fee is charged at Sportsman's Beach. Note the signs there indicating lake levels at various years. Hiking, rock hounding, and wildlife viewing are added benefits.

In addition to pelicans and gulls, seasonal birds such as cormorants, grebes, plovers, ducks, and geese stop over on their migratory flights. Other wildlife you may see include hawks, coyotes, foxes, bighorn sheep, wild mustangs, and an occasional eagle, mountain lion or bear.

4 X 4 OHV ROADS AND TRAILS
Over 1,000 miles of 4 wheel drive trails and roads, many of which can be traveled by passenger car during the summer. See our Off Roading Routes tab at the top of this website and or for additional trails go to our sister website, www.minatrails.com.
Mineral County is OHV and ATV friendly, and we attract enthusiasts from neighboring states. In addition, Hawthorne has a competitive BMX track.

Among them, Rawhide, Candelaria, Marietta, and Aurora are accessible by passenger car in summer. Others, like Cabin under the Rock, require 4 wheel drive or ATVs. Marietta is home to a national wild burrow range. Fletcher Station, near Aurora, was once a stage stop. A cool water spring gushes from a lava bed, part of Aurora Crater.

The COUNTY MUSEUM displays geologic and historic items from Mineral County's prehistoric and mining past. Memorabilia from the WWII town of Babbitt is also featured. Our resident historian, Sue Silver, has published five volumes about Mineral County's history. The ORDNANCE MUSEUM displays wartime ammunition and military gear; it is one of only a few of its kind in the country.

Within a few hours, one departing from Hawthorne can visit Mono Lake, Yosemite, the Mammoth ski area, many Sierra lakes, Bridgeport, and the ghost town of Bodie.

Rock Hounding, Geocaching, ATV & OHV touring extrodanaire to a cabin under a rock, old mining camps galore. Ever hear of a Lobster farm in the desert? Well, we had one serving a local Cabin Cruiser Restaurant in Mina. SODAVILLE is the site of a former lobster farm. The Desert Lobster Restaurant in MINA is entered through a cabin cruiser. Inside is home style cooking, historic memorabilia, and a map of all the off-road trails in the county.

The county seat is known as "America's Patriotic Home." A huge flag at Veterans Park frequently flies at the north end of town. The third weekend in May celebrates Armed Forces Day with a parade, fireworks, and many other activities. From the main street (E Street), one can access lodging, dining, museums, and the USO building.

Visit our restored Historic 1942 Hawthorne USO Bldg., one of a few of these 1,200 or so 1942 USO kit buildings left (AKA HAWTHORNE CONVENTION CENTER
/ COURAGE THEATER)
where tourists love to come to our Dinner Mystery Dramas.
It can be rented for CONVENTIONS, WEDDINGS, REUNIONS, MEETINGS, and CONCERTS. See the Pricing and Forms Tab at the top of the banner.

The town of SCHURZ has a Paiute Indian museum. In September, Schurz hosts an annual Pine Nut Festival.
Year round there is excellent fishing in Weber Resivior or the Walker Rivers especially at the Elbow.

Also located within the County's boundaries is towering Mount Grant and part of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

We offer Tourists many other adventures and activities such as geocaching, hunting, fishing, camping, BMX Motor Cross, hiking, and rock hounding. Be sure to visit the fine Golf Course at the Army Base.

Annual events that bring in a large number of visitors are the Armed Forces Day celebration held on the third weekend of May, and the Walker Lake Paiute Tribe Pine Nut Festival at Schurz and the Fishing Derby at Weber Reservoir.

Recently we were given a NCOT grant of $2780 so we could have a fully staffed tourism booth at two different offroad events along with printing 10,000 rack cards promoting Tourism to Mineral County, NV. to be handed out during those events.

The first is to have a booth at the CA4WDC Convention in Sacramento February 16 where we expect to talk with about 1,000 avid Off Roaders. The second is to have a booth at the Reno Off-Road & Motor Sports Expo in Reno April 5,6 & 7 where we expect to talk with about 5,000 Off Roaders.