Wheeler Peak Campground

Shadowed beneath the hulking cliffs of Wheeler Peak and Doso Doyabi, a pair of Nevada's true alpine monarchs, the views and campsites at Wheeler Peak Campground hover among the clouds. At nearly 10,000 feet in elevation your neighbors are Engelmann spruce, mule deer and green meadows; your common distractions tumbling brooks and shimmering aspen leaves. Neither towing nor towed vehicles exceeding 24 feet in length are accommodated along the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive or at the campground. The 12-mile Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive sweeps you over half a vertical mile to the campground, just beneath what may be the most picturesque mountain in Nevada; take in the view at Mather Overlook along the way. A mile and a half up the trail will place you in the midst of the Wheeler Peak Bristlecone Grove, among trees so ancient that some have absorbed the fanciful hues of over a million sunsets. Take elevation and weather into account before you set out on your hike. Two of the park's most sought-after hikes, the Bristlecone Trail and the Alpine Lakes Loop Trail, begin just outside the campground entrance, and the fully accessible 0.4-mile Sky Island Nature Trail presents a peaceful alternative. If you prefer less-travelled roads, consider a drive down the Snake Creek (no RVs or trailers) or Baker Creek Roads for hiking destinations such as Baker Lake or Johnson Lake. But be back at your campsite before sunset if you want to enjoy the dusk light show as the sun ignites the towering stone walls of Doso Doyabi, merging slowly into a sky so black that the stars pop in ways you may never have imagined possible. The campground offers paved parking spurs, picnic tables, campfire rings and grills along with vault toilets. Stretched out among alpine meadows ringed within a dense forest of Engelmann spruce, it provides shade at nearly every site, while a quick stroll will often reveal mule deer, turkey, or in the autumn weeks the lively orange and gold of shimmering aspen. This is the most distant campground from the surreal Lehman Caves, a 30-minute drive down the mountain. Great Basin National Park was foreshadowed when Lehman Caves was made a National Monument in 1922; the cave and its underground wonders sit behind the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, and access is by tour only.