Black Rock Desert

Why go

The BLM lists the most popular attractions as the playa, the narrow gorge of High Rock Canyon, the natural hot springs and the historic wagon trails. What these acres lack in developed amenities, it says, they offer in unique and challenging backcountry and wilderness opportunities.

The history is unusually legible. American Indians lived in Black Rock and High Rock country for at least 10,000 years before Euro-American emigrants passed through in the 19th century, and Black Rock Point was a landmark for those settlers. The area encompasses nearly 120 miles of emigrant trails, and the Applegate and Nobles trails are marked with signs carrying emigrant diary entries from each location, so you can drive between markers and read what people wrote about the ground in front of you.

For a self-contained vehicle the draw is simple: dispersed camping across most of the area, dark skies, hot springs, and distances that make a capable truck the point rather than an accessory.

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When to go

The BLM describes Black Rock country as a land of extremes, where the weather can be hot and sunny one day and cold and snowy the next, and asks visitors to be prepared for changing conditions and to carry extra water, food and clothing.

Its own visitation record points at the usable season. The field office’s annual report says the conservation area sees its highest levels of visitation from late spring to late summer, when the roads are more passable, and puts that down to the remote location and the relatively low number of paved roads. The visitor center at Black Rock Station in Gerlach is staffed from mid-May to the end of September, according to the BLM’s visitor handout.

One closure is fixed in the calendar rather than the weather. The BLM closes High Rock Canyon Road each year between the end of chukar hunting season, around the start of February, and the second weekend in May, to minimize human disturbance during bighorn sheep lambing and raptor nesting. The field office announces the exact dates each year.

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Driving the playa

The playa is the exception to the usual rule. The BLM limits motorized use in the conservation area to designated routes only, except for the unvegetated, flat surface of the Black Rock Desert playa, which it says is favored by off-roaders, land-sailers and amateur rocketry groups. Outside the playa, driving is restricted to existing roads and two-tracks.

Its playa guidance is about two things: the surface and the weather. The agency’s safety handout says driving over intermittent dunes, which it calls playa serpents, can flip a car moving at high speed or stop it in its tracks, and that wet conditions can cause a vehicle to sink to its axles. The BLM’s own words on the second point are plain: be aware of the weather and do not try to drive on the Black Rock playa when wet. It asks vehicles traveling together to keep separation, front to back and side to side, so two vehicles are not caught by the same hazard at the same time.

Two more rules apply out there. Fires are not allowed directly on the floor of the playa: the BLM asks for a fire pan, a fire blanket or a safely raised barrel to reduce scarring. And the Black Rock Desert Wilderness is a separate area from the playa you may drive on. Motor vehicles, bicycles and other mechanical transport are prohibited in it, as they are in all ten of the wilderness areas associated with the conservation area.

Do not skipThe BLM asks every visitor to contact the local office for current road and playa conditions before setting out. Nothing on this page tells you whether the playa can be driven today.

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The roads and canyons beyond the playa

Away from the playa the conservation area is a network of unimproved roads and two-tracks with no pavement. The route rule is short: except for the playa, driving is restricted to existing roads, and no wheeled vehicles or machines are allowed in any of the ten wilderness areas.

High Rock Canyon is the set piece. It carries 18 miles of the Applegate Trail, with emigrant graffiti through the canyon, and is designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern for its scenery, bighorn habitat, raptor nesting and archaeology. The BLM says the stretch from High Rock Canyon east to High Rock Lake is very rugged and remote and can be driven in four-wheel vehicles by experienced and well equipped explorers, and recommends bringing extra spare tires, food and water.

Other places the agency names are Black Rock Point and its hot springs at the edge of the desert, Double Hot Springs, Soldier Meadows, Stevens Camp on the Applegate Trail and Massacre Ranch, a cabin and meadow north of the High Rock Canyon Wilderness. There is one designated hiking trail in the whole conservation area, running north from Stevens Camp along the Applegate Trail.

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What your vehicle needs

The BLM’s recommendation for the conservation area is high-clearance vehicles with off-road tires of at least 6-ply, plus spare tires. Its visitor handout adds good tires and at least one spare to the list of things to have before you start, and for High Rock Canyon it asks for multiple full-size spares and extra water.

Beyond the vehicle, the agency’s advice is about self-reliance in a place with no help nearby. The nearest tow truck is in Gerlach, just outside the extreme southwest corner of the conservation area. Cell phones do not work in most of the area, satellite phones work for short conversations, and amateur radio depends on repeaters, of which there are very few.

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Camping

The camping policy is as open as the driving one. Dispersed camping is allowed everywhere except where the BLM designates sites instead, the stay limit is 14 days, and there is no fee to visit.

Two areas have designated sites: the Soldier Meadows Area of Critical Environmental Concern, set aside to protect several threatened species, where the BLM asks you to check camping restrictions, and High Rock Canyon, where camping is limited to Red Bluff Camp, Conlon Camp, Pole Canyon Camp and Fox Homestead. There are also cowboy cabins at Stevens Camp, Massacre Ranch and Soldier Meadows, which the BLM offers for camping and star-gazing.

On the playa, camping is dispersed, and the field office reports that visitors there generally stay from a few days to two weeks. Fires go in a pan, a blanket or a raised barrel rather than on the playa floor. Any commercial, competitive or organized event or activity needs a Special Recreation Permit from the Black Rock Field Office.

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Fuel, water and services

There are few visitor facilities inside the conservation area and no potable water, so the BLM asks you to plan carefully. Gerlach and Cedarville, at two of the portals, have gas stations, restaurants and motels. Cedarville and the small town of Empire have small grocery stores, but few camping supplies or other amenities are available. There is a small hospital in Cedarville and a sheriff’s sub-station in Gerlach. Confirm anything you plan to rely on before you leave pavement.

Water deserves its own line. No natural source of water in the area is safe for drinking without treatment, and there is no potable water inside the conservation area, so carry everything you need for the trip and a margin beyond it.

The approach from the south is State Highway 447: the BLM’s directions are to take Interstate 80 east from Reno to Wadsworth, then north on Highway 447 to Gerlach.

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Hazards

Hot springs are the hazard people underestimate. The BLM’s safety handout is unambiguous: hot springs are hazardous and some are deadly, stay out and stay alive. At Double Hot Springs the deep pools are too hot to touch. The field office also carries a standing advisory that Trego Hot Springs has tested positive for disease-causing organisms and that the public should avoid bathing or any contact with the spring water.

The area was used as a Naval Air gunnery range during the Second World War. If you find ammunition, the BLM says to stay away, locate the site on a map and notify the agency or local law enforcement in Gerlach.

Then the ordinary risks, sharpened by distance. Most trails in the conservation area are unimproved and not marked by trail signs, so carry good maps. Weather can swing from hot and sunny to cold and snowy. When you leave a vehicle, fix its position by landmarks, because in country this open a mountain or a set of lights at night is usually much farther off than it looks.

Do not skipThe BLM’s summary of this country: it is remote, without paved roads, cell coverage, services or residents, and if you break down or get lost it could be several days before someone finds you.

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Who to check with before you go

The Black Rock Field Office in Winnemucca is the office to call for current road and playa conditions, travel information and fire restrictions, on (775) 623-1500. Black Rock Station in Gerlach, the seasonal visitor center, holds interpretive material and is staffed in the warm months.

One more reason to call. Parts of the playa are temporarily closed and restricted for a period each year for a permitted event, and the BLM posts signs and maps about those closures at main entry points around the playa and at its offices. Plan around whatever the field office tells you.

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Questions people ask