Featured Nevada locations are listed below, and shown on the
Nevada map - these are the most scenic locations in this relatively little-visted state, and include canyons, deserts, lakes, mountains, eroded rock formations and scenic drives.
Other Nevada listings:
National Parks,
State Parks
Nevada National and State Parks
★★★★★
BASIN AND RANGE National Monument - large area of valleys and mountains north of Crystal Springs; typical landscapes of the Great Basin |
★★★★★
BEAVER DAM State Park - remote area near the Utah border, centered on a deep, forested, steep-sided canyon |
★★★★★
BERLIN-ICHTHYOSAUR State Historic Park - fossil exposures and a mining ghost town, in a remote location |
★★★★★
BIG BEND OF THE COLORADO State Recreation Area - beaches, wetlands, rocky hills and sandy desert, beside the Colorado River |
★★★★★
CATHEDRAL GORGE State Park - fantastic eroded rock formations with narrow ravines and caves |
★★★★★
CAVE LAKE State Park - reservoir in a remote valley, enclosed by limestone hills |
★★★★★
DAYTON State Park - short, wooded section of the Carson River, and relics from an 1860s silver mill |
★★★★★
DEATH VALLEY National Park - starkly beautiful desert wilderness contained within the largest NPS preserve outside Alaska (described in the California section) |
★★★★★
ECHO CANYON State Park - remote reservoir, in a scenic canyon lined by volcanic rocks |
★★★★★
FORT CHURCHILL State Historic Park - historic mail station and the remains of a US army fort, plus a section of the Carson River |
★★★★★
GOLD BUTTE National Monument - rugged Mojave Desert region of plains and peaks, north of Lake Mead |
★★★★★
GREAT BASIN National Park - isolated mountains featuring varied climate zones, limestone caverns, a glacier and far reaching views over the Great Basin Desert |
★★★★★
KERSHAW-RYAN State Park - short, spring-fed canyon near Caliente, cultivated in the 1870s |
★★★★★
LAHONTAN State Recreation Area - reservoir along the Carson River, surrounded by sandy, high desert land |
★★★★★
LAKE MEAD National Recreation Area - extensive desert region centered around a large lake on the Colorado River, formed by Hoover Dam (described in the Arizona section) |
★★★★★
LAKE TAHOE NEVADA State Park - sandy beaches on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, plus hiking trails and backcountry lakes |
★★★★★
MORMON STATION State Historic Park - replica of an 1850s trading post, at the foot of the Carson Range in the far west of the state |
★★★★★
OLD LAS VEGAS MORMON FORT State Historic Park - mostly reconstructed remains of the earliest non-native settlement in Las Vegas |
★★★★★
RED ROCK CANYON National Conservation Area - red cliffs and canyons in the Spring Mountains west of Las Vegas |
★★★★★
SLOAN CANYON National Conservation Area - volcanic peaks and rocky ravines south of Las Vegas, including many ancient petroglyphs |
★★★★★
SPRING MOUNTAIN RANCH State Park - collection of ranch buildings adjoining the Spring Mountains just west of Las Vegas |
★★★★★
SPRING VALLEY State Park - flat-floored valley, low hills, historic buildings and a reservoir, in a remote location east of Pioche |
★★★★★
TULE SPRINGS FOSSIL BEDS National Monument - desert washes, mud hills and creosote bush plains north of Las Vegas, site of many Ice Age fossil discoveries |
★★★★★
VALLEY OF FIRE State Park - weathered landscape of red, yellow and pink sandstone, close to Lake Mead. The park also has petrified dunes, narrow canyons, sheer cliffs and petroglyphs |
★★★★★
WARD CHARCOAL OVENS State Historic Park - six well-preserved charcoal kilns dating from 1876, in the foothills of the Egan Range south of Ely |
★★★★★
WASHOE LAKE State Park - dunes and wetlands beside a large lake near Carson City |
Other Scenic Places
★★★★★
ARROW CANYON - deep ravine through limestone strata in the northern Mojave Desert |
★★★★★
ASH MEADOWS National Wildlife Refuge - large springs at the edge of the Mojave Desert, including Devils Hole |
★★★★★
BLACK ROCK DESERT - epitome of Nevada's basin and range landscapes; a vast dry lake bed in the remote northwest, home to the Burning Man festival |
★★★★★
LAKE TAHOE - major center for recreation, surrounded by high granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains (described in the California section) |
★★★★★
LAS VEGAS - the reason why most people visit Nevada |
★★★★★
LITTLE FINLAND - amazing, intricate formations of deep red Aztec sandstone |
★★★★★
LUNAR CRATER National Natural Landmark - volcanic formations in a very remote part of central Nevada |
★★★★★
MOUNT CHARLESTON - 11,918 foot peak in the Spring Mountains near Las Vegas, popular for hiking, camping and skiing |
★★★★★
PANACA KILNS - well-preserved charcoal kilns from the 1870s |
★★★★★
PYRAMID LAKE - saline lake in the remote deserts of the northwest, surrounded by sagebrush flats, scattered tufa formations and desolate mountains |
★★★★★
SCENIC DRIVES - long, scenic highways across Nevada: I-80, US 50, US 93, NV 305, NV 375 (the 'Extraterrestrial Highway') and NV 376 |
★★★★★
WHITNEY POCKETS - colorful desert area north of Lake Mead, featuring unusual eroded formations of deep red sandstone |
Choose from over 190 Nevada hotels in 30 towns and cities, including
park hotels and
interstate hotels
Locations include:
Carson City,
Elko,
Fallon,
Fernley,
Henderson,
Las Vegas,
North Las Vegas,
Reno,
Sparks,
Winnemucca
Nevada Travel Itineraries
Great Basin Desert - loop around the edge of America's largest desert, visiting such places as Antelope Island, Black Rock Desert, Bodie, Cathedral Gorge, Mono Lake, Pyramid Lake, Warner Valley and Great Basin National Park
Plants of Nevada
Cacti - photos and descriptions of 18 Nevada cactus species; genera are cylindropuntia, echinocactus, echinocereus, ferocactus, mammillaria, opuntia and pediocactus
Flowers - Nevada wildflowers and flowering shrubs; photographs and identifying characteristics, arranged by the most common color groups (blue, orange, pink, purple, red, white and yellow)