Great Basin National Park straddles the border between Nevada and Utah, offering a very fragile ecosystem that is teeming with life. You'll be in awe of this unique landscape featuring the 13,000-foot Wheeler Peak, meadows and low hills full of sage, and majestic caves.
The one-of-a-kind bristlecone pines, which may be the oldest nonclonal life forms on Earth, are just one example. Rather scrubby trees like this one are common in the lowlands. Thick carpets of fir, pine, and other tall trees dominate the higher elevations. There is more life in the midst of all this life. Rabbits, squirrels, and other small mammals live in the lowlands. In the mountains, visitors often catch glimpses of bobcats, cougars, and other larger predatory animals. Elk and mule deer are in the mix as well.
Ancient glaciers and volcanoes made the area what it is today. Those huge glaciers melted at the end of the Ice Age, so much of this area was once a giant sea bed. As an International Dark Sky Park, Great Basin National Park offers one of the best areas in the West to gaze up at the stars and soak in the majesty of the Milky Way. There are many outdoor activities to enjoy at the park, including fishing, hiking, horseback riding, rock climbing, and even pine nut gathering.
An RV is definitely the best way to experience Great Basin National Park. Think of it as a mobile hotel room, so a comfortable spot is always only a few steps away. There are a variety of RV campgrounds to enjoy. Some are large, where you can connect with RVers from other parts of the country. Others are smaller, so you can experience the desert isolation that has attracted so many people to this area for so many years.