Great Basin National Park Operating Hours & Seasons

Great Basin National Park is open to visitors all year round. More remote park areas do sometimes need to close during the winter time due to heavy snowfall or mud.

Great Basin National Park Facilities

Lehman Caves Visitor Center – this visitor center is also open year round, between the hours of 8am and 4.30pm Pacific Time. The visitors center is closed on New Years Day, Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day.

The Lehman Caves Visitor Center is on Nevada Highway 488, a little over 5 miles from Baker and only half a mile inside the boundary of the park. Here you can book Lehman Cave Tours plus find out lots of park information, theater, exhibits, orientation film, brochures . . . just tons of stuff to make your visit to Great Basin National Park more enjoyable.

Lehman Cave Tours are available daily throughout the year. There are also some special stargazing programs and evening campfire programs to enjoy. During the winter you can even rent snow shoes from the Lehman Caves Visitor Center – I think they’ve thought of just about everything.

Great Basin Visitor Center – is only open between the months of May and October, between the hours of 8am and 5pm Pacific Time. Located to the west of Nevada Highway 487, just a little to the north of the town of Baker. Here you’ll find lots of information designed to help you enjoy your trip to Great Basin National Park.

Great Basin National Park Roads

The weather can play a very important part in your visit to Great Basin National Park, and many of the parks roads are definitely at the mercy of the weather. The park is in a remote area and many of the roads are passable only using high clearance, 4 wheel drive vehicles.

• Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive – this road is paved but is also very steep (well, Wheeler Peak is very high). The road is steep, it’s winding and has an average grade of around 8%.
• The Scenic Drive which goes beyond the Upper Lehman Creek Campground is not accessible to single vehicles which are in excess of 24 feet long, or of trailers which exceed that length. The road as far as the campground is generally open all year round, but the upper portion of the road opens only between June and October, and even then it’s dependent on the weather.
• Baker Creek Road is a graded gravel road which is usually open between the months of May and November, but again, it’s dependent on the weather.
• Other remote park roads such as Snake, Strawberry and Lexington are open throughout the year, although during the winter and spring they may be very snowy or muddy. You’re not recommended to attempt these roads unless you have a high clearance vehicle, and even so you’ve gotta’ take it slow and use extra care.