Great Basin National Park is one of the most isolated national parks in the continental United States.
Located in eastern Nevada a short distance west of the Utah border, the park is 234 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, the nearest major population center. This isolation results in relatively light visitation.
In 2024, Great Basin welcomed 152,000 individuals, approximately one-tenth the number of visitors to Zion, a national park of approximately the same size.
The park derives it name from the vast desert region in which it is located. America's Great Basin region is approximately 200,000 square miles in size, bordered on the west by California's Sierra Nevada and on the east by Utah's Wasatch Range. The region extends north to southern Oregon and south to southern Nevada.
The Great Basin region gets its name for being void of water outlets. Its few streams including the Humbolt River disappear into sinks or flow into intermittent lakes and marshes with much of the water lost to evaporation.
First-time visitors tend to be surprised by the beauty of the park’s majestic South Snake Range capped by 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak. The sizable range in elevation, from 6,000 feet at the park entrance to mountain peaks of over 13,000 feet, results in diverse wildlife including kangaroo rats that can survive without drinking water and vegetation that varies from sagebrush to alpine plants.
For many visitors, the park’s big draw is its isolated groves of ancient Bristlecone pine trees that can live for thousands of years. A bristlecone grove is accessible via a hiking trail (2.7 miles roundtrip) that begins near the Wheeler Peak parking area. Tours of Lehman Caves were the primary draw when this National Park Service unit was known as Lehman Caves National Monument. The monument was expanded and established as a national park in 1986.
Most day visitors to the park divide their time between a guided cave tour and driving Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive.
Our first stop was the park’s main visitor center located just outside the small community of Baker (2023 estimated population of 16). There we explored exhibits, viewed an excellent 22-minute video, and talked with park ranger Kevin Loscheider. Ranger Loscheider told us he enjoys the park’s remoteness that allows for a spectacular dark sky experience. The ranger has devoted considerable time to studying the park’s famed bristlecone pines and has visited each of the park’s bristlecone groves, some of which are quite remote.
After spending well over an hour in the visitor center we returned to the car and drove the 12-mile paved scenic drive that ascends to over 10,000 feet, terminating at a parking area and nearby Wheeler Peak Campground. Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive offers superb views of both the South Snake Range and the Great Basin Desert. The drive passes through numerous ecological zones the National Park Service says is equivalent to “driving from Baker, Nevada, to the frozen Yukon.”
Our visit in late May was relatively early in the season and patches of snow remained at road’s end. Two campgrounds along the road at lower elevations were open, but Wheeler Peak Campground remained closed. We were told at the visitor center that snow and slippery rocks would make the trail to the bristlecone pine grove potentially dangerous. As senior citizens we took the hint even though visiting the grove had been a goal of the trip.
After exploring the vacant campground and enjoying the alpine scenery we headed back down the road for a stop at the park’s Lehman Caves Visitor Center where cave tours begin. It is also home to a cafe and gift shop. The Park Service offers three cave tours during summer. A 30-minute Gothic Palace Lantern Tour, a 60-minute Parachute Shield Tour and a 3-hour Introduction to Wild Caving Tour.
We enjoyed a cave tour here many years ago and chose to browse the gift shop and enjoy some ice cream before heading back to Ely on US 50, often called “The Loneliest Road in America.” It was late afternoon and the following morning we were scheduled for a ride on the steam train at
Ely’s Northern Nevada Railway Museum.
David and Kay Scott live in Valdosta, GA, and are authors of “Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges” (Globe Pequot). Visit them at blog.valdosta.edu/dlscott
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