Pahrump is considered a census-designated place (CDP), which means that it’s a place without an official government where people happen to live. It’s also fairly new: Pahrump didn’t get any phone service or a paved road until the late 1960s. Since then, it has become of the most popular CDPs in the country, located within an hour’s drive to both Las Vegas to the east and Death Valley to the west. It’s also the largest CDP outside of Alaska.
Planning a visit? Consult Visit Pahrump, Nevada.
One group who’s been lured by the informal lifestyle to Pahrump are recreational vehicle owners, giving it a reputation as an “RVer’s paradise.” Just look at the park listings under Pahrump, and you’ll see that it’s quite friendly for RVers.
It is not just Las Vegas and Death Valley that make Pahrump a destination for those in search of a convenient base camp. There are adventure trails throughout the Pahrump Valley for off-road enthusiasts and those who prefer to explore on foot. Carpenter Canyon features a minimally maintained dirt road that scoots 10 miles into the Spring Mountains and even features a clear stream with a rare desert population of native trout.
Many of the transplants in the Pahrump Valley came from California and it did not take long for some with a viticulturist bent to view the high desert as potential wine country. The Sanders Family founded the first modern winery in Pahrump in 1988. Estate Vineyards are Nevada’s oldest commercially producing red grape vineyard, and its Pahrump Valley Winery has accumulated over 375 National Wine Awards since 2005. Both are available for tours and tasting room visits.
If you have spent many hours behind the wheel of an RV, you have no doubt had a hankering more than once to slip into a more nimble vehicle with a bit more horsepower. You can scratch that Richard Petty itch at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch with a Corvette racing machine in a high-performance driving school. Spring Mountain’s four-mile road course can be configured 20 different ways and features replica turns of auto racing’s most famous corners.
There is more top-notch training in Pahrump at the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute, where shooters of every skill level can learn to handle a variety of guns with the supervision of experienced weapons professionals. You can rent firearms and purchase ammunition at the range that is one of the largest in the world.
