16 Forest Service, 15 National Park Service and 8 BLM. 26 can be booked ahead
Skills Nevada tests
Nevada tests self-reliance more than rock crawling. A course for this state should cover navigation without signs or cell service, which the BLM says to expect, tire repair and changing a full-size spare, reading wet ground before you drive onto it, self-recovery from playa mud, and convoy spacing, which the BLM asks for so that one hazard does not stop two vehicles.
Add heat and patience. The Fish and Wildlife Service’s figure is a gallon of water per person per day, and the BLM’s advice if you break down is to stay with the vehicle, because search and rescue can spot a vehicle more easily than a person on foot.
Training is the cheapest upgrade there is. It costs less than a bumper, weighs nothing, and works on every vehicle you will ever own.
Common courses
01Driving: line choice, throttle and brake control, airing down, spotting
02Recovery: safe rigging, winching and kinetic recovery
03Field repair: tires, fluids, electrical faults and improvised fixes
04Navigation and communication
05Wilderness first aid
How to choose a course
Small classes and real terrain.
01Ask about class size and how much time you spend driving rather than watching.
02Ask whether you train in your own vehicle. You should.
03Ask about the instructors' certification and how long they have been teaching.
04Ask what terrain the course uses, and what to bring.
Why it is worth it
A trained driver breaks less, gets stuck less and recovers more safely. Most vehicle damage on the trail comes from speed and poor line choice, and most recovery injuries come from rigging that someone guessed at.
Questions people ask
I have driven dirt roads for years. Is a course worth it?
Most experienced drivers say the recovery day alone was worth it. Rigging a winch pull safely is not something to work out for the first time when you are stuck.
Do I need a built vehicle to attend?
No. Most introductory courses are designed for stock four-wheel-drive vehicles, and learning what a stock vehicle can do is the point.
How high is Nevada?
From Mesquite at 1,607 feet to Boundary Peak at 13,140.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
AustinOn US 50 in the middle of the state. Forest Service office for the Austin-Tonopah Ranger District.6,644 ft
ElyWhere US 50, US 6 and US 93 meet. BLM district office and Forest Service ranger district. The Park Service puts it 68 miles from Baker.6,436 ft
PiocheOn US 93. The Mount Wilson byway ends here, where State Route 322 returns to the highway.6,076 ft
TonopahWhere US 6 meets US 95. BLM field office and a Forest Service office. The Lunar Crater byway leaves US 6 to the east, at about mile marker 79.6,045 ft
WellsWhere I-80 meets US 93. Forest Service office. The California Trail byway starts 26 miles north on US 93.5,633 ft
BakerFive miles from Great Basin National Park, at the foot of the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. The Park Service lists fuel here year-round.5,311 ft
ElkoOn I-80. BLM district office and a Forest Service office. The Forest Service puts Thomas Canyon Campground, in Lamoille Canyon, 30 miles away.5,067 ft
Carson CityState capital. BLM district office and a Forest Service office. NDOT’s Tahoe chain rules apply on US 50 between here and Glenbrook.4,680 ft
RenoOn I-80. Home of the BLM’s Nevada State Office. The road to the Black Rock leaves I-80 to the east, at Wadsworth.4,505 ft
CalienteOn US 93, east of Basin and Range National Monument. The BLM’s Caliente Field Office looks after the monument and the Mount Wilson byway.4,399 ft
WinnemuccaWhere I-80 meets US 95. The BLM’s Winnemucca District and Black Rock Field Office and a Forest Service office. The Fish and Wildlife Service routes visitors from here to Sheldon refuge by way of Denio.4,295 ft
LovelockOn I-80. Start of the BLM’s 20-mile Lovelock Cave Back Country Byway.3,980 ft
GerlachPortal to the Black Rock Desert, 75 miles north of Wadsworth on State Highway 447. The BLM lists fuel, food and motels here, and the nearest tow truck to the conservation area.3,943 ft
AlamoOn US 93. North end of Alamo Road from the Desert refuge, and the nearest tow service to Basin and Range National Monument.3,462 ft
Las VegasWhere I-15 meets US 93 and US 95. BLM district office and a Forest Service office. The Desert refuge’s Corn Creek entrance is north on US 95.1,996 ft
MesquiteOn I-15 in the far southeast. The Gold Butte byway starts off nearby Exit 112.1,607 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Boundary PeakThe highest point in Nevada, in Esmeralda County13,140 ft
Wheeler PeakGreat Basin National Park. The scenic drive ends below its face13,063 ft
Charleston PeakTop of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, outside Las Vegas11,918 ft
Ruby DomeRuby Mountains, above Lamoille Canyon11,387 ft
Hayford PeakThe highest point in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge9,924 ft
Wheeler Peak CampgroundWheeler Peak Scenic Drive: Baker and State Highway 488 to the Wheeler Peak trailheads, in Great Basin National Park9,886 ft
Road’s End TrailheadLamoille Canyon Road: State Route 227 to Road’s End Trailhead, in the Ruby Mountains8,800 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
