Photo by: Jacob Lips
Basin and range topography, check! Caves, check! Pine groves, check! Wildlife, check! It seems like everything an adventurer needs, can be found at the Great Basin National Park, a 77,180-acre preserved land in White Pine County, Nevada. There are so many spots to see and things to do at this park, which was visited by more than 150,000 people in 2018.
History
The park’s geological history is very interesting, with rock formations dating back some 500 million years ago. Pervasive volcanism hundreds of million years ago largely contributed to the kind of topography and the unique landscape of the park.
Because of its diverse natural resources, it was easy to see that the area should be protected from development. The Lehman Caves was the first spot to be protected when it was declared a national monument in 1922. Combined with the rest of the landforms of the Great Basin, the area was declared as the Great Basin National Park on Oct. 27, 1986.
Places to go
Where should visitors start? There are so many things to do and places to visit at the Great Basin National Park. Here are some of the must-visit spots:
Lehman Caves
There are over 40 caves in the park, but only the Lehman Caves can be explored. This popular site can be toured with a guide, which is the best way to explore such geological marvel since its history, ecology and natural features will be properly explained. There are two kinds of tours: the Lodge Room Tour and Grand Palace Tour.
There are at least 10 species of bats that thrive in the park’s caves. One of them is Townsend’s big-eared bat. Other animals call Lehman Caves home like the chipmunks, mice and pack rats.
Bristlecone Pine Groves
The bristlecone pines of the park are old (they are said to be the oldest living trees), and a part of the wonder is its ability to survive in harsh conditions of the Great Basin. There are three bristlecone pine groves in the park: Wheeler Peak, Mount Washington, and Eagle Peak. The largest grove is Mount Washington, which is also the most difficult to access because of the lack of trails leading to the area.
Lexington Arch
This is an imposing structure, naturally carved from limestone. This is unusual because most of the American arches are made of sandstone.
Rhodes Cabin
This was one of the tourist lodgings built-in 1928, by Clarence and Bea Rhodes. After Lehman Caves became a national monument, the state of Nevada purchased the cabin from the Rhodes couple and donated it to the park. The cabin has since been entered into the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Wheeler Peak Glacier
This is a glacier at the base of Wheeler Peak, situated within the park. It has been identified as the southernmost glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. This is an alpine glacier, which contains many types of rocks and minerals.
Photo by: Jacob Lips
Things to do
Hiking
There are 12 trails at the park, ranging from short nature trails like the Mountain View Nature Trail to strenuous as in the Wheeler Summit Trail.
Fishing
Those who are licensed to fish can do so in Baker Creek, Baker Lake, Lehman Creek, and Snake Creek. The Great Basin National Park is home to the native Bonneville cutthroat trout.
This species is believed to have come into existence thousands of years ago. Other species were later introduced: mottled sculpin, redside shiner, and speckled dace. These species were believed to be also native of the Bonneville Lake, a large lake that used to exist at the bottom of Snake Valley. It eventually dried up and what was left of the lake is now known as the Great Salt Lake.
Camping
There are five campgrounds at the Great Basin National Park: Baker Creek, Grey Cliffs, Lower Lehman Creek, Upper Lehman Creek, and Wheeler Peak.
Stargazing
In 2016, the Great Basin National Park was designated as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association. This means that the area is perfect for stargazing due to very limited light pollution. When the sky is clear, nighttime at the Great Basin means thousands of stars, star clusters, planets, and meteors.
The park is also teaming up with the Nevada Railway in Ely, for its astronomy project: Nevada North Railway Star Train. This means that passengers can ride this train from the Ely station and as the train begins to roll, Great Basin National Park dark sky rangers will discuss astronomy, give out trivia questions and prizes and allow passengers to check out the sky for planets and deep space objects, through high-powered telescopes. The passengers can disembark in their stop.
Photo by: Jacob Lips