Where to Hang Your Hat
- Once you pull off in this high desert town with spectacular mountain backdrops, you'll need a place to park your RV or a motel room to unlock. The Silver Jack Inn & LectroLux Cafe is the in-town combination of motel and restaurant, with primitive camping available at no charge if you spend money at the restaurant or store. The motel is closed during winter, though. If you go all the way to the state line, you'll find a year-round motel, RV park, gambling and food at the Border Inn Casino. Or for a touch of the rustic, stay in specialty quarters such as The Getaway Cabin with little touches of home, a log exterior and a wake-up view of Wheeler Peak.
Uncovering History
- Great Basin National Park is the reason why outdoor enthusiasts flock to Baker. The visitor center rests just a mile north of the town's heart, and scenic drives and hiking trails promise pristine views of mountainsides and valleys overflowing with pine and aspen. On neighboring Bureau of Land Management territory, though, you can visit the excavation site of a 13th century village once occupied by the Fremont Indians. The Baker Archeological Site foundation was filled back in with dirt after Brigham Young University excavations to protect the remains, but modern-day walls mark where the originals stand and help shield the remains from the elements. Bring your own picnic to the site and imagine the adobe village that once grew corn and squash and traded in turquoise.
Adventure Down Under
- One particular site of interest within Great Basin National Park to spelunkers is the Lehman Cave. Take an hourlong tour of the Lodge Room, a better tour for families with young children to view the stalactites and stalagmites within the marble cavern. The 1.5-hour Grand Palace tour hits the Lodge Room sites and more, and is open to children at least 5 years of age. The ranger-led tours are offered daily except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's and are limited to 20 people each. Make reservations in advance by calling Great Basin National Park. Visitors have to go through a screening process, including questions about past cave visits and decontamination of cameras and shoes, in order to protect bats in the cave from white nose syndrome.
Celebrate Stars and Sheep
- For being so teeny, Baker knows how to throw a big party or two. Annual festivals in the area include old-fashioned Snake Valley fairs with music, games, auctions and craft sales, barbecue and lots of gooey handmade desserts. Sheepherders, shearers, ranchers and others related to the sheep industry gather once a year in Baker to feast and swap tales. The National Park Service takes advantage of the cleaner western skies and lack of obtrusive city lights to set up more than 30 telescopes for September's annual Great Basin Astronomy Festival. Kids can learn about the starry sky from skilled rangers while space buffs can burnish their abilities to spot nebulae and galaxies.
