The Bristlecone Pine Trail is a 2.8 mile round trip hike at Great Basin National Park that starts at the end of the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. The trail has a 600 foot elevation gain. Bristlecone pines are among the longest-living species on earth, with some over 5,000 years old.
The Alpine Lakes Loop Trail at Great Basin National Park is a 2.7 mile trail that passes two glacial lakes. It starts and finishes at the end of Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. The elevation gain is 600 feet.
With a 4,000 foot elevation gain over just 12 miles, the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive at Great Basin National Park will have you wonder if you’ve been suddenly transported from Nevada to Colorado. The stark contrast between the desert at the beginning of the road and the sub-alpine forest at the end is simply amazing.
Just outside the Lehman Caves Visitor Center at Great Basin National Park is the Mountain View Nature Trail, a short and easy informative trail that takes visitors through a pinyon-juniper forest.
One of the most popular activities at Great Basin National Park is to visit the Lehman Caves. Discovered by Absalom Lehman in 1885, the caves are home to several small creatures including bats, spiders, and mites, and are full of spectacular formations. Cave bacon, stalactites, and stalagmites are everywhere.
Great Basin National Park is a remote park in the middle of the Nevada desert with several unique ecosystems. This peaceful park is the perfect place to go if you’re looking to get away from the crowds.
At a rest area along US Highway 93 in the middle of nowhere, Nevada, a historical marker tells the story of the ghost town of Schellbourne, which was a town and mail station on the famed Pony Express line. The town sat four miles to the east of the rest area.z
West Wendover, Nevada, is a town along I-80 on the Utah border with a few casinos and not much else. Why stop there? To pay a visit to Wendover Will, the “world’s largest mechanical cowboy”.
If you’re driving along I-80 in western Utah, that’s not snow you’re surrounded by, it’s salt! The Bonneville Salt Flats are 30,000 acres of flat land with a view that’s only broken by the mountains to the north and west.
We couldn’t visit Salt Lake City without seeing the Great Salt Lake. We decided to make a day trip out to Antelope Island State Park. The park has miles of hiking, camping, and beaches on the lake as well as a historic ranch. There are also plenty of opportunities for birdwatching and spotting wildlife.