
It’s hard to picture a city where you most probably, quite literally, know everyone. However, that’s the case in Caliente, Nevada, a city that only 990 people call home. That number is what brought Caliente the record of “the least populated incorporated city in Nevada”.
Caliente, the smallest city in Nevada

The city’s name originated from the nearby hot springs, as caliente is the Spanish word for hot.
From Las Vegas, you can reach this remote spot, located in Lincoln county, in 2 and a half hours by car. You may wonder…”okay, but why would I go there”? While the city itself isn’t exactly topping tourism destination charts, there’s a pretty good reason to visit: Caliente is situated right next to Kershaw Ryan State Park!
Kershaw-Ryan State Park is a desert oasis set in a vibrant canyon with 700-foot-high walls and a lush valley. Fed by the natural springs we previously mentioned, is this park you can find wild grapevines, fruit trees, white oaks, and willows. There’s also a spring-fed pond, which – when it season – becomes a little pool for kids. If you’re lucky, you could even spot wildlife like wild horses and deer. There are picnic areas and scenic trails, perfect for hiking, camping, and exploring.
Mountain bikers, unite!

By mid-2020, around 30 miles of dedicated singletrack mountain biking trails have been developed near Caliente, making it a great attraction spot for riders from across the country. It’s an amazing place to experience Nevada’s desert! The city also features thousands of miles of off-road tracks, and hosts major motorized races and events.
So…what’s actually in Caliente, Nevada?
In the small city, you’ll find pretty much whatever you’d expect to find anywhere…just fewer. There are a couple of parks, a school, churches, restaurants, a cute coffee stand, a dollar store, an Irish pub (of course!), and a fair amount of hotels and motels. You can also find the Caliente Railroad Depot here, a historic Mission Revival style railway station, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, it’s home to the city hall, a library, and a gallery.
There’s also a little bit of controversy when it comes to Caliente, as the (ex)owner of one of its motels was also a cult leader, and once on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. We’ll let you do the digging for that story, if you’d like to…
Is Caliente the smallest town in Nevada?
Caliente is the smallest incorporated city in Nevada, but there are smaller “towns”, or even…just places. For example, we’ve got Puckerbrush, Nevada – and although this won’t show up on any GPS or Google maps, there’s definitely a sign – and you can see its population on it!