Elko Travel Guide

 mtncorg Says:  On the east side of the Ruby Mountains, the country gets lonelier yet. You won't find a lot of traffic on NV229 offering access to this region. A gravel road goes south off the highway, paralleling the mountain range and takes you to the vast wetlands of the Ruby Marshes.... 

 mtncorg Says:  At the western base of the Ruby Mountains is the little town of Lamoille - 545 people, 5700 feet/1727 meters high. It dates back to 1865 when the first settlers arrived. The main Californian Emigrant trail stuck closer to the Humboldt River near Elko, but with the large... 

 mtncorg Says:  Local boosters liken the Ruby Mountains as the 'Alps of Nevada'. Thus, Lamoille Canyon is the 'Yosemite of Nevada'. The canyons are glacial in origin, but that is where I would draw the line. Lamoille Canyon is a very pretty canyon, classical u-shaped by glaciers long gone.... 

 mtncorg Says:  This part of the Wild West, so it is only appropriate, that you come across horsemen who are heading into the wilderness for some unknown reason. Within the Great Basin, there are many wild horses and wild burros - descendants of the many that trod these paths in the past.... 

 mtncorg Says:  The Ruby Crest trail continues further south from Wines Peak, atop the Ruby range for another 36 miles. You will need another car at the other end and keep a constant look out for possible water. It is a lonely trail of great grandeur in a lonely grandeurous land. 

 mtncorg Says:  This is the highest point in the Ruby Mountains, 11387 feet/3451 meters. There is no trail and the peak lies west of the main crest. To get here you have to do some complicated crosscountry bushwacking. This is truly off-the-beaten-path in the land of off-the-beaten-paths. 

 mtncorg Says:  Off the west headwall of Wines Peak, 10893 feet/3301 meters high, you can over towards the Ruby Dome, 11387 feet/3451 meters high. Far below, the waters of North Furlong lake glisten. Stay awhile and observe. You might not get this way again. 

 mtncorg Says:  Absolute tundra occurs around 11000 feet/3333 meters in the Great Basin ranges, though it can occur slightly lower in the more northerly ranges. Here, you find rock and a carpet of ground-hugging highly specialized plants. Eleven of the Great Basin ranges rise into the... 

 mtncorg Says:  A few more hills, a few more lakes and you will come to Wines Peak. It is about seven miles out and a good destination for a dayhike. This is one of the grandest viewpoints in the range, where you can truly witness the Basin-like nature of the range - gentler slopes to the... 

 mtncorg Says:  From the roadend in Lamoille Canyon, the Ruby Crest trail start out to the south, going for 43, mostly, lonely miles. for a mile-by-mile description see John Hart's Sierra Club offerring "Hiking in the Great Basin" or the website mentioned below. You walk past a couple of... 

 shiningstarI Says:  The service in Elko is for the birds. The people are so incredibly rude. Even the manager's seem to not care if you go back or not. They always forget something, and you are lucky if they greet you with a hello, or even a thank you. Next time I am just passing by. 

 agricola Says:  Basque food (ample, homestyle, meat and veggies) and plenty of it in a traditional, 'family style' Basque hotel. Enter through the bar and bring an appetite! Dinner steak.At any of the Basque restaurants, one orders the entree - and everything else just arrives: first,... 

 mcpangie Says:  Wasn't that impressed. In fact, I was far from impressed. I had to ask for water. There was something wrong with all three dinners. I had to ask for bread. Then I had to ask for butter. The later came when I was half-way through dinner. The manager got really bugged because... 

 mcpangie Says:  The best part about eating at JR's is, while I was waiting for my breakfast I sat at a machine and won enough money to buy breakfast... ah, if that was how casinos always worked! All 3 of us were happy with our breakfast. Mmm... Best biscuits I've had in a long time.