Kalamazoo Road, White Pine County, Nevada

For some Sunday exploration, we decided to try out the Kalamazoo Road across the Schell Creek Range in White Pine County, Nevada. You reach the start of it about 38 miles north on the paved Highway 893 in Spring Valley. We weren't sure what the conditions would be early in the season, but it's been dry, so we figured we would be fine.

The turnoff is well-marked. There are camping spaces 4 miles up the road (plus many more that are scattered), and McGill, NV is 26 miles away.

The road is gravel but well-maintained. As you can see in the photos, it was a bit of a stormy day.

No one was camping at the campground area, but we did see a camper that had been left. A bathroom marks the location along with some picnic tables and grills. Kalamazoo Creek is nearby.

The road continued higher and soon we were seeing lots of white firs and aspen. And snow. Snow in late May!

We didn't think much of the snow until the road narrowed and curved around the side of the mountain.

We were in the clouds. And it kept snowing. One vehicle came from the other direction. That gave us confidence if he had made it over the mountain, so could we. Or at least we hoped.

This was the worst patch of snow, it was slick and a little deep. On the right is a steep drop off.

Fortunately we made it past and could look at the switchbacks we had just come up.

Some of the mountain mahogany were getting frosted.

We knew we were getting to the pass and were feeling good.

The wind was blowing so hard that we didn't even get out of the truck to read the sign!

As we started down into the Duck Creek Basin on the western side, we couldn't see much.

Fortunately, just a little bit down the clouds cleared and we saw an amazing display of wildflowers. I jumped out to snap a photo.

It was so beautiful!

Looking back up the mountain, we couldn't even see the top.

Before long, we crossed a cattleguard and started seeing some big houses. Soon we were back on pavement.

From there we headed through McGill to Ely, where we did some grocery shopping and headed home. To make a big loop from Ely would take about three hours, but it would be wise to plan on a whole day because there are so many fun things to stop at and explore. 

A few suggestions if you were to do this whole loop:

Comins Lake

Cave Lake State Park

Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Site

Cleve Creek Recreation Area

Swamp Cedars in Spring Valley

Kalamazoo Road overlooks 

McGill Swimming Pool

McGill Museum

Lots of great attractions in Ely (Nevada Northern Railway, Aquatic Center, Ward Mountain bike trails, Ely Art Bank, Renaissance Village, Garnet Hill, and more!)

We hope to go back, the Kalamazoo area looks so interesting, and we'd like to explore more when the weather is a little better!