Parking
Snake Creek Trailhead is at the end of Snake Creek Road. Park in designated spaces only; roadside and undesignated parking are prohibited.

Great Basin National Park, NV
A quick creekside stop with a small accessible fishing platform.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike

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.
See the Great Basin audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Snake Creek: Johnson Lake and the Old Mine“Up ahead are the Snake Creek trailheads, with a long hike to Johnson Lake and its old mining district.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Basin Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
Trail guide
Shoshone ADA Trail is a short out-and-back from Snake Creek Trailhead to a small wooden platform beside Snake Creek. The mapped approach is about 0.1 mile each way, so plan on 0.2 mile round trip and 10 to 20 minutes. The published 0.1-mile figure does not say whether it is one way or the full outing; this total treats it as the distance to the platform and back. It is nearly level and makes sense as a brief creek stop, not a major hike.
The wooden overlook has interpretive information and serves as a fishing area. Look around the small drops in Snake Creek for Bonneville cutthroat trout, an endemic fish that was once thought locally extinct. It's a nice place to slow down by the water for a few minutes.
The dirt route is classified as ADA accessible, but it isn't a smooth paved path. Rain and snow can roughen it, and wheelchair users may encounter bumps or have difficulty reaching the platform. Snake Creek Road is gravel and dirt, closes in winter because of snow and ice, and may be difficult for low-clearance or modified vehicles; use caution after heavy rain. Park only in designated spaces at the road-end trailhead; roadside parking is prohibited. Pit toilets without running water are at the trailhead, and potable water isn't available along Snake Creek Road. Pets aren't allowed on park trails except trained service animals.
Wildlife
22 sightingsElkMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
237 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
186 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
ChallengingJohnson Lake Trail via Snake Creek8 mi · 6 hr · At the trailheadA steep, high-altitude climb to an alpine lake and mine ruins.
ChallengingSnake Divide Route13.4 mi · 9.5 hr · At the trailheadAncient bristlecones reward a steep, faintly marked ridge hike.
EasySnake Creek Overlook Trail1.4 mi · 1 hr · At the trailheadA short walk leads to a quiet bench above the lower valley.
ModerateDead Lake Loop5.1 mi · 4 hr · At the trailheadA seasonal alpine lake and Snake Valley views reward the climb.
ModerateServiceberry Trail3.2 mi · 2 hr · 0.3 mi awaySwitchback views across open sagebrush toward Eagle and Granite peaks.
ChallengingTimber Creek Trail5.1 mi · 4.5 hr · 3.5 mi awayClimb through pines to a Pyramid Peak meadow, then loop back.
ChallengingBaker & Johnson Lakes Loop11.7 mi · 10 hr · 3.5 mi awayTwo high lakes and a century of tungsten mining.
ChallengingBaker Lake Trail10.4 mi · 8 hr · 3.5 mi awayA high alpine lake at the end of a full-day climb.
Sight · 2 mi awayJohnson Lake Mine Historic DistrictA tough climb into the story of a remote tungsten mine.
Sight · 2.8 mi awayJohnson LakeA high alpine lake with a long climb and mine cabins nearby.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayBaker LakeA high cirque lake at the end of a strenuous full-day climb.
Campground · 4.1 mi awayBaker Creek CampgroundA quiet base for Baker Lakes trails and dark-sky nights.
Campground · 4.7 mi awayGrey Cliffs CampgroundA 16-site tent campground beside limestone cliffs; bring your own water.
Sight · 4.8 mi awayUpper Pictograph CaveRed pictographs worth a look from outside the shelter.
Picnic area · 4.9 mi awayPole Canyon Trailhead Picnic AreaTake a shaded break at accessible tables with charcoal grills.
Sight · 5.3 mi awayWheeler PeakLong, exposed climb to Nevada’s second-highest summit.Parkwolf’s Great Basin ranking