Pioneer Saloon

The Pioneer Saloon has poured drinks in Goodsprings since 1913 - a stamped-tin building 40 minutes southwest of the Strip that wears its history on its walls, literally: three bullet holes in the original tin from a poker game that, by local telling, ended fatally around 1915, and cigarette burns on the bar said to be Clark Gable's, left in January 1942 as he waited for word of his wife Carole Lombard after her plane hit nearby Mount Potosi. Entry is free (the official line is "no purchase necessary") and the draw is atmosphere: a working bar-and-grill whose $17.99 Ghost Burger runs on jalapeño bacon and a house ghost sauce, a small in-room museum with the original 1913 cash register, and the Goodsprings General Store next door.

Know the shape of the place: it's a casual roadhouse, not a curated exhibit, and 45 to 90 minutes covers a burger and every relic. Only the main saloon bar is 21-plus; the dining room, outdoor seating, general store and museum take all ages, and dogs are welcome in the outdoor areas. Ghost-tour vans and weekend riders keep it lively (weekend mornings before noon are quietest), parking is a free dirt acre out back, and Goodsprings offers little else - which is exactly the charm. Fold it into a desert loop with Sandy Valley or the drive home from Primm and it earns every mile.