Exploring Great Basin National Park: Best Tips + Activities

Exploring Great Basin National Park is an adventure into one of the hidden gems of the U.S. National Park System. In this episode, we’re diving deep into Nevada’s only national park, where alpine lakes, ancient trees, and a stargazing paradise await those willing to venture off the beaten path.

From where to stay and eat to the best hikes and must-see sights, we’re covering all you need to know to make the most of your visit to this secluded sanctuary. Join us as we uncover why Great Basin deserves a spot on your travel bucket list!

Podcast Episode Overview

In this episode, we’re uncovering one of the most underrated gems in the entire national park system—Great Basin! Hardly anyone talks about this park, but we absolutely love this hidden oasis in the desert.

As the state’s only national park, Great Basin is an amazing example of the unique Nevada landscape. So today, we’re diving into why you should make this underrated park your next destination!

Here’s what we’ll cover:

The best place to stay when visiting Great Basin
Our go-to spots for dining in and around the park
The breathtaking sights that make this park so special
What to expect when navigating the park’s roads
The top trails and our favorite things to do
The fascinating history of Great Basin’s ancient trees
How to find the park’s glacier and what makes it so cool (literally!)
Everything you need to know about exploring Lehman Caves, including how to make reservations
Why the stargazing here is some of the best you’ll ever experience

Great Basin may not be on everyone’s radar, but it’s one of our favorite escapes when we crave peace and quiet. It truly feels like a sanctuary for solitude! We hope this episode inspires you to put it on your bucket list.

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:

Where to Stay and Eat at Great Basin National Park

The beautiful Great Basin National Park is one of the least visited national parks, partly because of its remoteness and partly because it has fewer main attractions than its neighbors in southern Utah. Even with that in mind, we still love this park and think it’s worth a visit.

Because of its relatively remote location in Nevada near the border with Utah, there isn’t a true gateway town like the larger parks. Baker, Nevada, will be your best option. The Stargazer Inn has comfortable accommodations and a few RV spots. A few Airbnbs are also popping up around Baker.

There aren’t many restaurants in Baker, and there is just one gas station. Fill up before you head out! There is a cafe at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, though it closes at 5:00 PM, so it’s more of a lunch spot.

Sandra’s Mexican Food Truck and Sugar, Salt & Malt are other options in Baker. And that’s it! Delta, Utah, and Ely, Nevada, are larger towns somewhat nearby where you can find more food and lodging options, though you’ll be driving over an hour to get to either city. Bring your own food so you don’t go hungry while you visit Great Basin!

Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive and the Best Great Basin Trails

One of Great Basin’s coolest and most stunning parts is the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. Over the course of one 12-mile road, you climb 4,000 feet out of the Great Basin Desert through multiple ecosystem shifts in the South Snake Range. That’s some serious elevation gain! Wheeler Peak is 13,065 feet tall and is the tallest peak in the Snake Range.

The diverse habitats along Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive are worth stopping often. Mather Overlook is your first chance to fully take in the shift from desert and sagebrush to alpine. The Wheeler Peak pullout is a great place to get a full view of Wheeler Peak standing tall as the highest point in the park.

The Upper and Lower Lehman Campgrounds are great options, but even though some sites say they can fit RVs, we didn’t find that to be reliably true. Once you get past the Lehman Campgrounds, your vehicle length will be limited to 24 feet or under because of the winding road up the mountain.

The Wheeler Peak Campground area and parking lot are the heart of adventure in Great Basin. In the park’s high altitude, you’d never guess a massive desert surrounds you on all sides. Pine forests and birds fill the air, making you wonder why Great Basin is one of the least visited parks.

The best hikes in Great Basin start from the Wheeler Peak Campground area. Sky Island Forest is an ADA-accessible trail that begins from the Bristlecone Trailhead and takes you on a short hike through the forest.

Our favorite hike is the Alpine Lakes Loop combined with the Bristlecone Trail and the Glacier Trail, which are about six miles in total. You can do any of these on its own, but together, they make up an incredible hike that takes you through the most beautiful parts of Great Basin. Alpine Lakes Loop leads to Stella Lake and Teresa Lake, both situated in the cirque of Wheeler Peak.

The Bristlecone Trail goes through the Bristlecone Pine Grove, our favorite part of Great Basin. The forest consists of some of the oldest trees in the world and some of the oldest living things currently alive, period. The oldest Bristlecone Pine was around 5,000 years old before being unceremoniously cut down before Great Basin was protected. The Great Basin Bristlecone Pines are some of the oldest in the world and surprisingly accessible! Great Basin gave us a deep appreciation for these incredible trees.

After the grove, you’ll be at high elevations with little to no vegetation. Watch for altitude sickness up here! Eventually, you’ll reach Rock Glacier, the only remaining glacier in all of Nevada. Rock Glacier is a breathtaking end to an amazing hike.

You can also summit Wheeler Peak if you’re up for the hike along the Wheeler Peak Summit Trail. It’s not a technical climb, though it isn’t for the faint of heart.

Lehman Caves Tours

The Lehman Caves is the longest cave system in Nevada, filled with formations like cave shields. Granted, the cave system is only two miles long!

After getting your hikes in, head to Lehman Caves back toward the bottom of the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. The parking lot at the top of the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive fills up in the morning in the summer months, so we recommend hiking first and then doing your Lehman Caves tour.

You’ll want to book your tickets on Recreation.gov in advance for all cave tours. Tickets are available starting 30 days before the tour date. Some tickets are made available on the morning of the tour, but they typically sell out within one hour.

We love the Grand Palace Tour. It’s the longest cave tour the National Park Service offers at Great Basin, and kids need to be five or older to take the tour. There are shorter tours, too, that are more suitable for children of all ages.

Stargazing in Great Basin National Park

The night sky nearly steals the entire show from the Bristlecone Pine Grove, Rock Glacier, and Lehman Caves. Great Basin has the only research-grade observatory in any national park.

The National Park Service puts on wonderful astronomy programming. They have an amphitheater and telescopes for their programs. We saw Saturn for the first time! The night sky of Great Basin is an absolute must-see.

You can do everything we’ve recommended in one day and head out on your next national park adventure the next day. Two days would be a relaxed pace with plenty of time for lounging and taking in the views.

There are gravel roads for off-road driving and creeks for fishing, depending on how you want to fill the rest of your time after being blown away by the trees, caves, and stars.

We hope you visit Great Basin and leave feeling as fulfilled as we did!

And don’t forget your task for the week! What is your favorite of the park’s three standout attractions—the caves, the Bristlecone Pine Forest, or the glacier? Head over to the Dirt in My Shoes Facebook or Instagram page and let us know!

Links mentioned in this podcast episode:

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