Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park
Cave Valley Rd
Ely, NV
Six thirty-foot stone beehives standing alone in the sagebrush, built to turn juniper into the charcoal that fed a silver boom.
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park protects six enormous beehive-shaped ovens standing in a row in the high-desert sagebrush south of Ely. Each is about thirty feet tall and twenty-seven feet across, with stone walls two feet thick at the base, and stepping inside one feels like entering a small stone cathedral.
The ovens were built in 1876, reportedly by skilled Italian charcoal masons, to serve the silver boomtown of Ward. They ran only a few short years, roughly 1876 to 1879, turning the surrounding pinyon and juniper forests into the charcoal that fed the smelters. When the boom faded, the ovens found a second life as shelter for travelers and, by local lore, a hideout for stagecoach bandits.
What Guests Love
- Standing inside a thirty-foot stone beehive and hearing your voice echo off the curved walls
- How improbable six giant industrial ovens look sitting alone in the open sagebrush
- The quiet, dark-sky remoteness of the high-desert setting
- Easy walking access right from the parking area, with a creek and picnic sites nearby
Worth Knowing
- The last stretch of road in is unpaved and can be rough or muddy after weather, so check conditions
- It sits above 6,000 feet in open country, so it is cold and windy in the shoulder seasons and snowy in winter
- There is little shade and no services at the ovens, so bring water and sun protection
- It is a small, quiet park best paired with Ely or Great Basin National Park to make the drive worthwhile
Details
Ely, NV
Learn about Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park
The town of Ward and its ovens
In 1876 a silver strike created the boomtown of Ward, which at its peak is said to have had well over a thousand people, two newspapers, a school, smelters, and a stamp mill. Smelting the ore took huge amounts of charcoal, and so masons built six great ovens nearby to make it.
The process was slow and smoky. Crews stacked cordwood inside a sealed oven and let it smolder for days with the air carefully controlled, driving off moisture and gases until what remained was nearly pure carbon charcoal that burned hot enough to smelt silver. Ward faded fast; a fire in 1883 destroyed part of the town and the post office closed in 1888, but the ovens outlasted the town that built them.
How the beehives work
The beehive shape is not decoration; it is engineering. The curved stone walls held heat evenly and could be sealed to starve the fire of oxygen, so the wood turned to charcoal instead of burning to ash. Small openings near the base and a door let workers control the burn and rake out the finished charcoal.
The masonry has held up remarkably well for structures built quickly during a boom nearly 150 years ago. Standing inside, you can still see the soot on the walls and feel how the shape gathers and returns sound, a quiet reminder of the roaring, smoky industry these silent stones once served.
A second life on the range
Once the smelters went cold, the ovens did not go to waste. Travelers used them for shelter from the wind and snow of the high desert, sheepherders and prospectors camped in them, and stories grew that stagecoach robbers holed up inside between jobs. Whether or not every tale is true, the ovens clearly served as landmarks and refuges long after their working days.
Willow Creek runs nearby, and the park today includes a small campground and picnic area, so the same spot that once made charcoal is now a quiet place to camp under some of the darkest skies in the country.
Visiting
The ovens are an easy walk from the parking area, and you are free to step inside them and look closely at the stonework. It is a short stop on its own, so most people pair it with Ely or with the longer drive to Great Basin National Park to make the remote trip worthwhile.
This is high, open, exposed country above 6,000 feet. Summer days are warm but the nights are cool, spring and fall can be cold and windy, and winter brings snow and the chance of a rough, muddy final stretch of road. Bring water and sun protection, and check road conditions before heading out.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Ely
Ely and the Nevada Northern Railway
About 20 miles north
An old mining and railroad town whose beautifully preserved Nevada Northern Railway still runs steam and diesel excursions from its 1906 shops.
Great Basin National Park
About 65 miles east
Home to ancient bristlecone pines, the marble Lehman Caves, and Nevada's only glacier under 13,000-foot Wheeler Peak.
Cave Lake State Park
About 15 miles east
A high mountain reservoir in the pines above Ely, good for trout fishing, paddling, and cool-season quiet.