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Shoeless · 05-04-2025, 02:14 PM

David and I stayed only one night here in mid-April, on our way through traveling south from WA to NV. We booked two nights, but ended up needing to get home sooner, so we bailed out a day early which was fine because the sites are only $20, so no big loss there.

The weather was sunny and chilly, the skies are SO DARK at night, which was one thing we looked forward to! Living in Las Vegas you can imagine we don't get truly dark skies at night, but Great Basin NP is one of the designated "Dark Sky" areas of the country. And yes, at Lower Lehman Campground. you can see SO MANY STARS!

The campsite we chose for our travel trailer (Site #1) was very private, as are ALL the sites in this very small campground! The privacy here is awesome. It's so nice to not be able to see and/or hear other folks talking when you're trying to spend a quiet evening by the campfire and stargaze.

We arrived in the morning, I set up for a client Zoom sitting outdoors at the provided picnic table (which is a dream come true for me!) and after my client session, we disconnected the trailer, hopped in the truck and drove up the mountain hoping to get to see the view from the Wheeler Peak Campground.

We got up past 9000 feet elevation but sadly the road was closed right at the Mather Outlook, so we could go no higher and didn't get to see Wheeler Peak. However we stopped at Mather Outlook and enjoyed the stunning views from up there (obligatory selfie attached!), and marveled at the views just driving to and from the overlook. While driving back down from the overlook, we also saw a small flock of wild turkeys including two males in full display which was cool!

There are no electric hookups and there are common access potable water spigots at a few spots but not individual site water hookups. One thing to know about Lower Lehman is that the potable water spigots are not operational in April, likely because the nighttime temps still get into the freezing zone. That was a tiny bit inconvenient because we wanted to refill our fresh tank and our spare portable tank, but it didn't detract from our stay. There is no dump here either, but there are public restrooms across from site #1 where we stayed.

There are several pull-through sites and several back-in sites. Our rig is 40' including the truck, and we just barely fit into site #1.

The privacy of each site, combined with the natural beauty, high views nearby, great price and with potable water in the warmer months, we'd definitely stay here again and probably will!

SeeTheUSA · 05-05-2025, 06:41 AM

Thanks for the review! Great Basin NP is a jewel, glad we went there a couple of years ago. Hiked up to see the bristlecone pines, which are amazing.

fcbbob15 · 05-05-2025, 07:08 AM

Great place to visit. Did you get to take the Lehman Caves tour? I've been on the tour 42 times and still learn something every time. Great Basin National Park is my favorite Park. The Wheeler peak campground is at approximately 10,000 feet elevation. Vehicles over 24 feet are not allowed up there due to the tight turns on the road. I now live in Ely Nevada 60 miles from the park and visit it more often. Anyone needing information please PM me.

jl.kauai · 05-05-2025, 03:40 PM

Great to hear it’s back open. Last June we were there and it was closed for remodel and water was off at the upper campground which was great. The host in the upper campground is very nice. This one is not for big rigs. You can always get water at the lower lodge but only bringing your own tote. Skies are definitely dark. Be mindful of the steep grades getting to the campgrounds. Deceiving. Travato John.

Gr8bawana · 05-07-2025, 02:47 PM

Great Basin is a great place to visit. I'm glad it's so remote so it will probably never be as crowded as a lot of other National parks.
We've done the cavern tour a number of times and it never gets old.

Shoeless · 05-09-2025, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fcbbob15

Great place to visit. Did you get to take the Lehman Caves tour? I've been on the tour 42 times and still learn something every time. Great Basin National Park is my favorite Park. The Wheeler peak campground is at approximately 10,000 feet elevation. Vehicles over 24 feet are not allowed up there due to the tight turns on the road. I now live in Ely Nevada 60 miles from the park and visit it more often. Anyone needing information please PM me.

We only stayed one night and we didn't do the Lehman Caves tour. We would love to see the view from Wheeler Peak next time we go!

ppine · 05-10-2025, 08:13 AM

When People ask about Nevada I mostly just tell them it is nothing but cactus and rocks. 87% public land. I have a million acre backyard of public land. We call our residence Minden National Park.