Great Basin National Park
Great Basin National Park is the only national park in Nevada. Located in the Humboldt National Forest, its mountainous terrain contain the planet’s oldest living trees, the bristlecone pines. Underground are the Lehman Caves, while up on the ground is Nevada’s only permanent glacier.
Where to Stay When Visiting
There are numerous campgrounds inside the park. However, if you are looking for an AirBNB or vacation-style lodging, you’ll have to find accommodations outside the park. The small town of Baker, NV is the closest at about 5 miles away, but has very limited options.
Ely, NV is about 70 miles northwest of the park, and has much more options. There are a couple of great Airbnbs that had the address of Ely, but were about 30 miles closer to the park than the city’s actual center.
VISIT Great Basin National Park:
Park Details
Great Basin National Park was established on January 24, 1922, and has a total area of 77,180 acres (121 square miles, or 312 square kilometers).
| Address | Lehman Caves Visitor Center, Baker, NV, 89311 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 775-234-7331 |
| Hours | Year round, 24 hours a day. |
| Entrance Fee | Free |
| Learn More | Official Website |
When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation
Great Basin National Park is the 208th most visited park in the country.
We crunched 30 years of historical weather and/or park service data to find the best months to visit Great Basin National Park. We looked for the optimal temperatures, the least amount of snow and rain, and stayed away from peak visitation months if we could help it. All this data then helped us paint a picture as to what the absolute best time to visit Great Basin National Park is.
Our data shows the best months to visit Great Basin National Park are September, June, August & May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Visits | 1,306 | 1,236 | 2,596 | 7,856 | 15,816 | 28,680 | 26,246 | 21,870 | 20,823 | 13,582 | 3,208 | 1,657 |
| Precipitation | 22 | 29 | 34 | 38 | 35 | 21 | 28 | 19 | 20 | 26 | 17 | 18 |
| Avg Temp | 37 | 39 | 48 | 56 | 66 | 77 | 84 | 82 | 73 | 61 | 47 | 38 |
| Max Temp | 47 | 51 | 61 | 70 | 79 | 87 | 91 | 88 | 83 | 73 | 61 | 51 |
| Avg Temp | 22 | 25 | 30 | 33 | 41 | 48 | 57 | 55 | 47 | 37 | 28 | 22 |
| Min Temp | 7 | 11 | 19 | 22 | 26 | 34 | 46 | 45 | 34 | 23 | 12 | 6 |
Great Basin National Park Road Trips
Many family vacations consist of stringing one or more national parks together during a week-long trip. Creating these types of trips is our specialty! Here are the road trips we've created where Great Basin National Park is visited.
| Trip Name | Trip Miles | Trip Days |
|---|---|---|
| Great Basin to Zion National Park | 643 | 7 |
Other Nearby National Park Sites
From national monuments, to historic sites to seashores and more, here are the other parks closest to Great Basin National Park.
| Name | Distance |
|---|---|
| Cedar Breaks National Monument | 120 mi |
| Zion National Park | 141 mi |
| Bryce Canyon National Park | 146 mi |
| Timpanogos Cave National Monument | 166 mi |
| Pipe Spring National Monument | 169 mi |
| Capitol Reef National Park | 174 mi |
| Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument | 189 mi |
| Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument | 194 mi |
| Golden Spike National Historic Site | 201 mi |
| Glen Canyon National Recreation Area | 203 mi |
Nearby Campsites & RV Parks
If you are looking to pitch a tent or park an RV at a campsite near Great Basin National Park, here is a list of the closest campsites in the surrounding area. They all have slightly different amenitites, so its best to check them all out instead of just chosing the first on the list.
| Name | Details | Miles Away |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Lehman - Great Basin National Park | Baker, NV more | 1 miles |
| Baker Creek - Great Basin National Park | Baker, NV more | 2 miles |
| Upper Lehman - Great Basin National Park | Baker, NV more | 2 miles |
| Wheeler Peak - Great Basin National Park | Baker, NV more | 4 miles |
| Cleve Creek | NV more | 23 miles |
| Cave Lake State Park | Ely, NV more | 28 miles |
| Berry Creek | Ely, NV more | 33 miles |
| Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park | Ely, NV more | 34 miles |
| Timber Creek | Ely, NV more | 35 miles |
| Bird Creek Recreation Area | McGill, NV more | 39 miles |
Nearest Ski Resorts
For those of you who are the diehard outdoors type, visiting a national park on a ski trip can be quite the adventure. Here are the ski resorts within 100 miles of Great Basin National Park:
| Name | Location | Summit | Difficulty Score™ | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond Peak | Eureka, NV | 8,540 ft | 56% | 94 mi |
Nearest Airports
When visiting a National park, many people are faced with either a very long drive across country, or a much shorter flight. For those of you looking to fly into Great Basin National Park, we've listed the closest airports in the area.
Large Airports
A large airport has scheduled major airline service with millions of passengers per year. This type of airport always accepts international flights. Here are the closest large airports to Great Basin National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City International Airport | SLC | Salt Lake City, UT | 171 mi |
| Harry Reid International Airport | LAS | Las Vegas, NV | 208 mi |
| Reno–Tahoe International Airport | RNO | Reno, NV | 299 mi |
| Lake Havasu City International Airport | LHS | Lake Havasu City, AZ | 315 mi |
| Ontario International Airport | ONT | Ontario, CA | 390 mi |
| Sacramento International Airport | SMF | Sacramento, CA | 397 mi |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport | PHX | Phoenix, AZ | 404 mi |
Medium Airports
A medium-sized airport has scheduled regional airline service. This type of airport may or may not accept international flights. Here are the closest medium-sized airports to Great Basin National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar City Regional Airport | CDC | Cedar City, UT | 109 mi |
| Saint George-Southwest Utah International Airport | SGU | St George, UT | 141 mi |
| Elko Regional Airport | EKO | Elko, NV | 151 mi |
| Provo-Utah Lake International Airport | PVU | Provo, UT | 157 mi |
| Ogden Hinckley Airport | OGD | Ogden, UT | 191 mi |
| Grand Canyon National Park Airport | GCN | Grand Canyon - Tusayan, AZ | 239 mi |
| Joslin Field Magic Valley Regional Airport | TWF | Twin Falls, ID | 240 mi |
Credits: Campground data provided by USCampgrounds.info. Map shapes from CartographyVectors. Weather data from NOAA. Airport data from OurAirports.com. Images from Unsplash, Flickr and Parks&Trips. All data has also been updated and augmented by Parks&Trips.