Great Basin National Park
Great Basin National Park was the 10th LEAST visited park in 2024 with only 152,068 visitors but I was lucky enough to be one of them and I promise you, this park WOWs! The park is located in an extremely remote part of east-central Nevada, just 5 miles west of the booming metropolis known as Baker. I’m kidding, Baker does not even have a Subway… and everywhere has a Subway. But Baker does have the Bristlecone General Store selling books, small souvenirs, and more importantly a decent selection of wine, as well as ice, and firewood. Baker Fuel & RV is located across the street from the Bristlecone General Store with gas pumps open 24 hours but no retail store so make sure you make it down to town before the General Store closes at 7:00pm.
The park has two visitor centers, the Great Basin Visitor Center located in Baker, outside the park boundary. This location includes public restrooms, potable water, ecology exhibits and the typical NPS retail store. The second location is the Lehman Caves Visitor Center located about 5 miles north of the Great Basin Visitor Center, within the park boundary. This location is where you will purchase your Lehman Cave tour tickets, where your cave tour will depart, and also includes a small retail store with souvenirs and an adjacent cafe with additional souvenirs and food items for sale.
A trip to Great Basin is not complete without a tour of Lehman Caves! Tour tickets are available for sale on recreation.gov, but a limited number are also sold on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. If you are hoping to get a first-come, first-serve ticket, ARRIVE EARLY! I arrived about 30 minutes before the visitor center opened and there was already a line wrapping the building. If available, pick the full or longest tour option. This park is remote and it’s likely you will not be returning, see it all now!
Great Basin National Park has multiple campground options, but the gem is no doubt, the Wheeler Peak Campground. This campground is at the highest elevation of the campgrounds; therefore, provides the coolest temperatures in the park. At the center of the campground is a beautiful field which is a great place to watch both the sunrise and the sunset. The sites are generously space and all located within walking distance to a vault toilet. The campground is also the closest to many of the popular hikes including the Bristlecone and Alpine Lakes Loop, as well as the Wheeler Peak Summit Trail. I hiked Wheeler Peak (13,065 ft.) for sunrise, leaving the campsite at about 3:00am and had the summit to myself for almost 45 minutes! It was worth every creepy step through the woods in the darkness of the night. The temperatures drop drastically with the elevation on this hike, so wear your boots, bring your headlamp, pack your raincoat, and stock up on snacks.
Along with the Lehman Caves and Wheeler Peak, the Bristlecone grove is a DO NOT MISS at the park! The Bristlecone is suggested to be the oldest known living tree and Great Basin National park has the remains of the Prometheus Bristlecone tree, once recorded as the oldest tree in the world (4700-500 years old). To be among the presence of these pines is so calming and unworldly.