The ground and who manages it
The Congressional Research Service splits Nevada’s 56.1 million federal acres among five agencies: the BLM with 47,225,132 acres, the Forest Service with 5,761,289, the Fish and Wildlife Service with 2,225,565, the National Park Service with 797,690 and the Department of Defense with 71,329. BLM Nevada rounds its own share to 48 million acres, 67 percent of the state, and runs it from six district offices: Winnemucca, Elko, Ely, Battle Mountain, Carson City and Southern Nevada, in Las Vegas.
Inside that BLM ground sit three national monuments (Avi Kwa Ame, Basin and Range, and Gold Butte), three national conservation areas (Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails, Red Rock Canyon and Sloan Canyon), 49 designated wilderness areas and 60 wilderness study areas, nine of them managed from California. The difference matters to a driver. The BLM allows no motorized or mechanized travel in designated wilderness, while a study area may allow limited travel on existing primitive routes. It also warns that much of Nevada is a checkerboard of public and private land, and that the private squares may not be signed.
The national forest land comes in many pieces. The Humboldt-Toiyabe covers 6.3 million acres in scattered blocks across most of Nevada and a part of eastern California, which the Forest Service says makes it the largest national forest in the lower 48 states. It is run as six ranger districts and the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, with offices in Austin, Carson City, Elko, Ely, Las Vegas, Sparks, Tonopah, Wells and Winnemucca. On all of it the Motor Vehicle Use Map is the legal record: the forest says routes not shown on the map are not open to public motor vehicles, and that open routes are not always signed on the ground.
The Fish and Wildlife Service holds two very large refuges. Desert National Wildlife Refuge, north of Las Vegas, covers 1.6 million acres; its western half is used by the Air Force as part of the Nevada Test and Training Range and is closed to the public. Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge protects 572,896 acres in the northwest corner. The Park Service has four units: Great Basin National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, part of Death Valley National Park and Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument. Two other kinds of land are worth knowing. Nevada has almost no state trust land: the State Land Office says the original school grants were traded and sold down to about 3,000 acres. And Pyramid Lake is managed by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, which requires its own permit to camp or swim there. The large blocks, as their managers measure them:
- 01Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (BLM): 800,000 acres and ten wilderness areas
- 02Basin and Range National Monument (BLM): 704,000 acres, with no amenities and no paved roads
- 03Gold Butte National Monument (BLM): nearly 300,000 acres
- 04Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest: 6.3 million acres, part of it in California
- 05Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (Forest Service): 317,000 acres
- 06Desert National Wildlife Refuge: 1.6 million acres, the western half closed to the public
- 07Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge: 572,896 acres
- 08Lake Mead National Recreation Area: 1.5 million acres, shared with Arizona
Source 9
Seasons: heat, wet ground and snow
Nevada’s calendar runs on elevation. NOAA describes a range from less than 500 feet in the southern desert to more than 13,000 feet in the mountains, and the seasons split the same way. Las Vegas averages summer highs of 102°F and reaches 110°F or more on about nine days a year. The Fish and Wildlife Service warns that the Desert refuge can pass 120°F in summer and drop 50 degrees in 24 hours, and the BLM says summer temperatures at Gold Butte average more than 100°F. Plan the southern routes for the cooler months.
Rain is rare and does damage when it comes. NOAA says most of the state gets the bulk of its precipitation in winter, while the east and south can see intense summer rain from the North American Monsoon. The Fish and Wildlife Service says flash floods can happen at any time of year, and that a storm miles away can flood a wash under a clear sky. The BLM says many back country roads become completely impassable when wet, and that wet ground, on the Black Rock playa or on the roads of Basin and Range, can sink a vehicle to its axles.
Snow closes the high roads. In Great Basin National Park the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive is closed above Upper Lehman Creek Campground in winter. The Park Service says the upper nine miles are generally open June through October, and that it can snow at high elevations in any month. The Forest Service lists July to November, depending on weather, for Road’s End at the top of Lamoille Canyon. The Fish and Wildlife Service notes that the gravel road into Sheldon refuge from Cedarville, California, is not maintained in winter, and NDOT asks drivers who own snow tires to run them from October 1 to April 30.
One closure has nothing to do with weather. The BLM shuts High Rock Canyon Road each year from the end of chukar season, around February 1, until the second weekend in May, to protect nesting raptors and lambing bighorn sheep. In the same country the agency reports its highest visitation from late spring to late summer, when the roads are more passable.
Source 4
What Nevada asks of a vehicle
Range first. The BLM’s advice for its Nevada back country is to fill up, because there are often no gas stations, restrooms or cell service, and to bring extra fuel, tires, water and food. It tells visitors to plan for self-rescue and to consider a GPS communication device. In the Black Rock country the nearest tow truck is in Gerlach; in Basin and Range National Monument it is in Alamo. The Park Service puts Ely 68 miles from Baker, the gateway to Great Basin National Park.
Tires second. The BLM says roads in Nevada often have sharp rocks, that flats are common, and that you should carry a full-size spare and know how to change it. For the Black Rock it recommends high clearance, off-road tires of at least 6-ply and spare tires, in the plural, and for High Rock Canyon extra spares. The Fish and Wildlife Service says flat tires are the most common problem on the Desert refuge’s roads.
Clearance matters more than low range on most documented routes. The BLM sorts its back country byways into types: Type I for ordinary touring cars, Type II for high-clearance vehicles, on roads a two-wheel drive can manage, and Type III for four-wheel drive. Six of the eight byways on the BLM’s Nevada list are Type II in whole or in part. The exceptions are worth knowing. The BLM says High Rock Canyon is for four-wheel drives with experienced, well equipped drivers. The Desert refuge requires high clearance beyond Corn Creek and suggests four-wheel drive, and it bans off-highway vehicles outright while admitting registered, street-legal ones.
Size counts in one place: the Park Service does not allow vehicles or trailers over 24 feet beyond Upper Lehman Creek Campground on the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. Water counts everywhere. Both the BLM and the Fish and Wildlife Service tell visitors to carry at least a gallon per person per day, and the BLM notes there is no potable water in the Black Rock conservation area.
Source 8
Passes and routes
-
Baker Creek Road, Great Basin National Park
A graded gravel road off the Wheeler Peak side of the park, and the easiest unpaved driving inside it. The park also names Strawberry, Snake and Lexington Arch roads as rough dirt where high-clearance vehicles are recommended, so the gravel here comes in two grades and the park says which is which. 34
- Season
- Generally open May through November, weather permitting
-
Road’s End, Lamoille Canyon
Lamoille Canyon Road climbs to 8,800 feet at the Road’s End trailhead, winding around the base of 11,387-foot Ruby Dome. From Spring Creek Parkway and NV 227, go 5.4 miles and turn onto Lamoille Canyon Road to the end. The forest publishes no length for the road, so none is stated here. 28
- Season
- July to November, depending on weather
-
Gerlach, 75 miles north of Wadsworth and I-80 on State Highway 447
A flat expanse of about 200 square miles, and the one place in the conservation area where you may leave the road: the BLM limits motor vehicles to designated routes except on the unvegetated, flat surface of the playa. It warns that wet playa can sink a vehicle to its axles and that low dunes can flip a car moving at speed, and it does not allow fires directly on the playa floor. There is no potable water and no cell signal, the nearest tow truck is in Gerlach, and the agency’s safety handout says that after a breakdown it could be several days before someone finds you. 10
- Vehicle
- The BLM recommends high clearance, off-road tires of at least 6-ply and spare tires
- Season
- Dry ground only. The BLM publishes no dates; it reports the most visitors from late spring to late summer, when roads are more passable
-
State Highway 34 north of Gerlach, by BLM Road 2054, east to High Rock Lake
The BLM calls the canyon very rugged and remote. It holds 18 miles of the Applegate Trail, with emigrant graffiti throughout, and the road is closed each spring to protect nesting raptors and lambing bighorn sheep. Camping is limited to four designated sites: Red Bluff Camp, Conlon Camp, Pole Canyon Camp and Fox Homestead. 14
- Vehicle
- Four-wheel drive, for experienced and well equipped drivers. The BLM recommends extra spare tires, food and water
- Season
- Closed each year from around February 1 until the second weekend in May
-
Gold Butte Back Country Byway
62 miles
A loop from State Route 170, about 3 miles south of I-15 Exit 112, near Mesquite and Bunkerville
The pavement ends at Whitney Pocket. From there the BLM describes about 20 miles of graded native soil to the Gold Butte townsite, established in 1908, then a single lane back north by Gold Butte Wash Road and Mud Wash Road past The Devil’s Throat, a 110-foot sinkhole. The byway’s own page says the last 20 miles should only be driven in a high-clearance vehicle; the monument’s page says the last 19. 15
- Vehicle
- High clearance and sturdy tires. BLM Type II
- Season
- None stated. The BLM warns that summer temperatures here average more than 100°F
-
Bitter Springs Back Country Byway
28 miles
State Route 169 near Valley of Fire to Northshore Road in Lake Mead National Recreation Area
A single-lane dirt road through the Muddy Mountains of Clark County, past sandstone, dry washes, Buffington Pockets and the remains of the American Borax Mine. The BLM says the route is remote and has no services, and tells drivers to carry an offline map, extra water, tools and a full-size spare. 19
- Vehicle
- High clearance required, four-wheel drive recommended. BLM Type II
- Season
- May become impassable when wet
-
Mormon Well Road, Desert National Wildlife Refuge
47 miles
Corn Creek, north of Las Vegas, through Desert Pass to US 93 near State Highway 168
Desert Pass Campground, with six sites, no water and no fee, is 28 miles from Corn Creek among ponderosa pines. The refuge sets a 25 mph limit on its gravel roads, says flat tires are the most common problem, warns that temperatures can pass 120°F in summer and drop 50 degrees in 24 hours, and asks visitors to carry a gallon of water per person per day. The Corn Creek entrance gate admits visitors only between about 4 a.m. and sunset. 40
- Vehicle
- High clearance required beyond Corn Creek, four-wheel drive suggested. Registered and insured passenger vehicles only; no OHVs
- Season
- Year-round when passable. The refuge says the full route may be closed by hazardous conditions
-
Alamo Road, Desert National Wildlife Refuge
More than 70 miles
Corn Creek to Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge and Alamo, on US 93
The Fish and Wildlife Service calls it a rugged road with many stops that make it an excellent trip, across what it describes as the largest refuge in the lower 48 states. The western half of the refuge is used by the Air Force as part of the Nevada Test and Training Range and is closed to the public. 40
- Vehicle
- High clearance required beyond Corn Creek, four-wheel drive suggested. No OHVs
- Season
- The refuge says the Dry Lake portion is often impassable and closed
-
Mount Wilson Back Country Byway
About 66 miles
US 93 at the Pony Springs Rest Area, around the Wilson Range, to US 93 near Pioche
Gravel, dirt and paved roads through Lincoln County, about 90 miles south of Ely: volcanic basins, narrow canyons, pinyon and juniper, then aspen and ponderosa pine higher up, with Spring Valley State Park and Pioche on the way. The BLM’s current listing gives about 66 miles. Its Nevada byways page prints both 66 and 64. 20
- Vehicle
- High clearance recommended. BLM Type II
- Season
- Generally open seasonally. The BLM says it may be unsafe or impassable in winter, after heavy rain or when wet
-
Lunar Crater Back Country Byway
24 miles
A loop off US 6 at about mile marker 79, east of Tonopah
A bumpy, unpaved loop through a volcanic field of cinder cones and basalt flows that has been a National Natural Landmark since 1973. Easy Chair Crater is one of the first you see; from Lunar Crater the BLM counts 20 other extinct volcanoes close by. Vehicles are limited to existing roads and trails. Allow one to two hours. 7
- Vehicle
- Portions may require high clearance. BLM Type II
-
California Trail Back Country Byway
96 miles
US 93 at the Thousand Springs turnoff, 26 miles north of Wells, to near Jackpot or east toward Oakley, Idaho
The byway follows part of the California National Historic Trail through northern Elko County, where wagon ruts can still be seen. The BLM’s current listing reports rough road conditions and missing signs, says the route crosses some private land, and tells drivers to carry an offline map, extra water and food, tools and a full-size spare, and to leave gates as they find them. Allow at least three hours. 21
- Vehicle
- Designated Type I, but the BLM now recommends high clearance
- Season
- The BLM says to avoid it in wet or snowy conditions
-
Fort Churchill to Wellington Back Country Byway
67 miles
Fort Churchill State Historic Park, 7 miles south of Silver Springs, to Wellington by Dayton and the Pine Nut Mountains
About 38 miles are Type I road and 29 are Type II. The first 21 miles or so run west on State Route 2B along the Pony Express National Historic Trail. Near Dayton the route turns south for about 29 miles through the Pine Nut Mountains, where the BLM says wild horses may be seen, and the Como Mining District, then drops into Smith Valley. Allow four to five hours. 22
- Vehicle
- High clearance recommended; the BLM says four-wheel drive may be needed for the entire route
-
Wheeler Peak Scenic DrivePaved
9,886 ft 12 miles
Baker and State Highway 488 to the Wheeler Peak trailheads, in Great Basin National Park
Steep and winding, with an average grade of 8 percent, a 35 mph limit and a gain of more than 4,000 feet. The Park Service says the road passes 10,000 feet by its eleventh mile, and gives 9,886 feet for Wheeler Peak Campground at the top on its weather page. One park page says the road is usually open by Memorial Day weekend; another says June. The park charges no entrance fee. 33
- Vehicle
- Any car. Nothing over 24 feet beyond Upper Lehman Creek Campground
- Season
- Open year-round to Upper Lehman Creek Campground. The upper nine miles are generally open June through October
-
Lamoille Canyon RoadPaved
8,800 ft
State Route 227 to Road’s End Trailhead, in the Ruby Mountains
The Forest Service calls it a scenic byway. The road winds around the base of 11,387-foot Ruby Dome and climbs a glacier-carved canyon to 8,800 feet, where the Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail begins. The Forest Service pages read for this guide give no length for the road, so none is given here. 27
- Season
- The Forest Service lists July to November, depending on weather, for Road’s End Trailhead
Rules worth knowing
- On the Black Rock, the nearest tow truck is in Gerlach
- The BLM’s own visitor handout is the bluntest safety writing in this guide: wet conditions on the playa can cause a vehicle to sink to its axles, driving over intermittent dunes or playa serpents can flip a car moving at speed, the nearest tow truck is in Gerlach, cell phones do not work in most of the area, and if you break down or get lost it could be several days before someone finds you. Carry good tires and at least one spare, and treat the playa as a place you drive out of under your own power. 11
- There is no water in the conservation area, and the station is seasonal
- There are few visitor facilities inside the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon NCA and no potable water. The small towns of Gerlach and Cedarville carry fuel, food and beds. Except on the playa, driving is restricted to existing roads, and no wheeled vehicle or machine of any kind is allowed in any of the ten wilderness areas. Black Rock Station is manned from mid-May to the end of September and not otherwise. 12
- The season on the playa is set by the roads, not the calendar
- The conservation area’s own manager’s report explains the pattern: owing to the remote location and the small number of paved roads, visitation peaks from late spring to late summer when roads are more passable. It recorded 279,073 visits and 1,064,677 visitor days in 2024. Nobody publishes an opening and closing date for the playa, only the standing instruction not to drive it when wet. 13
- Gold Butte is nearly 300,000 acres and over 100 degrees in summer
- The monument covers nearly 300,000 acres northeast of Lake Mead, where summer temperatures average more than 100 degrees. The BLM states that the last 19 miles of the byway should only be travelled by high-clearance vehicles, while the byway page says the last 20; both are the agency’s and this guide states the byway figure with the monument’s beside it. Registration from another state is accepted for a vehicle in Nevada no more than 15 days. 16
- Basin and Range has no paved roads and no services at all
- The 704,000-acre monument, created by proclamation on 10 July 2015, is described by the BLM as remote with no amenities and no paved roads, where cell service is unreliable or non-existent. It recommends a four-wheel drive, high-clearance vehicle and a completely full tank, and notes the nearest tow service is in Alamo. Free camping is allowed for a maximum of 14 days, motor vehicles stay on existing roads, and the Worthington Mountains Wilderness is closed to them. The nearest towns are Ely, Caliente and Alamo. 17
- Lunar Crater has no fee and one instruction
- From Tonopah, travel US Highway 6 east towards Ely to about mile marker 79. There is no fee, and the rule for the whole volcanic field is one line: vehicles are limited to existing roads and trails. The ground looks open and is not. 18
- The largest national forest in the lower 48 is not one place
- The Humboldt-Toiyabe’s 6.3 million acres make it the largest national forest in the contiguous United States, and it is made up of large but non-contiguous sections scattered across most of Nevada and part of eastern California. It is divided into seven administrative units, six ranger districts and one national recreation area, with offices in Austin, Carson City, Elko, Ely, Las Vegas, Sparks, Tonopah, Wells and Winnemucca, and at Bridgeport in California. The Congressional Research Service counts 5,761,289 Forest Service acres inside Nevada; the 6.3 million figure includes the California part. 24
- The forest-wide camping order runs to 2029
- Forest Order 04-17-24-04 prohibits camping for more than fourteen days in any thirty consecutive day period anywhere on the Humboldt-Toiyabe, and it is in effect from 9 April 2024 through 8 April 2029. That is a single rule covering 6.3 million acres in two states, which is unusually simple for a forest this size. 26
- Lamoille Canyon Road is under construction work
- The forest announced road work on Lamoille Canyon Road, which its district ranger calls a scenic byway, beginning in late August 2026. Work of this kind changes access without changing the map, so the forest’s alerts page is the thing to read in the week before a trip to the Rubies rather than any guide, including this one. 29
- Thomas Canyon is the campground in the Rubies
- Thomas Canyon Campground sits in Lamoille Canyon at 7,200 feet, 30 miles from Elko and seven miles up the canyon. In a range where the road tops out at 8,800 feet and the season runs July to November, it is the obvious base and the one that fills first. 30
- Great Basin is remote, and the nearest real town is 68 miles away
- The park describes its own area as remote with limited services, little to no cell coverage and large stretches between fuel and groceries, and sits five miles west of Baker. Ely, the nearest town of any size, is 68 miles from Baker. Fill up before the turn, not after it. 35
- It can snow at Great Basin in any month
- The Wheeler Peak campground and trailhead sit at 9,886 feet, and there is almost 8,000 feet of elevation between the summit and the valley floor. The park states plainly that it can snow at any time of year at high elevations. Wheeler Peak is 13,063 feet, Doso Doyabi 12,771 and Bald Mountain 11,562, so the weather at the top of the scenic drive is not the weather at the entrance. 36
- Great Basin charges no entrance fee
- An entrance pass is not required to access Great Basin National Park. It is one of the few national parks in the west where the gate costs nothing, which is worth knowing when routing a trip that already carries an America the Beautiful pass or does not. 37
- Baker is the whole supply chain
- The park publishes what is available and where, and the answer is a village. Baker, five miles from the entrance, carries what it carries; Ely is 68 miles away for anything else. Arrive with food, fuel and water for the stay rather than expecting to buy them at the mountain. 38
- The largest refuge outside Alaska is 1.6 million acres, and half of it is closed
- Desert National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1936 and covers 1.6 million acres, the largest refuge in the lower 48, with over 1.3 million acres of proposed wilderness inside it. Hayford Peak, at 9,924 feet, is its high point. The western half is used by the Air Force as part of the Nevada Test and Training Range and is closed to the public for safety and security, so the refuge you can drive is the eastern half. 39
- On the desert refuge, only registered and insured passenger vehicles
- The refuge allows only registered and insured passenger vehicles and street-legal motorcycles; all off-highway vehicles are prohibited. The speed limit on every gravel public access road is 25 miles an hour. Camping is limited to 14 consecutive days in any 28, and car camping is permitted along designated public access roads in existing turnouts. Beyond Corn Creek you need high clearance, four-wheel drive is suggested, and the refuge says the most common problem visitors have is a flat tire, and asks that you carry a spare. 41
- Sheldon protects 572,896 acres in the far northwest
- Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1931 and protects 572,896 acres in the northwestern corner of Nevada. It sits at the far end of the emptiest quarter of the state, reached from Denio or across the line from Cedarville, and it is the sort of place where the next fuel is a planning decision rather than a convenience. 42
- The road into Sheldon is not maintained in winter
- The refuge states that there is little to no cell reception, that the graded gravel route from Cedarville is not maintained in winter, and that Highway 140 runs through the refuge on the north side. Denio has groceries, a restaurant and a hotel. Between those two facts sits the whole plan for a winter visit: come in on the highway or do not come. 43
- Sheldon camping is designated sites, and half a mile off the road
- Camping is permitted year round for up to 14 days in any 30 in designated campgrounds, and not on roads or pull-off areas. A backcountry permit requires a camp at least half a mile from any road and half a mile from the vehicle, which rules out the usual arrangement. The speed limit on the refuge is 25 miles an hour and vehicles, motorised or not, are allowed only on open routes. 44
- An OHV decal is not needed for a plated vehicle
- Most off-highway vehicles over 70cc built in 1976 or later must be registered in Nevada and display a decal, at twenty dollars a year or sixty for three years, and the programme has run since 1 July 2012. The state answers the question this guide’s readers actually ask: you are not required to obtain an OHV decal if your vehicle is licensed for use on-road. Registration from another state is accepted while a vehicle is in Nevada no more than 15 days, and the fine for failing to register is a hundred dollars. 45
- Nevada asks for snow tires from October, and 511 for the rest
- The Department of Transportation asks drivers to install and use snow tires between 1 October and 30 April, to always carry tire chains when travelling mountain passes or typically snowy areas, and to maintain a high fuel level. Road conditions are on 511 inside the state, 1-877-NV-ROADS outside it, and on the state roads site. That is advice attached to a chain-control system that is enforced when posted. 48
- Four things are prohibited on all public land, all the time
- Regardless of stage, every acre managed by the BLM and the Forest Service in Nevada prohibits fireworks and pyrotechnic or incendiary devices, explosives including binary targets, firing tracer, incendiary or steel-component ammunition, and operating any internal or external combustion engine without a properly installed and working spark arrester. Restrictions above that are posted by zone: Western Nevada and the Sierra Front, Lake Tahoe, Central, Northeast, Eastern and Southern. 50
- State trust land is 3,000 acres, and that is the whole of it
- Nevada was originally granted sections 16 and 36 in each township, roughly 3.9 million acres, and in 1880 it exchanged its remaining grant lands for 2 million acres. Today the state holds about 3,000 acres of school trust land, in Washoe County, Carson City, Nye County and Clark County. In practice there is no state trust land question in Nevada, which is the opposite of Arizona or New Mexico. 52
- Pyramid Lake is tribal land and needs a permit
- The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe requires a valid tribal permit from any visitor who wants to swim or camp around Pyramid Lake, and the camping permit is per vehicle. The tribe asks that permits be bought before arriving. It is the closest big water to Reno and the rules are the nation’s, not the state’s. 53
- Fourteen days, then move
- On BLM land in Nevada you may stay up to 14 days in a 28-day period, counted from the day you first occupy a site, and must then move at least 25 miles. Personal property may not be left unattended for more than 10 days. The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest prohibits camping for more than 14 days in any 30-day period, under a forest order in effect through April 8, 2029. The Desert refuge allows 14 consecutive days in any 28, with car camping in existing turnouts along its public roads. Sheldon refuge allows 14 days in 30 in designated campgrounds only; camping anywhere else needs a backcountry permit and must be at least half a mile from any road and from your vehicle. 6
- OHV registration is for OHVs, not plated trucks
- Nevada requires most off-highway vehicles over 70cc and built in 1976 or later to be registered and to show a decal, and the DMV lists the fee at $20 a year. The state’s Off-Highway Vehicles Program says a vehicle licensed for on-road use does not need the decal to be driven off-road, and that an OHV registered in another state may be used in Nevada for up to 15 days without one. The fine for failing to register is $100. 46
- Existing routes, wilderness lines and the Motor Vehicle Use Map
- The BLM says much of Nevada is open to travel on existing routes, that some areas hold you to designated routes or close to vehicles altogether, and that no motorized or mechanized travel is allowed in its 49 designated wilderness areas. Cross-country travel is not permitted outside posted OHV open areas; the flat, unvegetated surface of the Black Rock playa is the exception inside that conservation area. On the Humboldt-Toiyabe, routes not shown on the Motor Vehicle Use Map are not open to public motor vehicles, signed or not. 25
- Fire restrictions come in two stages
- Nevada’s land agencies work from one interagency plan with two stages. Stage I bans wood and charcoal fires outside developed fee campgrounds and picnic areas, and bans driving or parking over dry vegetation. Stage II bans those fires everywhere and adds a ban on driving motor vehicles off existing roads. Devices that burn only liquid petroleum or propane are exempt in both stages when used on ground cleared of flammable material. Orders are posted by zone at Nevada Fire Info, along with the statewide prohibitions the BLM and the Forest Service apply to fireworks, exploding targets, steel-component ammunition and engines without a working spark arrester. 49
- Chain controls, Nevada style
- NDOT uses two levels. At the first, vehicles under 10,000 pounds gross weight need snow tires or approved traction devices, and a four-wheel drive with four mud-and-snow tires is accepted. At the second, chains are required on every vehicle except a four-wheel drive with four mud-and-snow tires. Nevada does not use a chains-on-all-vehicles level. A snow tire counts only with at least 3/16 inch of tread, and NDOT asks drivers to run snow tires from October 1 to April 30. On the Mount Rose Highway, Kingsbury Grade and US 50 between Glenbrook and Carson City, a vehicle without chains must be four-wheel or all-wheel drive with snow tires. 47
- Stay out of old mines
- The Nevada Division of Minerals estimates there are about 300,000 abandoned mine features in the state, and that 35,000 of them are a significant risk to public safety. Shafts, adits, pits and stopes are unstable, and the Division says shafts are often hidden by brush, dirt and rock piles, so be careful where you drive, walk and ride. Its message is Stay Out and Stay Alive, and it asks anyone who finds an opening with damaged or missing fencing to report it. 51
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment
Road
Primitive Road
Road
Primitive Road
Trail
Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Study Area
