A midnight-black diesel locomotive pulls out of the East Ely Railroad Depot in Ely, Nevada, and heads into some of the darkest night skies in the contiguous United States. This is the Great Basin Star Train, run by the Northern Nevada Railway from its museum station — a National Historic Landmark — in this small Wild West-flavored town in White Pine County.
The 2.5-hour ride covers remote high desert about 55 miles west of Great Basin National Park, an International Dark Sky Place and one of the most isolated parks in the country. The train doesn't actually enter the park, but it travels through similarly unpolluted skies at roughly 6,500 feet of elevation, where the dry, cloudless conditions and near-total lack of artificial light make for exceptional viewing. On a clear night here you can pick out more than 6,000 stars, the Milky Way, and even the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies with the naked eye.
What sets the Star Train apart from simply driving out to a dark spot is the onboard setup. Park rangers — fittingly called "Dark Rangers" — act as astronomy guides, pointing out constellations and explaining what's overhead. The train pauses at a remote stretch of desert where high-powered telescopes are waiting on a platform, so no one needs to haul their own gear. Passengers have used them to pick out lunar craters, Saturn's rings, bright blue stars and the fuzzy glow of neighbouring galaxies. Kids get light-up red star necklaces after sunset (red light preserves night vision), and drinks and snacks are sold on board.
The logistics are refreshingly simple. The train runs from mid-May to mid-October, with tickets at $65 for adults and discounts for seniors and children. They go on sale in August and sell out fast, so book early. Ely sits along Highway 50, the famous "Loneliest Road in America," about 250 miles from both Las Vegas and Salt Lake City — the nearest international airports. It's a scenic road trip in its own right; drivers coming up from Vegas can break the journey at Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, which has lakes, wetlands, hiking and camping.
For accommodation, Ely has several options including the Hotel Nevada, one of the oldest casinos in the United States and only five minutes from the depot — handy when you're rolling back into town after a late night under the stars.
This one's for families, rail enthusiasts and anyone who's forgotten what a real night sky looks like. With roughly 90% of Nevada federally owned and light pollution creeping into more of the world, a guided, telescope-equipped ride into genuine darkness is a rare treat — and far more comfortable than lying on cold desert ground.
