Nevada's Great Basin National Park
One of the Most Uncrowded Natural Attractions in U.S. West
One of the newest national parks, Great Basin, features varied ecology, a variety of hikes, six lakes, an 8,000 ft. difference in elevation, plus a large campground.
In these days of crowded U. S. national parks, it’s a joy to find one that’s not a mob scene during high season. Great Basin National Park, in eastern Nevada, may well be the most un-crowded park of them all.
It’s a park for both people who enjoy strolling along easy paths or hiking on challenging trails. Located in the far eastern part of the state, the 77,109-acre park gets its name from the Great Basin, a 400 by 600-mile area stretching from California to Utah's Wasatch Range. Once a vast sea, the basin covers parts of six states.
Since there’s an almost 8,000 foot (2,400 meter) difference in elevation between the park’s 13.063-foot Wheeler Peak and the valley floor, you can hike from salt desert shrub land through sagebrush, pinon pine, juniper, mountain mahogony, spruce, fir and pine to bristlecone forests and alpine tundra in a matter of only a few miles.
The five-mile hike from the trailhead to the top of Wheeler is recommended only for experienced hikers. However, an easy/moderate 1.6-mile segment of the trail through quaking aspen and Engelmann spruce to the Bristlecone Forest is one that most people can manage. Oldest living things on earth, the bristlecones' gnarled limbs bear testimony to some 3,500 years of wind, water and erosion.
Forks in the Wheeler Peak trail lead to Teresa and Stella Lakes, shallow bodies of water with fallen logs and rocks lining their shorelines. At Stella Lake, all but experienced hikers should turn back, since at higher elevations, sudden storms with snow, ice and 50 to 60 mph winds, can make ridge hiking in the Snake Range treacherous.
A 20-mile, two-day trip starts at the Wheeler Peak Campground and involves a hike over the peak, continuing down to Baker Creek and cutting across to Lehman Caves. Since both of these routes involve stretches where there are no established trails, it's essential to have maps and a compass along.
The Baker Creek trail follows the park's prettiest stream to Baker Lake, largest of the park’s six lakes and the only one where you’ll catch fish (rainbow and brown trout). Another trail at a lower elevation, starts out gently along Snake Creek, then follows a steep jeep track to Johnson Lake.
The park's 60 or so miles of developed trails tell only part of the hiking story. There are also forest service trails and old roads, like a dirt track in the Baker Creek area, where few vehicles care to challenge the wash-outs.
If you plan to backpack in the park for several days, you might want to make your base camp in the Baker Creek Campground where the streamside sites are the prettiest in the park. Wheeler Peak Campground, at an elevation of 10,000 feet, and the upper part of Upper Lehman Campground (near the park's Lehman Cave) offer other choice sites.
Non-hikers can enjoy the park, too, and see many of its highlights by taking 12-mile Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. The drive begins at the visitor center and winds 3,000 feet up the mountain to the Wheeler Peak Campground at 10,000 feet
To get to the park from Reno, take I-80, I-50. The most direct route from Las Vegas is via I-93 to I-50. Nevada Highway 487 leads from I-50 to the park. Incidentally, a 12-mile gravel road off Highway 487 (which becomes Utah 21) leads to a trailhead and a two-mile hike back into the park which features views of 75-foot high Lexington Arch, the world's largest known limestone arch. For more park information, go to nps.gov/grba
