Accessibility

Great Basin National Park offers a variety of opportunities to enjoy the area for those persons with disabilities. Much can be learned about Great Basin National Park from your vehicle and from facilities and programs that are accessible.

Visitor Center
The visitor center is fully accessible. The lobby, information desk, book sales area, Lehman Caves Cafe and Gift Shop, exhibits, and audiovisual programs are all on one level. Ranger activities held in or near the visitor center, such as patio talks, are also on this level. The Great Basin National Park slide show is captioned. A wheelchair is available for use in the visitor center and for entry into the first room of Lehman Caves. Ask for availability at the front desk.

Parking and Restrooms

Designated parking spaces are available at the visitor center with a ramp over the curb. Ride the lift up to the main Visitor Center level, and enjoy the mural depicting the park along the way up. A drinking fountain, pay phone and unisex restroom are also available at this level.

Camping and Picnic Areas
Three park campgrounds have accessible sites, generally located next to accessible restrooms: Upper Lehman Creek Campground (site #2), Wheeler Peak Campground (site # 5), and Baker Creek Campground (sites # 11 and #27). Each campsite has a picnic table, fire grate, and tent pad. Check at the visitor center on water availability. Camping is on a first-come, first-served basis. When the campgrounds fill, these sites are made available for all campers. Note: Persons using the Upper Lehman Creek Campground restroom access ramp may require assistance, due to its steepness.The picnic area near the visitor center has accessible restrooms and a cut curb provides access to a table and fire grate.

Fees
Golden Access Passport holders are entitled to a 50% discount on camping and cave tour fees. Inquire at the visitor center information desk about this lifetime pass that is available at no cost for U.S. Citizens and permanent residents who have been medically determined to be blind or permanently disabled.

Seeing the Park

Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive
This 12 mile drive is an ideal way to gain an appreciation of the various plant communities and their diverse beauty as you wind your way to an elevation of 10,000 feet. There are several overlooks that have good "windshield" viewing points and interpretive pull-outs. The Wheeler Peak Overlook and Mather Overlook offer breathtaking views of the valley below and Wheeler Peak above. The Osceola Ditch pull-out has an accessible, roadside exhibit that offers a glimpse back to 1889-90, when an 18 mile ditch was constructed to divert water for placer gold mining. The road is closed in the winter.

Baker Creek Road
This road has a well-maintained gravel surface with excellent views of Wheeler Peak, the Baker Creek drainage and Snake Valley below. There are no pull-outs or overlooks. The road ends at the Baker/Johnson Lake Trailhead where in the early summer, the wildflowers are plentiful and colorful. The road is closed in the winter. Information about lesser maintained roads can be obtained at the visitor center.

Lehman Caves Tours
Tours through Lehman Caves are offered throughout the year. Visitors in wheelchairs can access the first room of the cave, the Gothic Palace, where one can view many spectacular cave formations. The slope of the trail is steep and assistance is necessary to safely enter and exit the cave. Visitors with poor vision should be aware of the low lighting in the cave. This lighting scheme is designed to accentuate the cave features and aid in resource protection by reducing algae growth in the cave.

 

Other Ranger-led Activities
The park and visitor center are staffed throughout the year, and the rangers are available to answer questions about park resources and the surrounding area. In the summer, there are a variety of ranger-guided activities. Evening programs are offered during this time in Upper Lehman Creek and Wheeler Peak campground amphitheaters. Both programs are accessible and are a wonderful way to wrap up a day in Great Basin National Park. At the visitor center, 15 minute Patio Talks cover a wide variety of subjects about the natural and cultural resources of the Great Basin.

Assisted Listening Devices
Assisted listening devices are available for use with any ranger-led programs including cave walks, Bristlecone hikes, evening programs, kids programs, and patio talks. Talk to a Ranger at the Visitor Center about using one before the start of the program.

Recreational Hazards
Be aware of hazards that exist while seeing the park, such as hypothermia, altitude sickness, dehydration, and extreme changes in weather. Inquire at the visitor center for more information concearning these and other hazards.