Lower Lehman Creek Campground

Set among the lush green vegetation which hugs Lehman Creek, Lower Lehman Creek Campground puts your tent or RV within earshot of clear mountain water which has tumbled 3,000 vertical feet from the lakes and snowfields of the high Snake Range. Naturally landscaped with red-barked water birch, aspen and white fir, a stroll through this sky island ecosystem provides for great bird-watching or a cooling dip in the stream, while placing you just minutes from spectacular Lehman Caves. The campground is perfect for RVs, with large, paved, pull-through parking at six of the nine camping sites. Each site offers a picnic table, fire ring, and pit toilets within a stone's throw. Most sites offer shade provided by white firs as well as juniper and pinyon pine, and at 7,300 feet in elevation, uncomfortably hot days are rare. Staying here is a wonderful opportunity to dip your feet into cool water while diving into your favorite novel. The jaw-dropping Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive runs right past the campground entrance, offering 12 miles of spectacular mountain and valley views while transporting you to near tree line at about 10,000 feet in elevation. From there a roundtrip hike of just under three miles will leave you with memories of iconic bristlecone pines, which can endure for over 4,000 years and stand for thousands more after death. Another short stroll from the end of the Scenic Drive highlights Stella and Teresa Lakes, both fish free because they freeze solid during the winter months, but begging for a sunset photograph with colossal Wheeler Peak looming in the background. If a challenge is beckoning, the Summit Trail begins at mile 11 of the Scenic Drive and will launch you on an eight-mile, day-long endeavor to the roof of Wheeler Peak itself, where you may ponder the desperate lives of bristlecones, limber pines and Engelmann spruce gracing the rocky moraine below the summit. Fishing in the park is legal with a Nevada state fishing license, but access is challenging in the small brushy park streams, so consider a day-long excursion to Baker Lake: a twelve-mile roundtrip hike to over 10,000 feet, where the trout fishing is fine. Stop by one of the park's visitor centers for fishing regulations, and please treat the delicate alpine environment around Baker Lake with respect. Renowned Lehman Caves is just a 10-minute drive from your campsite, and access is by tour only. Also within reach is the remote solitude of the less-travelled trails of the Baker Creek Road; the Snake Creek and Strawberry Creek Roads are both unique experiences, but a bit more distant. During the summer months, beneath the uniquely black night skies of Great Basin National Park, astronomy programs with park rangers draw large crowds to the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, three downhill driving miles away; bring a chair and dress warm, as even summer temperatures can drop dramatically in the Snake Range. The limestone ridge just to the south anchors 12,771-foot Doso Doyabi to the broad Snake Valley below, and the evening lightshow performed amidst one of the darkest night skies in the Lower 48 will likely keep you up well beyond your usual bedtime.