John Cletheroe's
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Great Basin National Park, Nevada
Location
Great Basin National Park is located in eastern Nevada, about sixty miles east of Ely. From US6/US50, head south on Nevada State Highway 487 for about six miles to the very small town of Baker. From Baker, a virtually straight road climbs steadily up to the park. Westbound on US6/US50 there is a cut-through road which connects to Nv 487 after a mile or so. The route to the park is clearly signposted.
On older maps the park may be marked as Lehman Caves National Monument, its former name.
Size
120 square miles. For comparison, the size of the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England is 147 square miles.
What To See And Do
Great Basin National Park was created in 1986 and includes the former Lehman Caves National Monument, part of Humboldt National Forest, and Wheeler Peak.
Cave tours of various durations are available, starting at the visitor centre.
From near the visitor centre a scenic road climbs up Wheeler Peak, giving extensive views over the huge valley below and the peak above, and also revealing the vastly different vegetation to be found at various altitudes. The park's entrance and visitor centre are themselves well above the valley floor. The scenic road climbs far higher, to around 10,000 feet. With such a rapid and continuous climb, you may well feel the effect of the altitude.
The Great Basin, a huge area of the western United States immensely greater than that of the park, derives its name from the fact that it is an area of interior drainage; in other words all its waterways drain into desert flats, not into the sea. It is largely a desert and semi-desert area.
See also Great Basin Desert and Intermountain States.
Entrance Fee
In the summer of 2000 there was no entrance fee for this park. However, there was a fee for the cave tours. As usual, neither the National Park Service National Parks Pass nor the Golden Eagle Pass cover the cost of cave tours.
Some Ideas for Places to Stay
- Ely is a pleasant medium sized town with a good range of facilities such as motels, restaurants and shops. There are no other towns of any size in the area.
Nevada
Caves
National Parks
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Most recently modified 5-Feb-01