Amargosa Valley, NV. Pupfish, a big dune and a two-story cow.

Amargosa Valley used to be called Lathrop Wells. It sits in southern Nye County on the Nevada-California line, with the Funeral Mountains to the west, the Nevada National Security Site to the north and Yucca Mountain to the northwest. The town and the desert around it are named for the Amargosa River. The 2010 census counted 1,456 people.

Travel Nevada says the community stretches 17 miles from US 95 south to the California line and covers about 480 square miles.

• From Pahrump: about 35 miles northwest. The highway way, north on Nevada 160 to US 95 at Lathrop Wells, is about 44 miles and 50 minutes.
• From Las Vegas: about 88 miles northwest, roughly an hour and a half.
• From Beatty: about 30 miles southeast on US 95.
• To Death Valley Junction, California: about seven miles south.

Drive times are from a routing service, rounded.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

The largest remaining oasis in the Mojave is inside Amargosa Valley: spring-fed pools, boardwalks and pupfish found nowhere else. The visitor center is open every day, 9 AM to 4 PM. The Point of Rocks road and boardwalk are closed from September 15 to November 15, 2026, while the boardwalk is rebuilt. The Crystal Spring and Longstreet boardwalks stay open. Everything else is in our Ash Meadows guide.

Devils Hole

A water-filled cavern inside the refuge and the only wild home of the Devils Hole pupfish, the rarest pupfish in the world. You look down from a viewing platform; you do not get close.

Jack Longstreet’s cabin

Gunslinger, rancher and saloon keeper Jack Longstreet built a stone cabin by an Ash Meadows spring in 1896. It still stands, a short boardwalk from the parking lot.

Big Dune

The Bureau of Land Management’s Big Dune covers about five square miles and rises about 500 feet. It is open to off-highway vehicles, except inside the fenced habitat on the north side that protects Giuliani’s dune scarab, a beetle that lives at Big Dune and Lava Dune and nowhere else. From Las Vegas, go about 95 miles north on US 95, then 2.2 miles on Valley View Road. Our Big Dune guide has the rest.

Amargosa Opera House

Just over the line in Death Valley Junction, Marta Becket painted an audience on the walls of an old borax company hall and danced for it. Tours run daily at 9 AM and 6 PM. See our Amargosa Opera House guide.

People search for the Longstreet Hotel & Casino in Amargosa Valley. The business goes by Longstreet Inn, Casino & RV Resort. It sits on Nevada 373 near the California line and bills itself as a landmark at the gateway to Death Valley. It is named for Jack Longstreet, the gunslinger whose cabin is in Ash Meadows.

• Big Bovine: a two-story cow out front. Travel Nevada files it under Weird Nevada.
• The chapel: a replica of an 1864 Catholic church, designed by owner Jim Marsh as a nod to Nevada’s mining days.
• The casino: about 60 machines on 2,500 square feet, with live entertainment Friday and Saturday nights.
• Jack’s Café: breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7 AM to 10 PM daily. The bar is open around the clock. The Nebraska Steakhouse is temporarily closed.
• Fuel: gas and diesel at the station on site.

It also has an inn and an RV park; see hotels and RV parks.

Lathrop Wells

Lathrop Wells was the town’s old name. Today it is the cluster of businesses where Nevada 373 meets US 95: the Area 51 Alien Center, the Amargosa Castle truck stop and the Alamo Fireworks Megastore. There is a gas station at the junction. It is about 44 miles from Pahrump and 30 miles from Beatty.

Area 51 Alien Center

Is the Area 51 Alien Center real? Yes. It is a souvenir shop, truck stop and diner at 5388 US 95, painted green and pink so you cannot pretend you missed it. Expect alien socks, Area 51 security tees, shot glasses and magnets, plus a restaurant in the back for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It sits at the southwest corner of the Nevada National Security Site, about 90 miles from Las Vegas, and is open daily from 5 AM to 11 PM.

From the south end of town, Nevada 373 crosses into California and becomes Highway 127. At Death Valley Junction, turn west on Highway 190 for Furnace Creek.

• From the Longstreet to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center: about 38 miles, about 50 minutes.
• From Lathrop Wells: about 54 miles, a little over an hour.
• From Death Valley Junction: the Furnace Creek Visitor Center is 30 miles west and open year-round, 8 AM to 5 PM.

Drive times are from a routing service, rounded. Travel Nevada puts the east entrance 25 to 35 minutes from town.

What to see once you are in: our Death Valley guide. Heading south instead? Shoshone is about 27 miles past Death Valley Junction on Highway 127.

The Amargosa is the only free-flowing river in the Death Valley region. It flows south out of Nevada, cuts through the canyons near Tecopa and ends in Death Valley. Amargosa pupfish and Amargosa speckled dace live in its California stretches.

The Amargosa River Trail

The trail people search for is in California, not in Amargosa Valley. China Ranch, near Tecopa, is the trailhead. The Old Spanish Trail, the old Tonopah & Tidewater railroad bed, waterfalls and a slot canyon are all within walking distance. The full River Trail runs 7 miles one way to downtown Tecopa. The Bureau of Land Management’s China Ranch Trail is a 3-mile loop with a possible seasonal stream crossing.

More on the canyon, the date shakes and the soak afterward: Tecopa and the Amargosa and Tecopa hot springs.

Pupfish closer to home

The endangered Ash Meadows Amargosa pupfish lives in the refuge’s springs, a few miles from the Longstreet. See Ash Meadows pupfish.

For a community this spread out, there is more to eat than you would guess:

• Jack’s Café at the Longstreet: country breakfasts, burgers and classics, 7 AM to 10 PM daily.
• Stateline Saloon: across the street from the Longstreet. Pizza, burgers and cold beer.
• Ruby’s Store: burgers and sandwiches, north along Nevada 373.
• El Valle: Mexican, also on Nevada 373.
• Amargosa Castle and the Area 51 Alien Center: diner food at the US 95 junction.

Amargosa Valley gas stations

• Longstreet: gas and diesel on Nevada 373 at the south end. It is the closest fuel to Ash Meadows, about 6 miles from the visitor center.
• Lathrop Wells: gas at the junction of Nevada 373 and US 95, at the north end.

Where to eat in Pahrump and Beatty →

Longstreet Inn, Casino & RV Resort

The inn has been open since 1995. Travel Nevada counts 60 rooms: double queens with mountain or lake views, king suites and accessible rooms. Pets are welcome at $30 per pet per day, guests must be 21 to check in, and there is no resort fee. Guests get the pool and spa, free Wi-Fi, a 24-hour laundry and a 24-hour mini mart. Call (775) 372-1777.

Longstreet RV park

51 full-hookup sites with drive-through access, 30 or 50 amp power, a dump station, showers, laundry and the resort’s pool and hot tub. Pets are welcome.

Tarantula Ranch

Campsites, RV camping and camper-trailer glamping around a small family vineyard, plus a stay in a converted bottling room.

Nearby

The Amargosa Hotel, 16 rooms in the 1920s Opera House complex, is about 8 miles south in Death Valley Junction. See the Amargosa Hotel. Ash Meadows is day use only, with no camping.

Averages from the Amargosa Farms weather station, 1965 to 2005:

• January: highs around 61°F, lows around 32°F.
• July: highs around 104°F, lows around 69°F.
• All year: about 4.5 inches of rain. Snow is close to a rumor.

Fall through spring is riding season. Summer is for early starts and long lunches indoors.