A rusted school bus points straight into the open sky, nose buried deep in Esmeralda County dirt. Nearby, a spray-painted limousine sits balanced on top of an old ice cream truck. Around them, dozens of sedans and delivery vans poke from the desert at sharp angles.
This open flat is the International Car Forest of the Last Church. It sits on dirt roads just east of U.S. Route 95 in Goldfield. Longtime resident Mark Rippie started the site with a single vertically assembled car. Rippie wanted to break the Guinness World Record for the world's biggest car forest.
Mark Rippie and the Guinness Record Chase
Artist Chad Sorg spotted Rippie's first upright vehicle while traveling through central Nevada. The sight impressed Sorg so much that he moved to Goldfield in 2011 to expand the field with Rippie. Artist Zak Sargent soon joined them to haul in junk machinery.
Together, the three men brought in more than 40 cars, vans, trucks, and buses. Outdoor vehicle sculptures exist elsewhere in America, including Texas' Cadillac Ranch and Nebraska's Carhenge. Yet Goldfield holds the title as the largest car forest in the country.
Goldfield was once suited to oversized ambitions. Prospectors established the camp in 1902 after rich ore discoveries. By 1904, major strikes triggered a rush that turned Goldfield into Nevada's richest and largest city. The boom town peaked at roughly 20,000 residents.
That rapid boom and bust mirrors other mining settlements featured across Nevada stories. Like the ghost camp of Rhyolite, which boomed and emptied within a single decade, Goldfield faded quickly. Most local mines entered severe decline by 1910, dropping the population to about 1,500 people.
Limousines, School Buses, and Ice Cream Trucks
A flash flood struck Goldfield in 1913, followed by a destructive town fire in 1923. Today, fewer than 300 people live in Goldfield, with current estimates around 250 residents. The empty spaces left behind offered plenty of dirt for large roadside projects.
Rippie and Sorg used heavy equipment to dig deep pits into the earth. They dropped cars nose-first into the holes, packing dirt around the engine bays. Other vehicles were hoisted and delicately balanced across roof pillars and chassis frames.
Goldfield's International Car Forest of the Last Church contains more than 40 vehicles, making it the largest open-air car forest in the country.
Each vehicle received paint, ranging from wild murals to simple tags. While Texas buries cars in a uniform row, the vehicles in Goldfield sit scattered across the flat. The collection looks like an odd congregation gathered on the gravel.
Downtown Goldfield has its own long history of altered automobiles. Along Main Street, Rocket Bob built mutant cars long before the Car Forest started. Those machines carry air horns, milk bottles, cowboy hats, and boat hulls mounted on car frames.
Those looking into Burning Man logistics and driving through Nevada often recognize the look of mutant vehicles. Rocket Bob created his open-air car park right beside the highway, open 24 hours a day.
Glass, Dust, and Residencies in the Desert
The Car Forest has evolved from a spontaneous roadside oddity into an organized art space. Past caretakers allowed anyone to paint, but current coordinators recruit specific artists. They discourage window smashing and random tagging in favor of curated murals.
In 2022, Las Vegas artist Hue Chen met Richard and Astrid from the Esmeralda High Desert Institute. They coordinated plans during the 2023 Basin to Range Exchange conference in Ely. That connection led to an official artist residency at the Car Forest in August 2023.
Chen and partner Ann set up a maker space in the desert heat. They gathered industrial glass from Las Vegas to replace broken car windows on site. Geologists from nearby Tonopah mines and international tourists stopped to watch Chen drill glass in a water pan.
Visiting Goldfield Today
Visiting the International Car Forest is straightforward. The installation is free to enter, though donations are appreciated to help maintain the grounds. It remains open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, though daylight between sunrise and sunset offers the best viewing.
Goldfield is 187 miles from Reno in a straight line. Motorists driving south follow the US-95 route between Reno and Las Vegas. Always verify local weather and road conditions and cameras before heading into central Nevada's long empty stretches.
Summer high temperatures average 86° F with lows of 57° F. Spring brings average highs of 62° F and lows of 37° F. Fall drops to 65° F days and 39° F nights, while winter brings 44° F highs and 23° F freezes.
At the Car Forest entrance, visitors find a sign-in log, regional brochures, and a portable restroom. In town, travelers can view the 1907 Esmeralda County Courthouse and the 1908 Goldfield Hotel. The 190-stop Goldfield Historic Walking Tour guides visitors past surviving boomtown structures.
