Located in Churchill County, Nevada, Nevada City is a ghost town at about 1,198 m (3,930 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 9.9 km (6.2 mi) ESE of Fallon.
Nevada City is a ghost town in Churchill County, Nevada, United States, located just east of Fallon, Nevada near the current intersection of State Route 118 and U.S. Highway 50. It was founded in 1916 as a socialist community known as the Nevada Cooperative Colony. The project folded in 1919 due to misleading advertising, mismanagement, and possibly dubious financial dealings by the Nevada Colony Corporation's directors, who were connected with the similar Llano del Rio colony near Los Angeles. Another contributing factor to its demise was the unpopularity of its residents' stand against World War I. This led to two deaths. Churchill County Sheriff Mark Wildes was shot and killed when he attempted to arrest colonist Paul Walters, a socialist farmer formerly living in Oklahoma, as a draft evader. Walters, a husband and father of three, was tracked through the canyons and shot dead. By...From the Wikipedia article “Nevada City, Nevada”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Nevada City the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 58° (ENE) at the June solstice and 120° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 302° (WNW) in June to 240° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 74° in summer but only 27° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:59 AM | 90° E | 7:07 PM | 271° W | 50° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:29 AM | 58° ENE | 8:26 PM | 302° WNW | 74° | 14h 57m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:43 AM | 89° E | 6:53 PM | 271° W | 51° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:12 AM | 120° ESE | 4:35 PM | 240° WSW | 27° | 9h 23m |
Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north (90° = east, 270° = west). Computed for 2026; values change by less than a degree from year to year.
Golden hour & blue hour by month
Weathered wood and rusted metal show texture best in low-angle light; overcast skies suit interiors and moody black-and-white work.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6:44 AM | 7:14 AM | 7:55 AM | 4:15 PM | 4:56 PM | 5:25 PM | 9h 42m |
| February | 6:20 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:25 AM | 4:54 PM | 5:32 PM | 5:59 PM | 10h 44m |
| March | 6:40 AM | 7:07 AM | 7:42 AM | 6:26 PM | 7:02 PM | 7:29 PM | 11h 55m |
| April | 5:50 AM | 6:18 AM | 6:54 AM | 6:56 PM | 7:32 PM | 8:00 PM | 13h 14m |
| May | 5:11 AM | 5:42 AM | 6:20 AM | 7:24 PM | 8:02 PM | 8:32 PM | 14h 20m |
| June | 4:56 AM | 5:28 AM | 6:08 AM | 7:44 PM | 8:24 PM | 8:57 PM | 14h 56m |
| July | 5:09 AM | 5:41 AM | 6:20 AM | 7:42 PM | 8:22 PM | 8:53 PM | 14h 41m |
| August | 5:39 AM | 6:08 AM | 6:45 AM | 7:15 PM | 7:52 PM | 8:21 PM | 13h 44m |
| September | 6:10 AM | 6:37 AM | 7:12 AM | 6:29 PM | 7:05 PM | 7:32 PM | 12h 28m |
| October | 6:38 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:42 AM | 5:41 PM | 6:17 PM | 6:44 PM | 11h 12m |
| November | 6:11 AM | 6:39 AM | 7:19 AM | 4:01 PM | 4:41 PM | 5:10 PM | 10h 01m |
| December | 6:38 AM | 7:09 AM | 7:51 AM | 3:50 PM | 4:33 PM | 5:03 PM | 9h 24m |
Local time (America/Los Angeles), including daylight saving time. Golden hour runs from about −4° to +6° solar altitude, so the morning golden hour begins during blue hour, before sunrise.
Milky Way & night sky
From Nevada City, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 5.0 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 22° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 3 (rural sky), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| February | 5:02 AM – 5:12 AM | 0.2 | 12° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:12 AM – 5:32 AM | 1.3 | 18° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:09 AM – 4:39 AM | 2.5 | 21° | SE → S |
| May | 12:12 AM – 3:42 AM | 3.5 | 22° | SE → S |
| June | 10:26 PM – 3:26 AM | 5.0 | 22° | SE → SSW |
| July | 10:18 PM – 1:58 AM | 3.7 | 22° | S → SW |
| August | 9:33 PM – 11:53 PM | 2.3 | 21° | S → SW |
| September | 8:36 PM – 9:56 PM | 1.3 | 18° | SSW → SW |
| October | 7:47 PM – 7:57 PM | 0.2 | 12° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 0° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -19° | — |
Window when the galactic core is at least 10° high during astronomical darkness on the 15th of each month. Pick nights within a few days of the new moon. Plan exact nights with the Milky Way planner.
Estimated sky darkness: 3 Bortle 3 — Rural sky. Some light domes sit on the horizon, but the Milky Way still looks complex overhead. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.62 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show August as the clearest month (about 23% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (64%). July is the warmest month and December the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.
Average cloud cover (%)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °F | 74 | 73 | 81 | 91 | 103 | 105 | 110 | 105 | 103 | 92 | 78 | 67 |
| Low °F | 7 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 29 | 36 | 52 | 47 | 35 | 21 | 11 | 6 |
| Precip. (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.0 |
Monthly climatology for the surrounding 1° grid cell from NASA POWER (MERRA-2). Mountain sites can be colder and cloudier than the cell average.
Photography tips for this ghost town
- For interiors with windows, blend two exposures (one for inside, one for the view) instead of relying on HDR alone.
- Old buildings under the Milky Way make strong night images in dark rural skies.
- Look for details: door hinges, faded signs, square nails and window frames tell the story.
- Leave everything as you found it; removing artifacts from public land is illegal.
- Respect private property and closures: many ghost towns are on private land or protected historic sites — never enter unstable buildings.
- Tell someone where you're going in remote areas and carry the ten essentials.
Season: High-elevation mining towns are reachable mostly from June to October; desert ghost towns are best in spring and autumn.
Suggested gear: Wide-angle lens, Tripod, Headlamp, Sturdy boots. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Permits, drones & access
Private property: Many ghost towns sit on private land or protected historic sites. Respect signs, never enter unstable buildings and leave artifacts in place.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Nevada City, closest first.
Ghost Town
National Wildlife Refuge
Waterfall
Ghost TownFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Nevada City?
What time is golden hour at Nevada City?
Where does the sun rise and set at Nevada City?
Can you see the Milky Way from Nevada City?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Nevada City?
How far is Nevada City from Fallon?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, USGS GNIS / GeoNames, Wikipedia. Sun, moon and Milky Way times are computed by LWPhoto Atlas for 2026. Climate: NASA POWER. Sky darkness is a population-based estimate (Walker's law), not a measurement. See data sources & licenses.