Great Basin National Park is an American national park located in White Pine County in east-central Nevada, near the Utah border, established in 1986. The park is most commonly entered by way of Nevada State Route 488, which is connected to U.S. Routes 6 and 50 by Nevada State Route 487 via the small town of Baker, the closest settlement.Put Great Basin National Park at the forefront of your travel plans using our Baker attractions planner.
The park derives its name from the Great Basin, the dry and mountainous region between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains. Topographically, this area is known as the Basin and Range Province. The park is located about 290 miles (470 km) north of Las Vegas and protects 77,180 acres (31,230 ha).
The park is notable for its groves of ancient bristlecone pines, the oldest known nonclonal organisms, and for the Lehman Caves at the base of 13,063-foot (3,982 m) Wheeler Peak, as well as Wheeler Peak Glacier.
President Warren G. Harding created Lehman Caves National Monument by presidential proclamation on January 24, 1922. The monument and its surroundings was designated a national park on October 27, 1986, following the advocacy of Congressman Harry Reid.
A number of developed campsites are within the park, as well as backcountry camping opportunities. The Highland Ridge Wilderness lies adjacent to Great Basin National Park. These two protected areas provide contiguous wildlife habitat and protection to 227.8 square miles (590.0 km2) of eastern Nevada's basin lands.
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Great Basin National Park reviews
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We did the drive to the peak where most of the hikes and beauty lie. Unfortunately, our family being from at sea level states, couldn’t do any of the hikes. Even being at Bryce and Zion prior did...
We did the drive to the peak where most of the hikes and beauty lie. Unfortunately, our family being from at sea level states, couldn’t do any of the hikes. Even being at Bryce and Zion prior did... more »
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The park is absolutely beautiful, and the rangers were very friendly. It is a bit of drive to the visitor center, & the park overall is out of the way, but it is beautiful.
The park is absolutely beautiful, and the rangers were very friendly. It is a bit of drive to the visitor center, & the park overall is out of the way, but it is beautiful. more »
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The Lehman Cave tour was awesome. Was a little disappointed that most of the Wheeler Peak scenic drive was close when no snow was in sight on the road, but enjoyed the short hike we took from the campground. The scenery was beautiful. We will have to come back to do the scenic drive another time.
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An incredibly beautiful, and remote, national park. It's a commitment to get here, but there are a lot of good camping options (including in some nearby state parks), and plenty to do here. If you want to check out the caves, BOOK IN ADVANCE; they tours fill up very, very fast. But there's also a good little museum in the visitor center, scenic driving, great hiking, and plenty else to do. The cafe in the visitor center is excellent, by the way!
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