Above Baker, the sagebrush stops and Wheeler Peak goes straight up, bristlecone pines on its shoulders and alpine ground above them. The Grand Palace in Lehman Caves is under that same mountain, a ranger-led chamber you book before you arrive. After dark the Milky Way comes up over Doso Doyabi from Mather Overlook, and Great Basin is an International Dark Sky Park.
Lock the campsite before the van, and sleep the first night at Lower Lehman Creek. It stays open all year with no potable water. Upper Lehman Creek and Wheeler Peak Campground close from the end of September through May, while Baker Creek runs Memorial Day through Labor Day.
The Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive is the paved climb toward that bristlecone line. Past Upper Lehman Creek, the Park Service does not permit vehicles and trailers over 24 feet on it, as of September 2026. Lower Lehman Creek still takes RVs and trailers up to 40 feet, so if you need more sleeping space than a short van, a Nevada RV rental sleeps down there and drives no farther up.
The Loneliest Road, US-50
Across the middle of Nevada, US-50 keeps the Loneliest Road name. Austin and Eureka break the basins with their main streets, Fallon at one end of the empty stretch and Ely at the other.
East of Fallon, Sand Mountain is a dune wall out of a flat basin. The BLM allows primitive camping at the base. There is no water on site.
Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park keeps the 1890s mining street and a Fossil House with ichthyosaur remains inside. The campground stays open all year. Fossil House tours run daily Memorial Day through Labor Day, weekends in the shoulder.
Near Austin, Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area is a BLM night beside the rock art. Spencer Hot Springs is a primitive soak.
Ely is the year-round corridor night, and it is where US-50 meets the Great Basin Highway. Cave Lake State Park is a trout reservoir with a campground that stays open all year. Ward Charcoal Ovens nearby has the six beehive kilns, once a stagecoach-bandit hideout.
Lamoille Canyon and the Ruby Mountains
From Elko, Lamoille Canyon is glacier-cut granite and waterfalls along the canyon road, with the view from the campground at the mouth and the Ruby Crest Trail starting in the canyon.
Thomas Canyon Campground is the Forest Service overnight, about 30 miles from Elko. Sites are a mix of reservable and first-come from mid-May to early September.
Cathedral Gorge and the Great Basin Highway
Cathedral Gorge is bentonite spires and slot passages you walk into, right off US-93. The campground stays open all year.
Kershaw-Ryan, Echo Canyon, and Spring Valley continue along the same highway, each with a developed campground. Beaver Dam is the gravel end, and the park has no cell service once you are inside, with sites sized for one vehicle and a small trailer.
Nonresidents pay a camping surcharge at Nevada state parks, as of September 2026. Book the site before you count on the night.
Red Rock, the Spring Mountains, Valley of Fire, Lake Mead, and Death Valley belong to Las Vegas. Tahoe and Pyramid Lake belong to Reno, and the playa belongs to Burning Man. Baker is on the Utah line. Tonopah, Winnemucca, and West Wendover are the stops on the long roads, and the Extraterrestrial Highway runs out to Rachel.