6 NEVADA RANGES GUIDE NO. 6.2

WHEELER PEAK 13063 FEET CLASS 1

MILEAGE: 600 miles of paved road

DRIVE: From Las Vegas, NV. drive 22 miles N on Interstate 15 to signed Exit 64 for Pioche and Ely, NV.

Drive N here on US Route 93 for 234 miles to the small town of Major's Place, NV. Turn right (E) on US

Routes 6/50 and drive 30 miles to State Route 487, where you'll turn right (SE) toward Baker, NV. In about 5

miles, on the outskirts of Baker, turn right on State Route 488 and follow it about 5 miles to a fork just before

the Great Basin National Park Visitors Center. Make a right here and drive 12 miles on the signed road

leading to the Wheeler Peak Campground. At a sharp left turn about 0.2 miles before the campground, pull

out and park at the signed Wheeler Peak Trailhead. As an alternate, park 0.6 miles N of the trailhead at BM

10161 and save yourself about 200 feet of elevation gain by taking the trail found there.

CLIMB: There are two trails leaving from this trailhead; the left one which heads past Teresa and Brown

Lakes on its way up to a pocket glacier in the cirque below the impressive N face of Wheeler, and the right

one, which will take you to the top of Wheeler. Follow this right trail for just under a mile to a fork, where a

side trail leads left, down to Stella Lake. Keeping right (N) here, follow the uphill trail as it eventually turns

back S and gains the ridge above Stella Lake. From the ridge it's a constant uphill grind on mostly good but

sometimes faint trail to the summit.

ROUND TRIP STATS: 3100 feet elevation gain, 8.5 miles, 6 hours

SIDELINES

1. Wheeler Peak is the highpoint of the Great Basin National Park and the second highest peak in the state of

Nevada, being just 77 feet shorter that Boundary Peak. The mountain was named for Captain George M.

Wheeler of the US Army Engineers. He was the leader of a survey group west of the 100th meridian between

1875 and 1889.

2. There is good camping available at the following nearby places: Lower Lehman Creek CG, 7,500 ft. elev.,

11 sites, water, open year round; Upper Lehman Creek CG, 7,800 ft. elev., 24 sites, water, open May 21-Oct

15; Baker Creek CG, 8,000 ft. elev., 20 sites, open May 21-Sep 21; Wheeler Peak CG, 9,950 ft. elev., 37 sites,

water, open June 7-Oct 15. These campgrounds fill up fast on holiday weekends.

3. Lehman Caves, located adjacent to the Visitors Center is one of the main attractions in the Park. The

caves, which began forming some 5 million years ago are a labyrinth of corridors and winding tunnels

connecting larger chambers with impressive arrays of stalactites, stalagmites, pallettes, and other unusual cave

formations. Cave tours are conducted daily and there is a modest admission fee. Tickets are available at the

Visitors Center.