Vya is a small "ghost town" (people still live there) in northwestern Nevada. It is 86 miles north of Gerlach on Rt 34. It's only 10 miles east of the California state line. From Cedarville, California it is about 22 miles heading east on CA-299, which is paved to the border, and good quality dirt road, NV-8A, after that. It can be accessed from California in a regular car as 8A is kept relatively clean. Vya is about 86 miles north of Gerlach taking State Route 447 to Rt 34. A regular car can make Rt 34 but it is a rough gravel, sometimes washboarded, road. It's a trip, take an SUV.

In the 1840's wagon trains rolled through the area on the Applegate-Lassen Emigrant Trail. Not much remains of the town today but the Old Yella Dog Ranch and Cattle Company has been developed as a working ranch with a log cabin vacation rental and some RV sites with water and electrical hook ups.

Vya was believed to be named after the first white child born in these parts. The small town, which essentially died in the 1920's, has two remaining wooden buildings; supposedly the Vya Post Office and Library. The Vya Post Office was still listed as active, and had a postmaster, until 1941.

Old Yella Dog Ranch is a working cattle company. In addition to cattle Yella Dog offers campsites and rentals. There are a few new buildings other than Yella Dog Ranch. Vya has a Highway Maintenance Station and new buildings which are home to Nevada Highway Department workers. They grade the roads in the summer and plow them in the winter.

Vya is the easiest access to Steven's Camp at the north entrance to High Rock Canyon. You can use a car to get to Steven's Camp from Vya but going further than Steven's Camp is not advisable in a car - you'll see.

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The working ranch at Vya	Cabin rental and RV hookups are available
The maintenance station with apartments	Two buildings from long ago
One is a Post Office the other a Library	Painted Point, about 8 miles away
Vya has some interesting rock formations	Some formations can get very pointed
Shark Rock, another interesting formation	This sign isn't visited much