Parks
When you visit Great Basin National Park, you’ll feel like you‘ve got it all to yourself. Trails are not as crowded as they are at the more visited parks, and you’re likely to encounter only a few people in the upper elevations. Located east of Ely off U.S. 50, the park is just inside the Nevada-Utah border.
Mormon Station; photo by Zack Frank
Hiking and backpacking are popular, with a range of trails suited for most abilities. If you are feeling fit, trek to the top of 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak in six to seven hours. If a leisurely hike is more your speed, take the 2.8-mile trail to see the longest-living plant on earth—the bristlecone pine, some of which are 5,000 years old.
Valley of Fire is the state’s oldest park, with 3,000-year-old petroglyphs carved in sandstone and breathtaking maroon-colored rock formations. Mormon Station in Genoa and the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort feature replicas of 19th-century fortifications and boast visitor centers explaining regional history.
Before you begin your explorations, you can tour the visitor center in Baker. At the park’s Lehman Caves you’ll see ornate stalactites, stalagmites and rare limestone shield formations.
Many campgrounds are open all year, the trailheads are well-marked and facilities at many parks include RV dump stations, showers and group day-use facilities. You even can stay in a yurt at Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park near Ely.
Great Basin is the only national park located totally within Nevada, but a portion of Death Valley National Park lies inside the Nevada-California border, and the major access point to Death Valley is on the east side off U.S. 95. Death Valley beckons visitors with views of sculpted badlands, redtinted canyons and sweeping cracked playas. You can backpack, watch wildlife and take photos. In winter you’ll find cool-to-mild temperatures and RVers flock here, but it gets very hot in the summer. The park is reached from U.S. 95 at Scotty’s Junction, at Beatty (you might want to make a side trip to Rhyolite, a haunting Nevada ghost town), through Amargosa Valley, and from Pahrump. The Nevada State Park system maintains 25 parks, recreation areas, and historic sites stretched across terrain as diverse as alpine forests and bone-dry deserts. You can camp, fish, hike, swim, bird watch and stargaze—or mountain bike, ride horses, boat and water ski. Several state historic sites preserve Nevada’s past.
Several parks offer seasonal programs and host special events. Cathedral Gorge interpreters lead guided moonlight hikes. Live performances in summer include the Shakespeare Festival at Lake Tahoe’s Sand Harbor and Super Summer Theater at Spring Mountain State Park near Las Vegas. Cave Lake State Park near Ely hosts the White Pine Fire & Ice Show, which features a snow sculpture contest and fireworks. Although you can get into most parks year-round, it’s best to check ahead in the winter months. Sledding, ice skating and ice fishing are popular cold weather activities. Live out incredible adventures inside any of Nevada’s diverse parks. Time travel through Nevada’s storied past, trek across stunning terrain brimming with natural wonders, get a taste of the state’s rich culture and so much more. It’s all here – the only thing missing is you. More information: Parks.TravelNevada.com
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