Shoshone Mountains Loop

The Shoshone Mountains rise like a fortress from the central Nevada desert, harboring ghost towns, Joshua tree forests, and mining roads that haven’t seen regular traffic since the 1940s. This challenging loop connects the ruins of Ione with the Berlin ghost town through some of Nevada’s most remote terrain, crossing Pony Canyon at 8,200 feet where snow lingers into June and ancient bristlecone pines cling to exposed ridges. The technical descent into Union Canyon tests your line choice through loose shale and granite boulders the size of pickup trucks.

This is serious 4WD country requiring lockers or at minimum limited-slip differentials, plus recovery gear and spare parts. Summer heat makes this brutal—spring and fall offer the best conditions, though expect snow at elevation from November through May. No services for 80 miles in any direction, so carry extra fuel, water, and food. The payoff is profound solitude in one of Nevada’s last truly wild places, where you might not see another vehicle for days and the night sky burns with stars undimmed by any city within 200 miles.