Great Basin： Hike Wheeler Peak, Tour Lehman Caves & Find the Oldest Trees on Earth ｜ Hidden Gem Park

One of the least visited national parks in the entire country, home to the oldest known living organisms on the planet, a permanent glacier tucked beneath a 13,000 foot peak, and caves dripping with stalactites sculpted over millions of years, and some of the darkest, clearest night skies in the continental United States. Welcome back to Dantrax and Great Basin National Park. I'm covering how to get here, where to stay, the best trails, and more, including a trek to the top of the second tallest mountain in Nevada, Wheeler Peak. Great Basin National Park sits in eastern Nevada, right along the Utah border, and about five miles from the small town of Baker. Established as a national park in 1986, it encompasses roughly 77,000 acres within the larger Great Basin region, the vast high desert expanse that covers most of Nevada. The Great Basin itself is defined by its internal drainage, meaning no water here flows to the ocean. Rivers and streams simply flow inward and evaporate. It's an ancient and isolated world, and this park preserves one of its most spectacular mountain islands, the Snake Range, rising dramatically from the valley floor and all the way up to 13,000 feet at the top of Wheeler Peak. You'll find an astonishing variety of ecosystems here, from sagebrush desert at the base, to pinyon juniper woodlands through subalpine forests, and finally to alpine tundra and permanent ice at the summit. Also found here are groves of the oldest trees on earth, the ancient bristlecone pines. Hidden gem is an overused term at this point, and Great Basin might just qualify as one though. It's one of the most remote parks in the lower 48. The nearest city is Salt Lake City, Utah, over 230 miles to the northeast. The point is that getting here takes a while for your average traveler, and the park is relatively small compared to others, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find a little solitude out here. Like I mentioned, Salt Lake City is going to be the closest major city and airport to the park, at around 230 miles away, or a three and a half hour drive. After that you have Las Vegas, which is 290 miles from the park, so even longer. I was actually coming in from the other side of the state, from the city of Reno, Nevada specifically, which meant a drive across the loneliest road in America, US Route 50 which crosses the state of Nevada and the Great Basin itself. True to its name, there was not a lot along this route, and the Snake River Range was a welcome sight as I rolled into the small town of Baker, Nevada, which sits just outside the park. If you're looking for lodging, this town will be the place, offering a few small motels and Airbnbs. Otherwise, you're probably planning on camping in the park itself. There are three campgrounds located on what might be considered the park's main road, the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. There's an additional two located on Baker Creek Road, which is closer to the bottom and closer to the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, though these are just a little bit more rugged to reach. Additionally, there are some primitive campgrounds along the Snake Creek Road, near the southern end of the park, though these are primitive and remote. Since there's not a lot of campgrounds here, you'll want to reserve them in advance. I lucked out and was able to grab a site for two nights in the Wheeler Peak Campground. Located 9,886 feet above sea level, it just happens to be the highest elevation campground in the entire national park system. But before I'd go up the mountain, I was actually going to start by going under it. No visit to Great Basin is complete without going underground. Lehman Caves is one of the most ornately decorated limestone caverns in the western United States, a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites, columns, cave shields, and formations called Cave Bacon. Lehman Caves formed millions of years ago as slightly acidic groundwater dissolved the Cambrian-aged limestone, creating a labyrinth network of passages and chambers. The cave maintains a constant temperature of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, so you'll want to bring a light jacket even on a hot summer day. There's a variety of different tours available, all for a fee. Schedules are generally posted one to three months in advance, and you'll want to book them early online. Link in the description below. There's often a number of walk-up tours at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, though these sell out pretty quickly, so if you're planning on trying for one of these, you'll want to arrive early like I did. I was lucky to grab the last ticket for the Lodgeroom Tour. Named for the lodgeroom, one of the cave's main chambers, this tour takes about 60 minutes and is recommended for families with younger children or visitors who prefer a less strenuous underground experience. While this specific tour is lit, the ranger still provided us with lanterns. On this one, you'll see an incredible variety of cave formations. Stalactites hanging from the ceiling, stalagmites rising up from the floor, columns where the two have met in the middle, cave popcorn coating the walls, and the spectacular cave shields that Lehman Caves is famous for. And now, it was time to head up into the mountains proper. Rocky views, numerous green aspens, and expansive views of the Great Basin itself make the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive simply incredible. I made it to my site in the Wheeler Peak Campground and got settled in. There was just enough daylight left to squeeze a hike in. So, which one to choose? So, there's really only three options from up here at the Wheeler Peak Campground. One is the summit of Wheeler Peak itself, which I was not doing just yet. The other is the Bristlecone Pine and Glacier Trail, which takes you through a grove of ancient bristlecone pine trees, concluding near the glacier on Wheeler Peak. And then there's the Alpine Lakes Trail, which takes you through the woods and to two different glacial lakes found up here. Coming in at 2.7 miles with 475 feet of elevation gain, this would be my trail of choice for sunset tonight. This trail starts pretty close to the Wheeler Peak Campground, in the Bristlecone Trail parking area. Since I was short on time, I wouldn't be able to complete the entire loop tonight and had to choose between one of the two lakes. So, I chose the smaller of the two, Cheresa Lake, and headed to the left along the loop. Dense subalpine forest is how this one kicks off, but quickly opens up to rocky open terrain with sweeping views of the surrounding ridgelines. And in no time at all, I emerged at a clearing in Cheresa Lake. Truthfully, it really looked more like Cheresa Pond and was tough to fully appreciate the turquoise color without the sunlight on it. But that being said, there was some beautiful alpine glow on the Snake Range Mountains in front of me, including Wheeler Peak. I took my time here to enjoy the solitude of it all. The lake, the wildflowers, the forest, and the mountains. All contained in this high up oasis in the middle of one of the harshest places found in the United States. Simply incredible. It was time to head back to camp and make a quick dinner. It's worth noting, though, that Great Basin has some of the darkest skies you'll find, and a quick peek out on a moonless night reveals the Milky Way and thousands of stars above. Tomorrow there would be even more of Great Basin for me to explore. A later than expected night, which involved an unwelcome visitor in the van, meant I was starting today out slow. Some waffles for breakfast, and I decided to go complete the Alpine Lakes Loop Trail, heading up towards Stella Lake this time. It was an absolutely beautiful and sunny day, and upon reaching the blue-green waters of Stella Lake, I was half tempted to jump in. Though I'm really not sure if swimming is allowed in these lakes, and also they're kind of shallow. Wheeler Peak was clearly visible up in the distance too, and for now I actually was going to get a little bit closer to it. But by way of the other trail up here, to one of Great Basin's most famous attractions, the ancient bristlecone pines. Great Basin bristlecone pines are a particularly rare species of tree, found only in California, Nevada, and Utah. They grow in isolated groves just below the tree lines, usually on very rocky slopes. Great Basin bristlecone pines are the longest living non-clonal organism. The current oldest bristlecone pine is found in California. Appropriately named Methuselah, it's thought to be over 4,789 years old. There's a handful of bristlecone pine groves found in Great Basin National Park, but there's really only one that's easily accessible, and that's the one found up here near the end of the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. If you don't include the trip to the glacier at the end of it, this trail is 3.9 miles long, round trip that is, with 800 feet of elevation gain. Starting once again from the Wheeler Peak campground, I found myself climbing through sub-alpine forest before reaching the bristlecone pine grove, which occupies a harsh exposed ridge at around 10,000 to 11,000 feet elevation. These trees survive precisely because their environment is so hostile. At this elevation, in this rocky, nutrient-poor dolomite soil, with heavy winters and UV-intense summers, virtually nothing else can compete with them. The very harshness of their lives is what grants them their extraordinary longevity. They grow slowly, sometimes adding only a centimeter of girth per century. And their very dense wood resists rot and insects for thousands of years, even after the tree dies. The forest began to open up and the mountains became exposed again, as did these craggly ridge lines here. And then I came upon my first great basin bristlecone pine. Pretty cool, or at least I thought so. Indeed, many of the trees here are actually dead, if you couldn't tell. But like I mentioned, because of the hardiness of their wood, they've stood long past their demise and will continue to do so for a long time. I continued to make my way up the trail, admiring the different bristlecone pines as I went. Trying to find the perfect tree to photograph and film. So many were beautiful in their own unique, rugged, and harsh way. The one I really wanted to photograph in the park is found in a different grove, and you may recognize it from the Nevada State Quarter. That one is a long ways off though, and a little difficult to reach. It wouldn't be happening on this trip, unfortunately, but maybe sometime in the future. Pushing forward and towards the base of Wheeler Peak, the bristlecone pines become more and more dense. Eventually, you reach this sign where you have a decision to make. You can either call it and head back from this point, or continue forward for a view of the glacier underneath Wheeler Peak. I decided to continue forward. I wanted to take a look at this glacier, as well as get some up close and personal views of the Snake Range Mountains, which of course I'd be hiking to the top of tomorrow morning. And then there it was, the Wheeler Peak Glacier, which sits in a north-facing cirque at the base of the Peak Summit Cliffs. This is one of only a handful of permanent glaciers in the Great Basin region, and it's also the southernmost glacier in the United States outside of California. It's technically a rock glacier, a mixture of rock debris and perennial ice, but it is genuine permanent ice. The glacier has been shrinking, and visitors are asked not to walk on it, both to protect it and protect themselves, as the ice and surrounding slopes can be a bit treacherous. Now is a good time to make mention that Great Basin is definitely a bit of a seasonal park. During winters with particularly heavy snow, don't be surprised to still find some up here into June and even July, and same goes for the summit of Wheeler Peak. I was visiting in late July, and there were still patches of snow to be found. One last look at the glacier, the ancient forest that surrounded me, and then of course, the summit of Wheeler Peak itself. It was time to head back and turn in early tonight. I'd be up around sunrise tomorrow morning to attempt to conquer this mountain. Standing over 13,000 feet, an eight and a half mile roundtrip trail with an elevation gain of almost 3,000 feet, it was not going to be an easy one. Admittedly, I woke up a little bit later than I wanted to. I once again started from the Bristlecone Grove parking lot. Following the Alpine Lakes Loop Trail again, which eventually intersects with the Wheeler Peak Summit Trail. Though should you feel like it, you can actually start this one a little bit further down at a separate parking lot and trailhead. It was a perfect quiet morning along the trail, as I enjoyed the forest views and the mountains just barely peeking out above the treetops, for now that is. The aspen trees began to grow denser and denser too here. I can imagine that this place is absolutely beautiful in the autumn. The higher I went, the fewer trees there were, as these clearings became more and more frequent, as did views of Wheeler Peak up there in the distance. There were some clouds in the sky, but the forecast didn't call for any rain until much later in the day, so I decided to continue on. At around the 11,500 foot mark, you'll reach the tree line, where the trail transitions to open alpine tundra. A fragile, wind-scoured, rocky landscape, with a few plants and scattered wildflowers clinging to the rocky soil. This is an extreme environment, and it's a testament to these plants that they even managed to grow here. I'm not going to lie, it was up until this point that I thought the trail had been relatively easy, and I was about to eat those words. While views of the Great Basin became more and more prevalent, and pretty amazing to see, the trail became far more demanding. I was crossing extensive fields of this loose rock, which is not the easiest to hike on. The altitude up here becomes increasingly noticeable too, unless you're somehow accustomed to it already. I certainly wasn't though, and I could definitely feel some shortness in my breath. A few pit stops, the perfect trail snack, and these incredible views, both of Wheeler Peak itself and the surrounding areas, made it all very doable. Reaching the saddle proper now, I couldn't help but stop and admire these purple wildflowers. As well as the view behind me now, it really showed off the expanse of the Great Basin, and the Snake Range here. How it stands is an almost kind of oasis in the middle of this harsh environment. I could also see the two lakes below, Stella and Charissa. Continuing on, the summit was almost in sight. And then, I had made it. The top of Wheeler Peak. The second tallest mountain in Nevada, at just over 13,000 feet, where I could now see out over the great expanse of this mountain range, and the Great Basin itself. The Great Basin spreads out before you like an enormous wrinkled map of the ancient world. Basin after basin, range after range. It would take me about six hours to complete this one from start to finish, but man was it ever worth it for these incredible views up here. I stopped to admire the different layers of the mountains, the fragile glaciers down below, the sweeping forests, and of course, the marker up here. Signing my name in the book, it was time now to head back down, which, at least in my opinion, is never as fun as the trek up. That being said, I was grateful to have finally crossed this park off my list. It had been on there for a while, and hopefully someday soon I'll be back to explore some of the more remote sections of it. Until then, I'll see you on the next one.