Upper Lehman Creek Campground

Whether you prefer the rich smell of summer mahogany riding air currents blended with the vanilla of ponderosa pine, or the sound of a clear mountain stream babbling beneath a symphony of swaying white fir, you won't regret your stay at Upper Lehman Creek Campground. At 7,500 feet in elevation and three miles up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, a stay here puts you within a ten-minute drive of Lehman Caves and just a brief cruise from high alpine trails that will take you into the heart of the Snake Range. A stroll across the grounds may present you with mule deer or turkey, while a step out onto the viewing platform over Lehman Creek could offer a glimpse of cutthroat trout moving gracefully through a liquid stage. The campground offers paved parking spurs, picnic tables, and campfire rings with grills along with vault toilets. Resting at the base of a limestone ridge anchoring 12,771-foot Doso Doyabi to the floor of Snake Valley, the sites are scattered amidst a diverse forest of pinyon and ponderosa pine along with juniper, white fir, aspen and fragrant mountain mahogany. Shade is easy to come by during the summer months, followed by the gilded quivering of aspen leaves in the fall. Lehman Creek, with its resident trout, tumbles among the sites, blending with the voices of pine needles, turkey, and the crackle of campfire to create a classic soundscape. It is a small, dynamic stream, difficult to fish. 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 trail walk of just under three miles will leave you with memories of iconic bristlecone pines, trees which can endure for over 4,000 years and stand for thousands after that. Another short stroll from the end of the Scenic Drive highlights Stella and Theresa 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. Beginning at mile 11, the Summit Trail will launch you on an eight-mile, day-long endeavor to the top of Wheeler Peak, monarch of the Snake Range. 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, in a venue more majestic than could barely be imagined. Stop by one of the park visitor centers for regulations. During the summer months, astronomy programs with park rangers draw large crowds to the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, four downhill driving miles away; bring a chair and dress warm, as even summer temperatures can drop dramatically in the Snake Range. Lehman Caves itself lies a few miles away behind the visitor center, with access by tour only, along with the remote solitude of the less-travelled trails of the Baker Creek. The Snake Creek and Strawberry Creek Roads are a bit more distant, but worth the drive.