Nevada’s Black Rock Desert Beyond Burning Man

Plan your Expedition to Nevada's Legendary Black Rock Desert

Nevada’s Black Rock Desert hosts one of the world’s most captivating cultural experiences of the modern era – Burning Man.  But the Black Rock High Rock Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (as it is officially known) offers far more than one week’s worth of experimental experiences.  After the dust settles and the clean-up crews have left, Black Rock returns to its original and natural state of isolated wonder.  Located about 4.5 hours north of Reno, visitors can redefine their sense of remoteness in the heart of the Black Rock.

Overlanders, vanlifers, campers, and road-trippers alike looking to explore the area’s impressively diverse 800,000 acres of National Conservation Area (NCA) are destined to discover a raw, untamed, and genuinely wild landscape.  Here’s a few tips on how to get started on your exploration…

Soldier Meadows

Chock full of an impressive pocket of hot springs, Soldier Meadows is sprawling with wide open ranges  and sagebrush lined lowlands.  Soldier Meadows offers access to most of the NCA, including the Black Rock Playa, High Rock Canyon, Emigrant Trails, Stevens Camp, Massacre Ranch.  The area is also offers incomparable mountain biking, ATVing, hiking and backpacking, wildlife viewing, rock climbing and camping.

The area is a bit tricky to reach as it requires several hours of dirt road driving, but being able to spend the night in a free, first come-first served Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Cabin and waking up next to a pocket of hot springs, proves worthy. There is a chance that the cabin may be occupied, but semi-primitive tent camping is welcome nearly anywhere in the area. Five are located in the Hot Creek Campground, one at the cabin site, and the last is located above Hidden Spring to the West.

This area of hot and cold springs was designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern in order
to protect several threatened species, including the desert dace, a minnow-like fish as well as abundant cultural resources. Be sure to check camping restrictions before heading in.

Soldier Meadows differs from the other areas encompassed in the Black Rock High Rock area, like the otherworldly Black Rock Desert and High Rock Canyon.

Beyond Soldier Meadows: Stevens Camp and Massacre Ranch

If you’d like to push it a little farther, travel deeper into the conservation area with a reliable high-clearance, 4-wheel drive rig, or backpack into other BLM cabins at Stevens Camp or Massacre Ranch.  Stevens Camp/Massacre Ranch recreation area has also has a desert cabin located in a unique setting-desert surrounded by overlooking canyon rims and scenic vistas with large low-lying meadows. The cabin has wood heat and a propane range for cooking. There are hook-ups for generators and propane tanks to run electric lights and the cooking range. The cabin has a combination kitchen/community room with one small bedroom. The cabin hosts and nearby camping area provides a good base camp for exploration of High Rock Canyon and the surrounding uplands. There are four established camping areas at Stevens Camp, including a large site near the free use cabin.

Other Sites around Black Rock High Rock Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area

Black Rock Station

Black Rock Station is a visitor contact station and administrative center manned from mid-May to the
end of September. The station contains interpretive signs explaining the features of the NCA and has
interpretive brochures for the public.

Black Rock Playa

The Playa, being one of the largest almost completely flat locations on earth, is the bottom of a large
Pleistocene era lakebed. It is a popular recreation site and houses Burning Man, attracting over 60,000
people for an art and lifestyle festival.

High Rock Canyon

High Rock Canyon is one of the most dramatic landscapes in the NCA, a steep-sided canyon first
visited by Europeans in 1842, when the explorer John C. Fremont entered the Great Basin while
searching for a river to the Pacific Ocean.

Emigrant Trails

The Applegate and Nobles Trails cross the NCA. The NCA was mainly established to protect the
settings of the historic trails. Visitors can experience the same landscape that wagon trains crossed in
the 19th century on their way to the gold fields of California’s 49’er Gold Rush era.

Black Rock Point and Hot Springs

This was a landmark and stopping point along the Applegate Trail. Today, visitors camp here and enjoy
the hot springs in a dramatic desert environment at the edge of the Black Rock desert.

Double Hot Springs

At 180 degrees, the deep pools here are far too hot to touch. Aside from the warning signs and protective fence, the bubbling pool appears much as it did to the emigrants who camped here on their way to Oregon and California.

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Safety First – Travel Prepared

When exploring Nevada’s beautiful backcountry, always remember to travel prepared. Remember to bring a spare and a tire patch kit, extra fuel, extra food and extra water. This is a tremendously beautiful section of Nevada, but is said to be the most rugged and remote. It proves to be a great way to disconnect from it all, but you will in fact be disconnected from cell service and away from modern conveniences like restaurants and gas stations. Do not attempt to travel in this area unless you’ve come equipped with a high clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicle. Travel smart and plan ahead.

Hot Springs Etiquette

• Be prepared for the thrill of the hunt.  Hot springs in Nevada typically take hours of driving in dificult and remote terrain to reach.  Come prepared.
• Bring some extra gear.  Days in the desert will be hot.  Nights in the desert will be cold.  Come with lots of clothing and layering options.  Not too mention extra water, fuel, and food.  And a spare tire.
• Bring a printed map.  Google Maps is awesome, but cellphone connectivity in Northwest Nevada is sparse… bring a GPS unit and a map.  You know, just in case.
• Bring boots.  Bring flip flops.
• Know how to be a good neighbor and how to share a hot spring with newer arrivals.  Courteousness goes a long way when you’re this far away from home.
• Leave the area in better condition than when you arrived.
• Don’t fret the dress code – clothing optional means clothing optional.  Respect those who opt out, and those who insist on retaining bathing wear.  Be prepared for either.

Getting There

From Reno, take I-80 east and take exit 43 in Wadsworth. Continue on State Route 447 north for nearly 75 miles until you reach Gerlach. This will be your last chance to purchase any last minute supplies, like food or fuel. From Gerlach, head north of Country Road 34 N to Soldier Meadows Road. Continue on Soldier Meadows Road for approximately 46 miles until reaching the meadows. You should see the BLM cabin on your left [west] and the hot springs lie just behind it and can be reached via a series of dirt roads. For a map of the entire Black Rock High Rock Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, click here.