Introduction

Jeff Davis Peak

Exploring Great Basin National Park is a guide to both the national park and the adjacent Mount Moriah Wilderness. Although many visitors stay at the park for just a few hours, the purpose of this website and the book of the same name is to encourage you to stay longer and explore the park as well as the nearby Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. You can camp at one of the four campgrounds in the park, camp on the national forest, or stay at a motel or hotel in nearby Baker or Ely. If you are new to the area you should certainly take the tour of Lehman Caves and a drive up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Road. But these barely scratch the surface of this diverse area. Check out the opportunities for stargazing, bird watching, hiking, fishing, pine nut gathering, bicycling, horseback riding, picnicking, and more.

The area covered by this website lies within the Snake Range, which lies along the east-central Nevada-Utah border. The Snake Range is Nevada’s second highest mountain range, culminating in 13,063 feet Wheeler Peak. US 50 crosses the Snake Range at Sacramento Pass, dividing the range into southern and northern sections. The South Snake Range features Wheeler Peak and Great Basin National Park, and the North Snake Range features the Mount Moriah Wilderness, crowned by its namesake peak, Mount Moriah at 12,067 feet.

Great Basin National Park was established in 1986 to preserve an outstanding section of the Great Basin. The park includes 77,100 acres in the South Snake Range. Great Basin National Park includes a remarkable diversity of landscapes: desert sagebrush flats, pinyon-juniper forests, pine-fir forests, subalpine forests, and alpine tundra. Lehman Caves, famous for its beautiful cave formations, is another attraction. Great Basin National Park features several well-maintained trails and a number of primitive trails which lead to a natural arch, several alpine lakes, the ancient bristlecone pine forests, and the top of Wheeler Peak. Much of the South Snake Range outside of the national park is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, including the Highland Ridge Wilderness Area south of the park.

The Mount Moriah Wilderness Area covers 82,000 acres in the North Snake Range. A unique feature of the wilderness is The Table, an 11,000 feet alpine plateau. The wilderness area offers an opportunity for solitude on infrequently traveled trails.

A good way to start your visit is at the Great Basin Visitor Center, located in Baker just outside the park. The visitor center features interactive exhibits that represent the entire Great Basin region.

Lehman Caves Visitor Center, at the end of the entrance road, provides the opportunity to learn more about the national park and nearby Lehman Caves. The Lehman Caves Visitor Center has maps and books, as well as an informative display on the park.