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The beginning of sunrise over basin-and-range landscape, Great Basin National Park / Rebecca Latson
Contributing photographer and writer for the National Parks Traveler since 2012, Rebecca Latson has ventured out to units of the U.S. National Park System, as well as national parks within Canada, on behalf of the Traveler. With her writing and photography, Rebecca authors the Traveler's monthly Photography In The National Parks column as well as various other national park-related articles (hiking, itineraries, photography guides, quizzes) for the Traveler.
Great Basin National Park in Nevada, with its 77,180 acres (31,234 hectares), may be just the ticket if you crave a national park within the Lower 48 out in the middle of nowhere, with far fewer summer crowds than those entertained by the larger national parks.
Great Basin National Park is not a cup-or-basin-shaped area of land with mountains or desert rimming the edges. Rather, this basin-and-range landscape is comprised of wide, flat desert valleys with no outlets to the sea, surrounded by dry, rugged mountain ranges and encompassing some 200,000 square miles (>500,000 sq km). Great Basin is a place where you can enjoy high-elevation mountain views (in this case, 7,000-to-10,000+ feet / 2,134-to-3,048 meters in elevation), contemplate starry night skies, and experience a subterranean adventure touring Lehman Caves to discover speleothems (cave formations) with descriptive names like “cave turnips” and “cave shields”.
Speaking of starry night skies, Great Basin National Park was certified as an International Dark Sky Park in 2016, and is home to some of the least polluted and clearest night skies in the contiguous United States.
The hikes in this national park will lead you to pristine lakes, views from the summit of the tallest peak in the park (13,603 ft / 4,146 m), and a forest of ancient bristlecone pines thousands of years old on your way to the last glacier in Nevada nestled within a cirque beneath Wheeler Peak.
You can drop a line for a little fishing, use your binoculars or telephoto lens to spot some of the 253 bird species reported within the park, and even learn about this park’s 10,000-to-1.2-million-year history.
Time your visit just right and you might be able to attend the annual Great Basin Astronomy Festival.
What little brick-and-mortar lodging there is can be found an hour’s drive away in Ely (Ee-lee), Nevada as well as the very small community of Baker, Nevada next to the park, or even across the state line into Utah.
If you fancy setting up a tent beneath those glittering stars, there are five campgrounds, a group campground, and primitive campground options to check out.
There’s more to Great Basin than meets the eye, and you’ll have room enough to spread out and explore. Just be mindful of the park’s current construction projects ongoing through winter 2024.
Traveler's Choice For: hiking, photography, trees (aspen and bristlecone), and cave formations.
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Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.
Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.
You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.
