Picnic area · Great Basin National Park
Take a shaded break at accessible tables with charcoal grills.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Basin Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Great Basin National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Grey Cliffs and Pole Canyon: A Shaded Lunch Stop“You're nearing Grey Cliffs and the access to Pole Canyon's picnic area. For a lunch break, choose the day-use tables and charcoal grills, with shade among the trees and accessible tables on paved ground.”
Plays as you drive up to Pole Canyon Trailhead Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Great Basin Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Pole Canyon Trailhead Picnic Area is a small day-use picnic site at the entrance to Pole Canyon, off Baker Creek Road. It’s an easy place to stop for lunch in the shade, away from the busier visitor center. Come for a practical break among the trees; this isn’t a viewpoint.
There are several picnic tables, including accessible tables on paved, low-grade areas, plus charcoal grills. Bring your own food, charcoal, and drinking water: there’s no potable water on Baker Creek Road. The restroom is a pit toilet without running water. Pack out grill ashes.
The separate Pole Canyon Trail starts at the same access and climbs through meadow and conifer forest toward a mountain pass and views of Baker Peak. Pets are allowed at the picnic area, but not on the trail except trained service animals.
Wildlife
22 sightingsElkMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
237 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
185 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
22 sightingsRattlesnakeMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
23 sightingsDusky GrouseMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
18 sightingsThree-toed WoodpeckerMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Great Basin. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModeratePole Canyon Trail6.6 mi · 4.5 hr · 0.2 mi awayA gradual creek climb, a sharp pass, and a smarter way round.
ChallengingBaker & Johnson Lakes Loop11.7 mi · 10 hr · 2.1 mi awayTwo high lakes and a century of tungsten mining.
ChallengingTimber Creek Trail5.1 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayClimb through pines to a Pyramid Peak meadow, then loop back.
ChallengingJohnson Lake via Baker Creek9.8 mi · 6.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayA steep climb to a high lake and old tungsten mine ruins.
ModerateBaker Creek Loop3.3 mi · 2.3 hr · 2.1 mi awayCreek crossings, hillside switchbacks, and a meadow return.ChallengingBaker Lake Trail10.4 mi · 8 hr · 2.1 mi awayA high alpine lake at the end of a full-day climb.
ModerateLower Lehman Trail1.1 mi · 45 min · 2.4 mi awayA short creekside walk with about 230 feet of climbing.
ChallengingLehman Creek Trail6.4 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA 6.4-mile out-and-back climb through aspens to Wheeler Peak views.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayUpper Pictograph CaveRed pictographs worth a look from outside the shelter.
Campground · 0.5 mi awayGrey Cliffs CampgroundA 16-site tent campground beside limestone cliffs; bring your own water.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayRV Dump StationAn RV utility stop just inside the park entrance.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayLehman CavesMore than 300 rare shields make this cave’s ceiling the draw.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayLehman OrchardOld orchard trees and a historic aqueduct tell a cave-side farming story.
Visitor center · 1.2 mi awayLehman Caves Visitor CenterCave-tour check-in, a model cave, and a night-sky room.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayRhodes CabinA small cabin tied to Lehman Caves' early tourist trade.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayAstronomy AmphitheaterA ranger talk, then telescope viewing beneath a dark sky.Parkwolf’s Great Basin ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
