Great Basin National Park was not on our radar, but when it was suggested to us on two separate occasions, we decided it was going to be a stop along the way (thanks Purdy & our camp host in Moab). I am so thankful that we made the decision to stop here because it is one of my favorite National Parks.

Great Basin National Park is an oasis in the middle of the Nevada desert. Our camp host in Moab, Utah suggested we hit it up because he knew it’d be a lot cooler at 7,000+ feet, and he was right. The drive up to the park was a long and boring one, but as we pulled into the park and drove up the mountains and into the pines we were so happy to be there. Great Basin is not a heavily visited park, probably because of its location, which made it even more wonderful. After spending time at Zion, Arches, Smokey Mountain, and so many other busy parks it was nice to have some room to roam.

I loved everything we did while we were at Great Basin, we hiked to the only glacier in Nevada, hugged trees that are 4,000+ years old, toured their cave systems and sat in on a night sky program. Not only is the diverse ecosystem of this park amazing, but the staff was just as amazing. We had a lot of fun with the “Dark” Ranger who did a great job presenting the night sky program, and Ranger Paul who was our guide through Lehman Caves. Both of these park Rangers, as many we have come across, were so passionate about their jobs and had really done the research to be able to answer any question we had for them.

Notes about the Park:

• lots of field mice, don’t leave food out for them
• no bears! making hiking and camping a little less stressful
• no stores nearby, we bought a $7 loaf of bread at the closest store
• dark sky park (look up at night!)
• cave tours sell out FAST
• no cell service