Great Basin National Park is one of my favorite spots. I had Saturn viewing from the lower parking area at Great Basin National Park in here. Amazing! It’s true about their mountains and hot springs!
The closest large town (and airport) to Great Basin National Park in Ely, Nevada. The distance between Ely and Baker, Nevada, the town closest to Great Basin, is 62 miles and one hour. Salt Lake City is the largest city closest to Great Basin; it takes 3.5 hours to drive from SLC to Baker. You'll need a rental car to get to and explore Great Basin National Park because it's fairly remote. Use directional mapquest driving directions to get to Great Basin National Park easily!
Many people travel across the country along U.S. Highway 50, also known as the "Loneliest Road in America," to get to Great Basin National Park. This roadway, which runs through Nevada for around 400 miles from Carson City to Baker, is a pleasure to drive.
If you have only one day in Great Basin, here’s what I recommend:
1. Visit the Visitor Centers to learn more about what you’ll see in Great Basin National Park
2. Take a tour of Lehman Caves
3. Drive Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive
4. Go Hiking
5. Visit a Bristlecone Pine Grove
6. Watch the sunset and go stargazing
Here are more details on each of those activities and how to do them.
The Great Basin Visitor Center and the Lehman Caves Visitor Center are the two visitor centers at Great Basin, as I have explained.
The Lehman Caves visitor center provides information primarily about the caves and is where you may reserve a space on a ranger-led tour of the caves, while the main visitor center has exhibits and information about the entire park.
2. Tour Lehman Caves
Lehman Caves on a Day Trip to Great Basin National Park
Lehman Caves are among the must-see attractions in Great Basin National Park, to speak of. A solitary cave system called Lehman Caves extends 2 kilometers back into the Snake Mountains. It is Nevada's longest cave system and the location of some extremely unusual shield cave formations.
Lehman Caves offers a variety of tours, but you can only access the caves on a trip conducted by a ranger. There are a few different tours that are between 0.4 and 0.6 miles in length. You only have one day in Great Basin, so make sure to check the tours that will be provided and reserve the one you choose before you go.
Note: During my visit, I overheard one of the rangers mention that Lehman Caves trips will surely require bookings in advance for the summer of 2021. (Tours frequently sell out in normal years as well, so you will definitely need them this year.)
3. Autotour along Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive
Get back in your car and drive up Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive after visiting Lehman Caves. During this 12-mile drive, you gain 3,500 feet in altitude (to over 10,000 feet). It concludes at Wheeler Peak Campground and a parking lot (which, as a reminder, is closed in summer 2021).
I suggest driving up to the summit first as you only have one day, then making your way back down. You can start a lengthier hike at the Wheeler Peak parking lot (more on that below), and then as you descend, you can stop for beautiful vistas and shorter hikes at overlooks (like the Mather Overlook) and pull-out spots (like the Upper Lehman Creek).
4. Go Hiking
One of the finest ways to see Great Basin National Park is via hiking. If you're interested in taking a hike or two, there are several choices off Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive:
A 4.6-mile loop trail known as the Bristlecone and Glacier Trail connects two trail segments and leads to Rock Glacier, Nevada's lone glacier, and the park's most easily accessible bristlecone pine grove.
The longer Wheeler Peak Peak Trail, an 8.6-mile out-and-back route, leads to Wheeler Peak's 13,036-foot summit.
A shorter option from the Wheeler Peak parking lot is the 2.7-mile Alpine Lakes Loop Trail, which circles two alpine lakes.
With historic mine ruins visible throughout the walk, the Osceola Ditch Trail provides a fresh perspective on the park's history and natural surroundings. The trail's official length is 0.3 miles one way, however you can hike as far as you like along the Osceola Ditch.
You could choose to hike 6.8 miles (one way) via the Lehman Creek Trail from Upper Lehman Creek to Wheeler Peak if you're up for a challenge and/or can't find parking up on Wheeler Peak (or vice versa). (Take note that there is no shuttle in Great Basin; as a result, you'll either need to make travel arrangements for your return trip or prepare to hike 6.8 miles back!)
Start early if you only have one day to spend in Great Basin National Park so you can drive up to Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive and hike the Bristlecone Glacier Trail from the Wheeler Peak parking area. Afterward, enjoy a picnic lunch in the parking lot before making your way down to Mather Overlook for a beautiful view and a short stroll on Osceola Ditch Trail (1-2 miles depending on how far you go).
How to Get to Great Basin National Park: mapdrivingdirections.io
5. Visit a Bristlecone Pine Grove
In addition to visiting Lehman Caves, Great Basin National Park visitors should also visit a bristlecone pine grove. These trees, which are rare, are only found in groves in a small area of height (about 9,500 to 11,000 feet) on mountains in California and Nevada. They stand out due to the possibility of a very lengthy lifespan; some have been estimated to be approximately 5,000 years old!
In Great Basin National Park, there are three primary Bristlecone Pine groves; the easiest one is just a short stroll from the Wheeler Peak parking lot. (I described it in the section above about the Bristlecone and Glacier Trail.) As you can tell from my Redwoods and Joshua Tree resources, I'm a bit of a tree nerd, so I highly recommend visiting these uncommon trees while you're in the area.
6. Stargazing in Great Basin National Park
Enjoy some of the best stargazing in the world to cap off your one day at Great Basin National Park (or come back after dinner). As an International Dark Sky Park, Great Basin National Park has been recognized for its exceptional obscurity, which safeguards your ability to see the stars overhead.
