10 Best Sights in Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Though the park has several bristlecone pine groves, the only way to see the gnarled, ancient trees up close is to hike this trail. From the parking area to the grove, it's a moderate 2.8-mile hike that takes about an hour each way. Rangers offer informative talks in season; inquire at the visitor center. The Bristlecone Pine Trail also leads to the Glacier Trail, which skirts the southernmost permanent ice field on the continent and ends with a view of a small rock glacier, the only one in Nevada. It's less than 3 miles back to the parking lot. Allow three hours for the moderate hike and remember the trailhead is at 9,800 feet above sea level. Moderate.

While Indigenous people were the first to explore and use the caves, rancher and miner Absalom Lehman is credited with discovering this underground wonder in 1885. The single limestone and marble cavern is 2½ miles long, with stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, flowstone, popcorn, and other bizarre mineral formations that cover almost every surface. Lehman Caves is one of the best places to see rare shield formations, created when calcite-rich water is forced from tiny cracks in a cave wall, ceiling, or floor. Year-round the cave maintains a constant, damp temperature of 50°F, so wear a light jacket and nonskid shoes. Go for the full 90-minute tour if you have time; during summer, it's offered several times a day, as is the 60-minute tour. Expect daily tours during the winter. Children under age five are not allowed on the 90-minute tours, except during the winter; those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Take the 0.3-mile Mountain View Nature Trail beforehand to see the original cave entrance and Rhodes Cabin, where black-and-white photographs of the park's earlier days line the walls.

Get tickets as far in advance as possible at recreation.gov. Tours can sell out months in advance.

The biggest attraction in Ely draws train aficionados from near and far. During the mining boom, the Nevada Northern Railroad connected East Ely, Ruth, and McGill to the transcontinental rail line in the northeast corner of the state. The whole operation is now a museum open year-round and watched over by its famed cat mascot, Dirt, who receives food and gifts from fans across the country. You can tour the depot, offices, warehouses, yard, engine houses, and repair shops. Catch a ride on one of the vintage locomotives, and get history lessons from enthusiastic guides along the way (check website for times). You can even stay overnight in a caboose or bunkhouse.

This is an idyllic spot 7,350 feet above sea level in the pine and juniper forest of the big Schell Creek Range that borders Ely to the east. You can spend a day fishing for rainbow and brown trout in the reservoir and a night sleeping under the stars. Arrive early; it gets crowded. Access may be restricted in winter.

Youngsters answer questions and complete activities related to the park and then are sworn in as Junior Rangers and receive a Great Basin Bristlecone badge.

This picnic site, with tables, water, and restrooms (the latter two available during the summer), is a short walk from the visitor center. Summer hours are often extended beyond the standard 8 am–4:30 pm.

Just past the Rhodes Cabin on the right side of the visitor center, this short and easy trail (0.3 mile) through pinyon pine and juniper trees is marked with signs describing the plants. The path passes the original entrance to Lehman Caves and loops back to the visitor center. It's a great way to spend a half hour or so while you wait for your cave tour to start. Easy.

In 1890, at a cost of $108,223, the Osceola Gravel Mining Company constructed an 18-mile-long trench. The ditch was part of an attempt to glean gold from the South Snake Range, but water shortages and the company's failure to find much gold forced the mining operation to shut down in 1905. You can reach portions of the eastern section of the ditch on foot via the Osceola Ditch Trail, which passes through pine and fir trees and has interpretive signs along the way. Allow 30 minutes for this easy 0.3-mile round-trip hike. Easy.

In the quiet desert south of Ely, this row of six beehive-shaped, 30-foot-tall ovens used to process 35 cords of wood at once. From 1876 to 1879, the ovens turned vast forests of pinyon, juniper, and mountain mahogany into charcoal, which was used for refining local silver and copper ore. It's a well-preserved piece of unique mining history, and the park includes a campground, hiking trails, and a creek good for fishing.