Elko is 21 miles (34 km) from Lamoille Canyon and the Ruby Mountains, providing year-round access to recreation, including hiking, skiing, hunting, and more than 20 alpine lakes.

Spring Creek, Nevada, serves as a bedroom community 6 miles (10 km) from the city with a population of 13,805.

When the railroad crews moved on, Elko remained, serving as a center for ranching, mining, rail freight, and general supplies.

The flight was piloted by Leon D. Cuddeback and included a brief stop in Boise, Idaho, to pick up more mail.

Elko's economy is based heavily on gold mining, with ranching, tourism and the casino industry providing additional jobs.

This has caused the town to have a boom and bust economy consistent with the rises and declines in the price of gold.

The town is surrounded by hundreds of abandoned mining camps, and viewing them is a popular local activity.

[19] This festival is held each January and is a week-long celebration of life in the rural West, featuring poetry, music, stories, gear, film, photography, and food.

Humorously referred to as the "Basquo Fiasco", it is a celebration of traditional Basque culture and its ties to the Elko community.

The festival includes strongman competitions, handball, a running of the bulls, traditional food and wine, and Basque dancing.

For many years the Red Lion brought gamblers to Elko from many parts of the country through flights on Casino Express.

[24] Notable attractions in the Elko region include the Ruby Mountains, in which is the popular Lamoille Canyon.

Nevada State Route 225 (Mountain City Highway) connects Elko to Owyhee and southern Idaho, while Nevada State Route 227 (Lamoille Highway) extends southeast to Spring Creek and Lamoille.

SkyWest Airlines, operating as Delta Connection, serves Elko Regional Airport (EKO) with regional jet service nonstop to the Delta Air Lines hub in Salt Lake City (SLC).

Casino Express changed its name to Xtra Airways and relocated its headquarters in June 2010 to Boise, Idaho, and again in May 2015 to Coral Gables, Florida.

Elko was also previously served by United Airlines with scheduled passenger jet service during the 1970s and early 1980s.

According to Official Airline Guide (OAG) flight schedules as well as the airline's system timetables, United operated Boeing 737-200 jetliners into the Elko Regional Airport on a year-round basis with a daily round trip routing of San Francisco (SFO)-Reno (RNO)-Elko (EKO)-Ely (ELY)-Salt Lake City (SLC).