Region
Highlights
- Wheeler Peak is the highest point in Great Basin National Park
- Disputed high point of Nevada.
- The second-highest point in Nevada.
- One of the 57 Ultra Prominent Peaks in the Lower 48
- There is an established trail all the way to the summit.
- Wheeler Peak Summit Trail is the best route.
- Wheeler Peak climbing details from peakery member Ridings82: https://trekkinghigher.com/wheeler-peak-nevada
Routes
38 summits • 10.0 mi • 5,729 ft gain • 7 hr 52 min
4 summits • 8.9 mi • 2,838 ft gain • 5 hr 32 min
2 summits • 9.7 mi • 3,472 ft gain • 7 hr 20 min
1 summit • 11.1 mi • 3,822 ft gain • 8 hr 33 min
1 summit • 13.0 mi • 4,063 ft gain • 7 hr 12 min
1 summit • 6.8 mi • 3,886 ft gain • 6 hr 58 min
1 summit • 8.5 mi • 2,978 ft gain • 8 hr 18 min
1 summit • 9.7 mi • 3,189 ft gain • 6 hr 0 min
Latest summits
"Wheeler Peak via Doso Doyabi and Jefferson Needle.
Scrambling up Jefferson Needle is such a delight!
AllTrail: Wheeler Peak via Da-ek Dow Go-et Mountain Loop on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/nevada/wheeler-peak-via-da-ek-dow-go-et-mountain-loop?sh=5g0p2z" — ElenaZ • Aug 27, 2023
"Smoke had blown in overnight and was completely obscuring the basin on the drive up the road. The wind was pretty bad above treeline and was cutting through my gloves and leggings. The smoke was also getting worse as time passed. After seeing I had less than a mile left to the summit but nearly 1,900 feet to gain, I knew it was time for me to turn around. Being in that wind for a few more hours was not my idea of fun, and with the smoke obscuring the views, I didn’t think the suffering would be worth it. The fall colors were super pretty!" — kaylam87 • Sep 19, 2021
"It was super windy. Round trip was 4 1/2 hours with 30 mins on top taking in the views. There were two geological markers interestingly and plenty of "wind shelters" (rock walls) that shielded you from the strong winds. Surprisingly no snow outside of the glacier in late October. " — mchikes • Oct 21, 2020
"Finally, I've summited Wheeler Peak. Steep. So steep. And I'm out of shape because I've been sitting on my duff to finish my Ph.D. for the last 7 months. Also, Covid. But I did it! We did it! Wheeler is now a thing I have done. I need to come back and get Doso Doyabi (formerly Jeff Davis peak) and Bald nearby, and the other LVMC 50 peaks in the Great Basin/Snake Range area, but it was really meaningful to me to have my first peak post-Ph.D be Wheeler Peak, and almost 4 years later to the day from the first time I tried. " — psychikingjes • Aug 9, 2020
"7.11.2020~Wheeler Peak (13,065) & Jeff Davis Peak (12,775’) cirque Loop, solo. 8.5 miles, 4,000’ gain, 6:44hrs. 3,000’ to the top of Wheeler in 2:30hrs. This is a big “boy” mountaineer route and I was thinking of making it easy on myself and just doing a fast Wheeler but the Beast in me needed to suffer and accomplish something not many women (or people) do alone. The Descent of Jeff Davis was the most dangerous situation I have ever faced. I had to go down a steep grade on talus ranging in size between refrigerators and bowling balls and nothing stayed put. I just hoped my 120lb body had the grace to not set loose deadly rockfall onto myself. It was 1.5 miles of fear, finesse and exhaustion. The sun baked me as I suffered on this 2 hour section. When I stepped on the giant loose rocks, they made deep guttural sounds in the earth that sent shivers up my spine. Wheeler is the 2nd highest peak in NV and is in the Snake Range. It’s The highest independent mountain NV. I’m very proud to have taken on these glorious summits and am appreciative of my powerful body that carries me to the big mountain tops.
The last day of my trip,7.12.2020~Bald Peak (11,562’) solo & a visit to and dip i..." — paula.raimondi • Jul 11, 2020
"Camped at Baker Creek campground- the Wheeler campground was all full (Labor day weekend) and started around 8 am. The hike is fairly easy the first 3 miles - you just leasurly walk through the meadows and sub-alpine aspen forests. The last mile, not gonna lie, is pretty grueling. The trail is obvious, so just follow that. One step at a time!
We got lucky the weather was great — 65 all day and no wind. I hear that can be a problem for hikers.
Worth the effort! Great views all around. " — marinkayyy • Sep 1, 2018
"Drove up from Las Vegas with the Las Vegas Mountaineers Club to do a winter ascent of Wheeler. 7 drove up on Friday with the intention of starting on the trail around 830am. Myself, Amber & Jodie drove up early Saturday morning. We started on the trail from the Lower Lehman Creek Campground (around 7300 ft) at around 1130am. The road was closed from there. There wasn't much snow down low, but we put on our snowshoes about 1.5 miles in. The plan was to camp at Wheeler Peak Campground at about 10000 feet. We made it there around 3-4pm, taking our time. Once there, we found out that everyone else had just gotten there. All but a couple people left their snowshoes in the car, thinking that they wouldn't need them & had been postholing all day to camp. Yuck.
On Sunday, we woke up around 2am. Amber, Jodie & I hit the trail at about 330am in snowshoes. We were going to hike to Stella Lake, then gain the saddle between Wheeler & Bald, but we decided instead to ascend early & caught the trail a little further north, which we took to the saddle. Jose, Justine & Adam caught up to us on our way up to the saddle, where it was extremely windy. We started up the ridge anyways & g..." — Kevin • Mar 19, 2017
"First time to Great Basin NP and bagged the second highest peak in Nevada. It was very windy today with sustained 40-50mph winds. Made it tougher and felt very cold. The views were fantastic though and made putting up with the wind worth it in the end." — acekelly • Aug 7, 2016
"Took the long way up since the snow gate was closed. 16 miles round trip including a steep climb up a snowy couloir to get to the summit ridge. Fantastic day of hiking in solitude." — beaucheminjess • Apr 19, 2015
"Drove up from Vegas Friday night & camped out. Got up early on Saturday & took the trail up to Wheeler Peak. From there, we traversed over to Jeff Davis Peak, which was HELL! The views were awesome. The drop-offs were significant. The route was the devil! A mile of loose, basketball or larger sized boulders is not my idea of a good time, but eventually, we persevered! Unfortunately, the easiest way back was the way we came - back across the boulders and back up and over Wheeler Peak. Uggghhhh!! Believe it or not, the way back to Wheeler, even though it was more elevation gain, was much more pleasant. The storm clouds had started rolling in, so everyone had deserted the mountain. By the time we reached the summit of Wheeler again, there was nobody to be seen. We took our time heading down the same way we came up. Great day in a beautiful place!" — Kevin • Jun 7, 2014