Cathedral Canyon, Nevada

Cathedral Canyon is a small natural canyon which has been transformed into a rambling grotto of icons, statues, and text panels. Religious in overall tone, the site has many secular elements as well, and, though untended, is open to the public. It is best viewed at night, when the multicolored lighting system illuminates the individual displays, which are laid out along the main pathway, and tucked into the walls and bushes in the canyon. Cathedral Canyon was built mostly by Roland Wiley, a lawyer from Las Vegas, who bought the 15,800 acre Hidden Hills Ranch, on which the canyon lies, in 1972. Over the next thirty years, until he died in 1993, Roland worked on the canyon, mainly on weekend trips to the site from Las Vegas. Vandalism has recently taken its toll on the remote site, though.