Nevada National Parks
Great Basin's snowy peaks may surprise you, but that's not all that Nevada's National Parks have in store. Come #FindYourPark in Nevada.
Nevada National Parks
Nevada
4 National Parks in Nevada
Other NPS-Affiliated Sites in Nevada
California National Historic Trail - CA, CO, ID, KS, MO, NE, NV, OR, UT, WY
The California National Historic Trail is an incredible 2,000 miles long and recounts the journey of over 250,000 people who made their way to California during the 1840s and 50s searching for gold, prosperity, and a better life. It was the greatest mass migration in American history. The trail runs roughly from Independence, MO to Sacramento, CA, and spans ten states - California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.
Passport sites and interpretive centers exist along the route in several states. A modern-day auto route is also available for those wanting to trace the trail by car.
Death Valley National Park (CA, NV)
Interested in visiting the hottest place on Earth? Better take some water. It may be hot in summer, but heat isn't the only extreme here. It also has snowy peaks in winter and the rare rain storm brings with it blooms of desert plants. We were lucky enough to see this on our trip, but don't count on that though, because Death Valley is also the driest National Park in the United States.
Death Valley National Park is located west of Las Vegas (about a two hour drive) and north of Los Angeles (about 5 hours) and sits on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At 3.4 million acres, this park is big - most of which is designated wilderness area. There are plenty of things to explore here, along with Ranger-led programs, hiking, camping, and even movie locations for the Star Wars films. Death Valley is open year round, 24 hours a day.
Great Basin National Heritage Area - UT, NV
Designated in 2006 by Congress, the Great Basin National Heritage Area encompasses nearly 16,000 square miles of land that straddles the Utah-Nevada border. It aims to recognize and highlight the stories of the classic American West and includes old mines, farms, railroads, archeological sites, and other landmarks with historical significance.
GBNHA also includes several local, state, and National Parks - the most famous being Great Basin National Park in Nevada. If you like solitude and wide open spaces, Great Basin is for you.
Read more about visiting Great Basin National Heritage Area here.
Great Basin National Park - Baker, NV
If you can make the lonely drive to Baker, Nevada you'll be rewarded with some of the most spectacular scenery in all of Nevada. Great Basin National Park is home to Nevada's only glacier, a remarkable cave system underground, and serves host to bristlecone pine trees - some of the oldest living things on planet Earth. The park has several miles of trails to explore along with camping, fishing, and even snow shoeing in the winter. During the warmer months, take a drive up to Wheeler Peak and hike the Bristlecone Trail to see the ancient trees.
Any time of year, guests can tour Lehman Caves which we highly recommend. In many ways, we like Lehman Caves better than Carlsbad Caverns or Mammoth Cave National Park (although all are amazing!). Great Basin is also recognized as an International Dark Skies Park which makes it the perfect place to stargaze.
Great Basin National Park was established in 1986 and today protects just over 77,000 acres.
Read more about visiting Great Basin National Park here.
Lake Mead National Recreational Area - AZ, NV
Lake Mead National Recreation Area was created after the damming of the Colorado River and runs along the Nevada/Arizona border. It's immense - 1.5 million acres - and is the first and largest National Recreational Area in America. Lake Mead and Lake Mojave are the major highlights of the park and offer visitors a vast amount of recreational opportunities including boating, fishing, paddling, camping, hiking, and much more. Paddlers in particular might be interested in the new 30-mile Black Canyon National Water Trail which was established in 2014. Schedule a tour and set out from the Hoover Dam to explore beaches, caves, coves, hot springs, wildlife, and more. For those looking for more solitude, Lake Mead NRA has nine designated wilderness areas to explore.
The Alan Bible Visitor Center is the main Visitor Center in the park and is located just north of Boulder City, Nevada. The impressive Hoover Dam is also nearby and is open to visitors for guided tours.
Read more about Lake Mead Recreation Area and our 2023 visit here.
Old Spanish National Historic Trail - AZ, CA, CO, NV, NM, UT
Old Spanish National Historic Trail tells the story of the people and places along the trail between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California. The trail was used heavily during the early 1800's to move goods through the Southwest and made Santa Fe a center of commerce in the area. The trail was a pipeline for both Mexican and American traders over a few decades until the United States finally took control of the Southwest and opened new trade routes and wagon trails, which left the Old Spanish Trail obsolete by the 1850's.
The trail runs through six states - New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California - and there are several points for visitors to interact and learn more about its history. Here are some popular locations for Passport Stamps along the trail:
- Navajo National Monument - Shonto, AZ
- Pipe Spring National Monument - Fredonia, AZ
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area - Page, AZ (Also the location of Horseshoe Bend)
- El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument - Los Angeles, CA
- Mojave National Preserve Headquarters - Barstow, CA
- Colorado National Monument - Fruita, CO
- Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve - Mosca, CO
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - Montrose, CO
- Aztec Ruins National Monument - Aztec, NM
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area - Boulder City, NV
- Arches National Park - Moab, UT
- Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument - Kanab, UT
Pony Express National Historic Trail - CA, CO, KS, MO, NE, NV, UT, WY
Before there was the telegraph, the most efficient method for getting messages across the country was the Pony Express. Riders could get a piece of mail from Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California - 2,005 miles - in just ten days. As thousands of settlers traveled west along the Oregon Trail during the mid-1800's, along with the height of the Gold Rush and the Mormon migration, the need arose to get mail quickly to the West. Although the Pony Express only existed for eighteen months in 1860-1861, it became synonymous with the Old West.
Today, you can trace the Pony Express National Historic Trail at various points throughout Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California. Check here for sites and points of interest in each state. The Pony Express National Historic Trail was designated by Congress in 1992.
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument is located just north of Las Vegas, NV and is home to Ice Age fossils like mammoths, lions, and even camels. It's the "single largest and most diverse open-site assemblage of vertebrate fossils from the end of the Pleistocene epoch found in the Mojave Desert and the southern Great Basin". Even today, visitors are likely to find fossils as they hike around what is called the "Big Dig" site, a excavation expedition that was begun in 1962.
Tule Springs Fossil Beds became the 405th unit of the National Park Service on Dec. 19, 2014.
Read more about Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument and our 2023 visit here.