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Last weekend I headed up to Great Basin NP in Nevada. We did the Lehman's Cave guided tour (60 mins), it was the best cave I have ever seen. Also the park offers great camping, lots of wildlife and NO crowds! (Even on 4th of July weekend). Enjoy the pics.
Cool! I have always wanted to visit this park. :popcorn:
DittoQuote:
Originally Posted by accadacca
Any other suggestions for a first time visitor?
:popcorn:
There are 4 main camping sites in the park. Lower and Upper Lehman's, Baker and Wheeler's campgrounds. The first two were an ant hill, they fill up first. I drove through them and really didn't like how close they were to each other. We stayed at Baker campgrounds and I found it to be the best campground for our taste. It wasn't as high as Wheeler (10,000 feet elevation), so the thunderstorms weren't too bad, but it was high enough not to be hot. Plus the camps are far apart to not see others around you.
You have to do Lehman's cave when you go there! It's best to reserve a time with the ranger (call ahead) during the busy weekend, otherwise getting the time frame you want shouldn't be a problem. They offer 30, 60 and 90 mins ranger guided tours. On the 90 mins tour you can't bring little kids. Bring a jacket, because the temps ALWAYS stay at 50 degrees in there. Also, bring a nice flashlight, from our group my wife, my kid and me were the only ones who had the flashlights! Also, the ranger will ask who wants to be the "tail" of the group, volunteer for that, then you can lag behind and take pictures without bunch of tourist faces everywhere.
There are alot of trails to explore and some lakes, which are similiar to Uintas lakes, I am not sure about fishing, I have heard people fish in the streams and the lake, but call the ranger ahead to find out.
The drive from SLC to Great Basin NP took me exactly 3.5 hours (without traffic), I took the route through Delta, but you can go through Wendover.
Hope this helps!
Sweet! I would like to ride my motorcycle down that way and camp. :five:
Very nice! Pine trees and cactus in one pic!
That was exactly the type of info I was looking for.... thanks a bunch :2thumbs:Quote:
Originally Posted by Kazak
http://www.nps.gov/grba/Plan/pinyon.htm
Look, you can even gather pine nuts!
Oh yes, sorry forgot. I talked to the ranger and he said you can gather all the berries and nuts in the park. Trust me there are zillion of them! The nuts are good in the fall and the berries ... actually right now. Also there are plenty of fruit trees (peach and some other fruit). The fruit trees were actually planted by Lehman himself (the guy who discovered the caves in late 1800s). So it's kind of neat to eat the peaches planted a century ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shan
Also, the bike ride would be quite nice, the road is very flat and straight. Just past Delta there is no gas station for 88 miles I believe, so plan ahead.
Oh ya, forgot to mention, we didn't have a bug problem at all. We haven't even sprayed at night. Also the Visiting Center has a small cafe for breakfast and lunch.
The Wheeler Peak Campground is my favorite. I've stayed there three different times, most recently last July. It is such a relief from the mid-summer heat of the lower elevations, almost guaranteed to be breezy and cool. And since the road above the lower cg's is pretty winding with major switchbacks, large RV's can't proceed, so the cg is the domain of tents and reasonably sized RV's.
The hike to Wheeler Peak is awesome, and about the easiest way to get to such a high elevation (13,000+ ft) so close to SLC. I did that hike a few years ago, at the of September. It was a brilliant, clear autumn day, but it was sooo windy once we hit the ridgeline, the strongest sustained winds I've experienced on a hike. There is an easy to follow trail all the way to the summit.
The trail to the bristlecone pines, also starting in the Wheeler Peak CG, is great, and easier. The Snake Range is one of the premier ranges of the Basin and Range region. I'm quite fond of these type of mountains myself. Nevada is full of them. I've spent time in the Rubies, East Humboldts, Toyaibes (sp?), and the Deep Creeks (UT of course), and all are spectacular. By national park standards, Great Basin is deserted.
It sure was, I was surprised that they didn't charge us to get into the park. I had my Golden Eagle ready to hand it to them, but I was never asked.
Nice photos :2thumbs:
I know it's a NP and all, but I don't see any mention of dogs (not allowed/allowed) on the website.
Anyone know the scoop?
http://www.great.basin.national-park.com/visit.htm#pets
Pets must be kept on a leash at all times. Leashes can not be over six feet in length. Pets are not allowed on trails or in the backcountry. There is only one place in the park pets can be tied and left unattended, for details and location consult the ranger on duty at the visitor center
Call them up and ask: Phone: 775-234-7331
But doesn't look too good :(
Ah boo. I'd never leave her unattended tied up alone!
I was looking on www.nps.gov/grba. I thought that'd be the official site, but thanks for looking that up.
I went there in the third weekend in July. Great place to go. I also scooped out the campgrounds. But wheeler was definitely for me. Close to most of the hikes. Cooler weather. Yeah, we had some thunderstorms, but only in the afternoon. But the campground looked nicer then the rest too.
And yes, there is wildlife galore. I felt like I was in a Disney movie. Several 3 and 4 point bucks walking around, jack rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and birds is what I saw.
According to the ranger, this is the 2nd least visited np. He also said there is a ton of caves that a lot of ppl like to explore. They have no problem with it both as long as you don
Awesome pics! Thanks
Ya this park is a definitely on a must visit list. Having so little crowd is a huge plus for this park.
Awesome pics and Ute fans too! :utes3: :five: