Top 10 Things to Do in Baker, Nevada & Great Basin National Park - Late Spring/Summer/Early Fall

 Most people come to Baker and Great Basin National Park from late May to mid-October. That's when the roads are most open, the higher elevations accessible, and most of the public programs occur. Sometimes choosing what to do can be overwhelming. Not to worry, here are my tips, from living here for 25+ years.

1. Lehman Caves Sitting just behind the Lehman Caves Visitor Center at 6800 feet is Lehman Caves, the longest cave in the state of Nevada, at over 2 miles, and also one of the oldest tourist attractions, with tours usually held year-round. Note: A new cave lighting system is being installed so the cave is expected to be totally closed until late May 2026 and partially closed until the end of July 2026. Check the park website to find out when it reopens.

Gothic Palace, Lehman Caves. Photo by Peter Schenk.

Options: If you can't nab a cave reservation or one of the walk-up tours (people often line up for these before the visitor center opens at 8 am), there are other options. The Park has a simulated cave, called CaveSim, that lets you negotiate over 100 feet of cave passage. You'll crawl, slither, and climb your way through, and anything you touch beeps at you so that you know to be more careful. You're not playing the video game, you're in it!

Crystal Ball Cave is another great option, located about 45 minutes north of the park in Gandy, Utah. Protected on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed land, local site stewards offer tours Monday-Saturday through this cave, which is like going through a giant geode. It's filled with crystals, ancient bones, and beautiful formations. 

And if none of these work out, try out the Virtual Cave Tour of Lehman Caves, which gives you a totally different experience of seeing the cave, with lots of short additional videos to provide specialized info you wouldn't necessarily get on a tour.

2. Visitor Centers Great Basin National Park has two interesting visitor centers, generally open 8am to 4 pm in the summer months and more restricted hours during the shoulder seasons:

• Lehman Caves Visitor Center, up the hill at 6800 ft, has exhibits focused on Discover the Dark, including caves and night skies
• Great Basin Visitor Center in Baker at 5300 ft. focuses on the different habitats and wildlife found along the huge elevational gradient. There is over a 25 degree F temperature difference from the valley bottom to the top of Wheeler Peak!

Options: Baker, Nevada has a surprisng amount of art for such a small town. Take an Art walk to admire the various murals and other artistic offerings.

3. Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive  Ready to drive to 10,000 feet elevation? Weather permitting, the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive allows you to ascend through multiple habitats as you rise from the sagebrush sea to the pinyon-juniper, then to mountain mahogany and mixed conifer to aspens and higher conifers. If you have the NPS App, you can click on self-guided tours and take the Auto Tour through different Great Basin Life Zones.

Options: If the Scenic Drive is closed or you want to look at something different, here are some other roads:

Baker Creek Road - look for marmots and drive slowly, as they aren't the brightest creatures around! But they are cute! And the custom-made marmot crossing signs are fun to see.

Strawberry Creek - check out how the watershed is doing after a 4,500 acre wildfire in 2016. At the end of the road is a lovely 1.5 mile loop trail up through a meadow and back through a burned area.

Snake Creek - located south of Baker, the road follows the creek closely. The Serviceberry Trail makes for a good hike, although will have snow on it probably until June. Trails at the end of the road lead up into the high country, and will be snow covered at higher elevations. The Spring Creek Rearing Station is outside the park and allows visitors. There's not much to see, but if you've never seen where trout are raised to stock streams and lakes, it's worth a short visit. 

Lexington Canyon -  the road towards Lexington Arch is currently in decent shape. It's gravel and dirt (like most roads around here) and if it's been dry for awhile, it will be dusty. On the way to the new trailhead area for the arch you pass some beautiful wildflowers and see another area recovering from a big wildfire, this one in 2013. The Arch is a nice spring/early summer hike. There's very little shade, so it can get hot when the temperatures rise. The trailhead has been washed out by post-fire floods, so you'll have to park when the road gets bad and hike from there. It adds about a mile each way.

4. Bristlecone Pines If you've never seen old bristlecone pines, old meaning more than 3,000 years old, this is your chance. Drive 12 miles up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive to the end of the road at the Bristlecone trailhead. Then plan for about an hour-long hike over a rocky trail at over 10,000 feet elevation to an amazing grove in the shadow of Wheeler Peak. Allow 30 minutes for the drive each way, plus 2-3 hours for the hike. You can hike beyond the grove to the rock glacier, add 0.5-2 hours depending on how far you go. Note that the parking area can fill from about 10 am to 3 pm, so consider earlier or later, when the light is better and parking more abundant.

Hike to Wheeler cirque bristlecone grove in Great Basin National Park

5. Hikes  Great Basin National Park is a hiker's paradise, with about 80 miles of trails. 

Also at the end of the Scenic Drive is the Alpine Lakes Loop. This is a charming two-hour hike that visits Teresa and Stella Lakes. Take your time and soak in the cooler temperatures. Watch out for afternoon thunderstorms, high winds, and elevation sickness. The reward is amazing views. You can combine this with the bristlecone pine hike for a lovely longer hike.

Stella Lake at sunrise

5a. Short trails (approx. 30 minutes to 1 hour):

• Mountain View Nature Trail behind Lehman Caves Visitor Center--through pinyon/juniper forest for 1/4 mile (check out the App for a self-guided tour) ;
• Sky Islands Forest Trail-Accessible trail at Bristlecone trailhead--through Engelmann spruce/limber pine forest for 1/4 mile, wheelchair accessible
• Strawberry Sagebrush Loop Trail: 1+ mile loop that lets you look at how the landscape is recovering after the 2016 Strawberry fire
• Start any of these other trails listed below and turn around when you want

5b. Medium trails (2-4 hours)

• South Fork Baker/Baker Lake loop: 3.5 mile loop, steep in places, but gorgeous, follows riparian areas
• Serviceberry Trail: 3+ mile loop along Snake Creek road with a variety of habitats
• Lexington Arch: 6+ mile round-trip hike to a huge natural bridge; dogs allowed (here's more about the canyon)
• Osceola Ditch Trail: 1.5 miles to Mill Creek, 4 miles to big washout in Strawberry Creek, where you'll probably want to turn around. trailhead, follows old water ditch and goes through 2016 burn
• Bristlecone/Alpine Loops trails mentioned above

5c. Long trails (>3 hours)

• South Fork Baker/Timber Creek loop: 5.5 miles but lots of elevation change, two beautiful meadows (A PERSONAL FAVORITE!)
• Dead Lake: a new trail from the end of the Snake Creek road heads to this often-overlooked lake, and you can make a loop trail of it
• Wheeler Peak summit: the trail is 4-miles one way, but gains 3,000 feet elevation. Many people underestimate the effort it will take. Plan on 3-4 hours to summit, some time at the top, and 2-3 hours to get back down. Take plenty of water and food and be prepared for big winds. Stay off if storms are looming. (Also, not good if there's lots of snow on it.

5d. Backpacking.

• Baker/Johnson loop: this is a classic. Start at the Baker Creek or Snake Creek trailheads. About 13 miles round trip with lots of elevation change. Camp at Baker or Johnson Lakes. No campfires above 10,000 feet.
• South Fork Baker/Timber Creek loop: This loop is only about 5.5 miles, but lots of elevation change. Good for beginning backpackers and families.
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6. Baker Archeological Site is located just northeast of Baker (look for the signs).  this is a short stop, but interesting to learn about how the Fremont people had a small village near Baker hundreds of years ago, with buildings aligned with the sun and stars. Use the booklet as you take the self-guided trail to learn more. Nice covered picnic area and pit toilet. Day use only. 

Options: Pictograph Caves sport numberous pictographs in the Grey Cliffs area. The best ones are seen along the road. Dust has made them a little harder to see, but look for some human forms as well as dots and lines. This area is undergoing improvements in 2026-27 and may have periodic closures.

7. Wildlife watching

• Yellow-bellied marmots. From May to about July, it's often possible to find yellow-bellied marmots along the Baker Creek road. You'll see the marmot crossing signs--these cute animals aren't the smartest, so slow down to keep them safe!

• Rocky mountain elk are seen most frequently in the Strawberry Creek drainage. They are much larger than deer.
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• Bird-watching is excellent along Strawberry Creek, where you can find lots of cavity nesters like mountain bluebirds, hairy woodpeckers, house wrens, and mountain chickadees. Baker Creek area has lots of riparian birds like warbling vireos, MacGillivray's warblers, yellow warblers, lazuli buntings, and more.
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• Fishing. With a state permit, fishing is allowed in the park. Native Bonneville cutthroat trout are in South Fork Baker, Snake, and Mill creeks as well as Baker and Johnson Lakes (catch-and-release recommended as the Park is trying to restore these populations). Brown, rainbow, and brook are in Baker and Lehman Creeks.

8. Dark Night Skies. Great Basin National Park has some of the darkest night skies, with major population centers distant. Times around the new moon allow for the best viewing of the Milky Way, which may look like a cloud to the unitiated. During full moons, check with the local general store for full moon hikes. The Park has evening and astronomy programs from late May to Sept/Oct, often Thursday through Sunday evenings at the astronomy amphitheater.

Milky Way from Mather Overlook

9. Sacramento Pass Recreational Area

• Camping, fishing, plus mountain biking and hiking on a seven-mile trail system. Only 15 minutes from Baker.
  

  

  Sac Pass fishing pond

10. Lodging and Food

There are a variety of Motels/hotels/AirBnBs in the area. They are already booking far ahead this summer. Find more at Where To Stay in Great Basin | Baker, Nevada — Discover Great Basin (greatbasinpark.com).

For Food, we have a variety of options:

• 487 Grill (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays 4-8 pm)
•  Border Inn (24 hrs, grab and go; kitchen open 6 am to 10 pm?)
•  Bristlecone General Store (7am-7 pm, Grab and Go; Pizza night Wednesdays, 4-7 pm)
• Great Basin Cafe (next to Lehman Caves Visitor Center), 8 am- 4 pm, breakfasts, lunches, and ice cream
• Sandra's Mexican Food (across from gas station, variable hours)

Where to Eat and Drink In Great Basin — Discover Great Basin (greatbasinpark.com)

Bonus: But wait, there's more!

North Snake Range Hikes - The North Snake Range is a rugged wilderness filled with surprises. There's great hiking at Hendry's Creek and Smith Creek. Hampton Creek takes more effort, but you can find some garnets and an old mining area. Silver Creek is fun for mountain biking. The Table and Mt. Moriah top the range and are an all-day effort (or more) to visit and should be saved for later summer and autumn.

Crystal Peak is a cool volcanic mountain located about an hour from Baker. You can see it gleaming in the afternoon sunlight from Highway 6 and 50, and also from high points along the Scenic Drive.

Ibex/Tule Valley - Located 45 minutes east of Baker towards Delta, we like to go to Ibex and Tule Valley for rock climbing at Ibex Cliffs and bike riding on the dry playa. This is also a good place to camp.

Notch Peak  - Notch Peak is an obvious peak to the east, with the highest limestone cliff in North America. Base jumpers frequent it. I find hiking to the top plenty of excitement for me. Snow may be hanging out in shady spots into late May. Bristlecone pines are found to the north.

Cleve Creek - Found in Spring Valley, about 9 miles north of Highway 6 & 50, designated campground and beautiful area in the Schell Creek Range.

Pruess Lake - located south of Garrison, Utah, this is where we go to swim, kayak, paddleboard, fish, and sail (and ice skate in the winter). Lake levels drop throughout the summer, so early to mid summer is the best time for swimming.

Crystal Ball Cave - this BLM cave is managed by site stewards with cave tours. The cave is very cool, like going into a giant geode! Cave tours are Monday-Saturday, reservations required (this cave tour is amazing, recommended donation $12-$15/person). You might like to combine it with a trip to nearby Devils Gate Slot Canyon, a short but fun canyon. (I know I already mentioned Crystal Ball Cave, but I really love it!)

Ely, NV: 

• Nevada Northern Railway train rides, museum 
• White Pine Public Museum home of the Cave Bear
• Garnet Hill find your own garnets, amazing view of Ruth Mine
• Ward Mountain mountain biking, camping, disc golf
• Ely Renaissance Village step back in time to see cultural background of Ely; also visit the nearby Ely Art Bank
• White Pine Aquatic Center modern facility, lap swimming available all day and periodic open swim hours (and McGill Swimming Pool (Pond) is also a lot of fun)
• Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park well-preserved charcoal ovens and nice trails, plus camping
• Cave Lake State Park fishing, boating, trails, camping with showers!
• Comins Lake fishing, boating

Delta, UT: 

• Topaz Relocation Site and Topaz Museum one of several internment camps during World War 2-the museum downtown has fantastic exhibits 
• Great Basin Museum taste of pioneer days and a cool rock and fossil exhibit
• Pahvant Butte hiking 
• Sunset Knoll finding gemstones 
• West Millard Swimming Pool with a high dive!
• Tabernacle Hill Lava Tubes easy access--please help keep clean

Milford, UT: 

• Frisco Ghost Town charcoal ovens, cemetery, and remains of one of the wildest mining towns in Utah
• Newhouse Ghost Town old building remains
• Rock Corral Recreation Site cool rocks, camping
• Swimming Pool we have visited swimming pools in all the nearby towns!

Those are just a few suggestions, click on the links to see additional information. If you'd like more, Read my book! It is full of natural and cultural history of the area, places to visit, and more.

Leave a comment--what things do you like to do when you're in Baker and Great Basin National Park?

Bahsahwahbee - Swamp Cedars

On the valley bottom of Spring Valley, Nevada, both north and south of US Highway 6 & 50, you can spot trees growing. Normally seeing trees isn't a big deal, but in the Great Basin desert, it can be unusual at lower elevaitons unless water is present. 

It turns out these trees are Rocky Mountain junipers (Juniperus scopulorum). Usually found near streams, why are they on the valley bottom? True, there are numerous springs in the eponymous Spring Valley, but many of the trees aren't next to them. So how are they growing? It turns out there's a clay layer under part of the valley, created a perched water table.

Most people drive right through Spring Valley on their way to or from Ely or Great Basin National Park.. Now, there's an extra incentive to stop--to learn more about these swamp cedars and the place called Bahsahwahbee. Along the edge of the highway is a pullout with five signs. 

The first sign on the left explains about Bahsahwahbee, the Sacred Water Valley. 

The next highlights the biodiversity of the area.

The third gets into history that has long been overlooked,t he swamp cedar massacres.

The fourth goes into more details about the trees.

The fifth highlights the Great Basin National Heritage Area.

These signs provide great information about an area that most people don't give a second thought to. 

You can find more info about Bahsahwahbee and the Swamp Cedars at:
Bahsahwahbee website
High Country News article, April 17, 2024

A Visit to the Swamp Cedars, White Pine County, Nevada

 

Located in Spring Valley in White Pine County, Nevada, the valley bottom is dotted with trees. Other nearby valleys are devoid of trees, as it is too dry for them to grow unless they are next to a creek. What's going on here?

Apparently a clay layer under the surface helps to retain water and allows Rocky Mountain junipers (Juniperus scopulorum), otherwise known as swamp cedars, to grow in the valley bottom. 

They are found both north and south of Highway 6 & 50, which bisects the valley. 

In addition to being of biological interest, the swamp cedars have a cultural and historical context. The local Shoshone tribes and their ancestors have inhabited the valley for thousands of years. Numerous springs made it an attractive spot, and the local tribes were known to have 16 villages in the area, according to a report by Julian Steward in 1938. 

 The people at the villages harvested pine nuts, held festivals, and traveled to visit relatives and friends in nearby villages. Starting in about 1859, hostilities began with the US cavalry and others, and at least one battle and/or massacre occurred in the swamp cedar area, with many Shoshone killed. 

Some Shoshone say that each swamp cedar represents a Shoshone who has died. This year, the Nevada legislature passed a resolution AJR4 to recommend to Congress that the area be made into a National Monument or be added to Great Basin National Park so that this story can be told. 

Time will tell what will happen to this Swamp Cedar Natural Area, most of which is currently on BLM-managed land.

We decided to take a visit to the swamp cedars. We see them from a distance when we drive across the valley on the highway, but we wanted to get close to them. We turned off the highway onto a gravel road and then onto a two-track road. We could see the swamp cedars in the distance as we traveled west.

In wet years, we would not be able to cross the valley here. The ruts showed where people had struggled before. But due to the drought, the ground was totally dry.

As we got closer, we were a little surprised by just how many swamp cedars we saw.

We stopped near a springhead to take a closer look. It was really cool to see the water bubbling out of the sand. A small weir had backed up water a little bit, making it more impressive.

The spring brook then flowed through the swamp cedars.

I spotted a variety of wildflowers in the vicinity.

The swamp cedars have some personalities.

The blue iris dotted wet places. It was a very cloudy day, which is unusual for the Great Basin.

I believe these are monitoring wells. 

The swamp cedars are a special place, and I definitely feel a desire to get to know them better. 

It will be interesting to see what happens with the swamp cedar area. Here are two articles that give a little more information about the area. 

Spring Valley swamp cedars - more than trees for Western Shoshone | Sierra Nevada Ally

 Nevada resolution to protect swamp cedars reverberates across Indian Country | Sierra Nevada Ally

Finding the Lost Strawberry Creek Cabin

My husband wanted to visit a hidden cabin up Strawberry Creek drainage in Great Basin National Park. He used to go to it as a teenager, when his family had grazing rights in that area and before it was a national park. The grazing rights were retired in 1999, the road to the cabin was abandoned, and now it's really hard to get to. We decided the easiest way was to climb up and over Bald Mountain and then hike down into the drainage.

There's an old weather station on the top of Bald Mountain. It doesn't work anymore, as the winds can be ferocious up there.

One of the best views of Wheeler Peak is from the top of Bald Mountain.

We decided to take a family photo with that great background.

There's a big rock pile and a stick at the summit. Fortunately it wasn't very windy, so we enjoyed a snack. We kept an eye on the clouds, which were building.

Then it was time to start hiking down. Desert Girl gave me some attitude at altitude.

There is no trail, so it can be tough going.

Desert Girl liked the deer bed, which was a little flatter.

Then she got up and continued down. In 2005 an avalanche took out a bunch of trees, leaving a very visible scar.

This photo shows how steep it was. And the building clouds.

The avalanche area is more shrubs. We stayed in the open until we got near the bottom of the steep part.

Then we headed into the woods and found an old road that my husband remembered. The track was extremely faint, and I had never seen it marked on any map.

I had to pause to get a photo of this mushroom. It really surprised me, as it was such a dry year!

We saw a lot of elk sign, like this rubbing.

We continued on, enjoying the beautiful views.

Eventually we came to a spring. My husband had remembered it and fortunately we found it.

He remembered it having a lot more water. We found this old 55-gallon drum that had been made into a water trough.

Nearby we found a sign on a tree.

It was really hard to read, but mentioned something about a Sensitive Site and US Department of Agriculture, 194?, and Forest.

Not far from there we came out on a rocky area. We could look over to Windy Canyon and beyond to Mt. Moriah.

Apparently decades ago my husband and his friends left a skull up on the rocks. It was still there.

We walked along the trees to find the cabin and didn't spot it until we were almost there.

The one-room cabin was probably built in the late 1960s by the Robison family, who had sheep grazing rights at that time.

Some extra windows were stored around the back, along with some tubing. There was a faucet outside the cabin, but it didn't work, and my husband didn't know where it would be bringing water from.

Inside there's a wood burning stove.

And a table and some bunk beds. It looked in pretty good shape, with some rodent sign, but not an overwhelming amount. With a little stabilization (mainly protecting the roof), the cabin can probably last a long time.

I spotted some elk on the opposite hillside. (They really aren't too distinguishable in this photo, but they are larger than what I saw.)

There are lots of tree carvings in the area. I was amused by the one that said "Ojo", which means "eye," right under the eye of the aspen. Palomino carved on numerous trees in the areas. I think he was a very bored sheepherder.

After a lovely exploration and rest, we decided it was time to head down. Fortunately the clouds had not developed into thunderstorms. I guess we shouldn't have been that surprised, we never really had a monsoon season during 2020.

We followed the old road as much as we could, but it was not easy going. So many trees had fallen across it that we had lots of obstacles.

Here's another section of the old road. No wonder you can't make it out on Google Earth!

After what seemed like a very long time, we came out on the Upper Strawberry Creek trail.

There were plenty more tree carvings. This one showed where the water was.

I loved the flowers!

We also saw some butterflies.

My husband remembered a 1903 arborglyph, and we eventually found it. It was nearly illegible.

We moved down a bit farther and got into the 2016 burn. Then we hiked out to the trailhead, where we had left a vehicle.

It took about eight hours for the whole trip. It wasn't super hard, but it also wasn't super easy. It was nice to have the uphill part done early in the day and then just keep heading downhill, although with all the obstacles, we certainly got a core workout. I managed to forget my Garmin watch, so I don't have a GPS track of our route. I guess that adds to the mystery of the lost cabin!