Ely is served by US-50, the "Loneliest Road in America," which runs east-west across Nevada. From Salt Lake City the drive is about four hours via US-6 and US-93. From Las Vegas it is closer to five hours via US-93 north. There is no commercial air service; the nearest airports with regular flights are Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. A car is essential — Ely has no public transit, and everything worth seeing in the surrounding area requires driving.