Wheeler Peak — Snake Range Summit Viewpoint

You can’t drive Bunker Hill Road or poke around the White Pine Creek drainage without Wheeler Peak dominating the skyline. The summit glacier — one of only a handful of permanent ice fields in the Great Basin — is visible from the road. The cirque below holds bristlecone pines pushing 5,000 years old. This is the anchor for the whole region: when you’re navigating the backcountry around Baker, this peak is your compass.

The Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive inside Great Basin NP brings you to 10,000 feet of elevation by pavement. Above that it’s your boots. Afternoon thunderstorms roll in fast in July and August — if you’re on the ridge above treeline after noon in monsoon season, you’ve made a poor decision. Best views from the summit or the alpine lake trail are June through September.

Nevada's granite giant above the basin floor.