Great Basin National Park
The Great Basin physiographic region covers most of Nevada, the western third of Utah, smaller portions of eastern California, southeastern Oregon, and southern Idaho. This 210,000 square mile area is bordered by California’s Sierra Nevada Range to the west, Utah’s Wasatch Range to the east, the south edge of the Columbia Plateau to the north, and the Mojava Desert to the south. Great Basin National Park, which encompasses just a small portion of the entire basin, is still huge and one of our newer National Parks!
Sightseeing in Great Basin National Park
We will explore several different eco-areas of this amazing natural wonder, including high alpine, pine forests, old mining claims, sagebrush plains, a rare, naturally made limestone arch, and underground caves. The area is also home to the Great Basin Bristlecone pine, the world’s oldest known living trees. As a species, bristlecone pine has inhabited the Great Basin for 40,000 years, and many live for several thousand years. This park is also a designated Dark Sky Park, with Ranger led astronomy sessions. We have specifically scheduled the tour with the moon phase in mind for best dark sky viewing.
We have learned that our lesser visited National Parks are truly unique and fascinating, made more compelling by the lack of crowds. The small selection of amenities is a small price to pay to be able to explore this unique and fascinating area, and we are excited to include Great Basin National Park in our lineup of hiking tours.