Thunder Mountain Monument Imlay Nevada. This unusual attraction is located along Interstate 80, about 130 miles east of Reno, Nevada. Thunder Mountain is One man’s creation dedicated to the North American Indians.
Imlay, Nevada, is a tiny railroad town about two hours from Reno, Nevada. This desert town offers two fascinating attractions, Thunder Mountain Monument and a wonderful wildlife sanctuary, Safe Heaven Rescue. Both places are worth a visit, but it’s best to see both simultaneously due to the town’s remote location.
Thunder Mountain Monument is the creation of Frank Van Zant, AKA Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder. The chief used objects he found at a nearby junkyard or picked up discarded objects along the highway to create his monument in the desert.
The buildings, or what’s left of them, are assembled from almost every object you can imagine, including old tires, sinks, typewriters, and pieces of cars. Frank Van Zant lived here with his wife for nearly 20 years, along with drifters and hippies.
The local town folk was not too happy with the chief’s unusual creation and did everything they could to rid the community of the blight, including (rumored) setting a fire that destroyed the three-story commune building.
Thunder Mountain Monument
Thunder Mountain looks like a pile of junk from a distance, but you will see its uniqueness as you get closer. Hundreds of sculptures are blended into walls, and the grounds are scattered with concrete creations of every kind.
The theme of the Thunder Mountain Monument brings attention to the history and culture of the North American Indians.
Many of the artifacts have been damaged or removed by vandals over the years. Thunder Mountain is the State of Nevada Historic Site Restoration Project but has no rangers to protect it. The area has been fenced in with a gate and a sign that says closed after dark, but for a determined vandal, access is easy.
Chief Thunder continued his work on the site even after the fire in 1983 and his wife’s departure soon after. In 1989 at 69, he put a gun to his head, ending his life and the era of Thunder Mountain.
Thunder Mountain is designated a Nevada State Historic Site and a National Monument and is an exciting side trip while traveling along Interstate 80 in Nevada.
Getting There
It would be best to allocate approximately an hour to explore the monument before proceeding to the Safe Haven Rescue Zoo. Before your visit, kindly inform the zoo of your arrival. The journey from Reno spans around two hours, with scarce sights en route apart from the high desert scenery.
The nearest town with lodging, food, and gas is Winnemucca, 34 miles northeast of Imlay. Mill City, five miles away, does have a vast Travel Centers of America truck stop. Dining and gas facilities can be found here.
Take the Imlay exit off I-80 (exit 145) to visit Thunder Mountain Historic Site and Park. The monument is on Frontage Road adjacent to I-80 in Imlay, Nevada.
For about 5 years in a row I would go to runammuca with my boyfriend then Dan and we would stop in imlay and walk around and take pictures and I still have the pictures it was a fun place to go!
There are many faces on the walls where the door and bottled windows are in the rocks. When I was little, while driving by the monument, the man had found a dead horse murdered by a gun. He mounted the horse on the building next to his home with the story. Traumatic for me to see as a child, as am adult, I understand why he did it. This e is remarkable.
This is a neat place to visit but vandals are awful.
Thunder Mountain is out in the middle of nowhere which makes it
a prime target for vandals.
It would be very sad to loose this place to vandalism