Welcome

The Astronomy Festival is held during the of the new moon in September. Here's the link to the park information page: Great Basin Astronomy Festival.

Nevada leaders are excited to announce the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is providing a $160,000 grant to the Nevada-based Great Basin Institute (GBI) to establish the nation’s first-ever professional recreation trail building school in Ely, Nevada. The EDA grant will fund feasibility studies, economic analyses, and other preliminary work to support creation of the trail building school. The school will be open to Nevadans as well as all current and aspiring outdoor recreation professionals throughout the country.

We are happy to welcome park visitors to Great Basin to view the night skies together. Everyone can enjoy the night sky in their own way. This year's festival events will include guest speakers, photo workshops, tours of the Great Basin Observatory (GBO), and other fun programs for families. The park is excited to welcome back amateur astronomer volunteers and their telescopes for an out of this world star party each night of the festival.

The 2020 Great Basin Astronomy Festival will be different than in years past. In an effort to keep everyone safe many guest speakers and programs will be virtual. Other programs at the park will be by reservation only and follow state directives and social distancing best practices. See the Park website for details.

Portions of Great Basin National Park are open for day use. These include:

• Entrance road to the Lehman Caves Visitor Center
• Scenic Drive to Mather Overlook (six of twelve miles open)
• Baker Creek road and trailhead
• Snake Creek road and trailhead
• Strawberry Creek road and trailhead
• Restrooms at Lehman Caves Visitor Center and Great Basin Visitor Center on a rotating schedule (only restrooms open within the park)
• Hiking trails at Great Basin National Park (though many trails are still covered in deep snow at higher elevations)
• The park grounds are open for Day Use only. Day use is defined as the time from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset.

Both visitor centers, all campgrounds, all concessions, and the RV dump station remain closed. For more information, see the May 14 Park news release.

Following guidance from the CDC and recommendations from state and local public health in consultation with NPS Public Health Service officers, Great Basin National Park is temporarily closed. Updates will be posted to the park website and social media. -NPS

Follow this link for the latest news from the park: https://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Great Basin National Park Is Modifying Operations To Implement Local Health Guidance

Great Basin National Park, in response to Nevada Directive -003 issued by the Governor of the State of Nevada, is announcing additional modifications to operations to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

As of noon March 25, 2020, Great Basin National Park will be closing Lower Lehman Creek Campground. Services, outside those that support visitor or resource protection are suspended. At Great Basin National Park, the following services and operations will be suspended in order to comply with the state order:

Lower Lehman Creek Campground, all other campgrounds are closed under normal winter closures.
The restrooms on the Baker Creek Road, near Grey Cliffs, and on Strawberry Creek road will be closed.
Snake Creek Road continues to be closed under a winter closure.
Lehman Caves Visitor Center and Lehman caves and tours are closed. Great Basin Visitor Center is closed under normal winter closure.

The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners at Great Basin National Park is our number one priority. The National Park Service (NPS) is working with federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor COVID-19. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide updates on our website www.nps.gov/grba and social media channels.

Outdoor spaces at Great Basin National Park remain accessible to the public in accordance with the latest federal, state, and local health guidance, in addition to entry fees being waived for visitors.

Park trails will remain open please maintain proper social distancing, medical care is at least an hour away.
Park rangers remain on duty protecting the parks, and normal rules and regulations continue to apply.
Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive is open for the first three miles.
Baker Creek Road is open to the winter gate and parking area.
Strawberry Creek Road is open, ice, snow and mud may be present travel with caution.

The NPS encourages people who choose to visit Great Basin National Park during this pandemic to adhere to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local public health authorities to protect visitors and employees. As services are limited, the NPS urges visitors to continue to practice Leave No Trace principles, including pack-in and pack-out, to keep outdoor spaces safe and healthy.

The NPS encourages people to take advantage of the many digital tools already available to explore Great Basin National Park, including:

Viewing our Ranger Minutes to learn about some of the special features of Great Basin National Park: https://www.nps.gov/grba/learn/photosmultimedia/rangerminutes.htm
Work on a Junior Ranger Book: https://www.nps.gov/grba/learn/upload/GRBA-Junior-reduced-file.pdf
Follow GreatBasinNPS on Facebook and Twitter
Download Next Generation and Utah State standard science lessons from our Partners the Great Basin National Park Foundation on the Great Basin Observatory site: http://www.greatbasinobservatory.org/educators
Or join the Great Basin National Park Foundation’s Education Team live for mini-lessons and chats. https://www.facebook.com/GBObservatory/

Updates about NPS operations will be posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus. Please check with individual parks for specific details about park operations. -NPS

The park remains open but the visitor center is closed. Rangers are on hand to answer questions and assist visitors.

Read this great article in the Reno Review-Journal.