Marietta Wild Burro Range: An RV Traveler's Guide
BLM-managed wild burros in Mineral County, Nevada
PickRV Editorial
The small team behind PickRV
The Marietta Wild Burro Range is a Bureau of Land Management herd area in remote Mineral County, Nevada, about 45 miles south of Hawthorne near the ghost town of Marietta. Unlike most herd areas, it is managed chiefly for free-roaming wild burros rather than horses — the small, sturdy descendants of pack animals from the region's mining days. For RV travelers drawn to wide-open, lightly traveled desert, it offers a rare chance to see protected wild burros on the high Nevada range.
Where can you see wild burros in Nevada?
The BLM's Marietta Wild Burro Range lies about 45 miles south of Hawthorne in Mineral County, Nevada, across roughly 66,000 acres managed chiefly for burros, with an appropriate management level of 78–104 burros. They are protected wild animals — observe from a distance and never feed or approach them.
- ·~45 miles south of Hawthorne, Mineral County, Nevada
- ·BLM range, ~66,045 acres, managed mainly for burros
- ·Appropriate management level: 78–104 burros — view from a distance
State
Nevada
Manager
Bureau of Land Management (Wild Burro Range)
Location
~45 miles south of Hawthorne, Mineral County
Size
~66,045 acres
Appropriate management level
78–104 burros
Marietta is deep in Nevada's mineral country, a high, dry basin near a historic mining ghost town. The Bureau of Land Management runs this as one of the relatively few areas focused on free-roaming wild burros, whose ancestors were pack animals during the mining era. The setting is remote and quiet, so a visit means real desert travel and self-sufficiency.
The burros are protected under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the federal law directing the BLM to manage and protect wild horses and burros on public lands. They are wild animals — even though burros can seem curious or calm, visitors should keep their distance, never feed them (feeding draws them to roads and harms them), and avoid touching or crowding them.
There are no developed resort services out here, so plan an RV visit carefully: carry water, fuel and supplies, and check road conditions with the BLM, especially after weather. Towns like Hawthorne to the north make a practical base. Enjoy the burros and the wide desert quietly, leaving them and the land as you found them.
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