Nevada’s state parks shine even brighter than the Strip

Valley of Fire became Nevada’s first state park in 1934. Since then, the Silver State's park system has grown to 27 reserves, with most close to metro areas like Reno and Las Vegas or tucked into remote regions with fewer visitors. These protected areas have a range of outdoor recreation options, including hiking, biking, watersports, skiing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing.

“We have 16 parks, six recreation areas, and five historic places, all with varying landscapes and features,” says Tyler Kerver, education and information officer for the Nevada Division of State Parks. 

“Putting all 27 of them together, they reflect our state very well. From the alpine forests in the Tahoe Basin, to the red rocks of the Mojave Desert, we like to say we have a state park for every adventure because we have yet to find an outdoor activity that can’t be done in at least one of our parks.”

Beyond outdoor adventure and recreation, some state parks’ connections to pop culture attract visitors, including a property once owned by the reclusive millionaire and pioneer aviator Howard Hughes and an incredible lakeside location for watching a Shakespeare play. 

Regardless of your interest, there’s something for everyone at 10 of the best state parks in Nevada.

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1. Wild Horse State Recreation Area, Elko County

Best for: Remote winter sports

Tucked into the state’s secluded northeast corner (one of the nation’s least populated regions), Wild Horse is famed for extreme winter weather that can include heavy snow and temperatures as low as minus 42°F. In other words, Wild Horse is ideal for cold-weather sports, including Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling, as well as ice fishing and skating on frozen-over Wild Horse Reservoir. Visitors who aren’t down with winter camping can reserve cabins (with heating) on the lakeshore near the park’s southern end.

2. Sand Harbor State Park, Lake Tahoe

Best for: Watersports and theater lovers

Visitors to Sand Harbor State Park will find small, crescent-shaped beaches along the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America, making it Nevada’s most picturesque state park. Clearly Tahoe rents kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, floating lounges, and beach sets at Sand Harbor (May through October).

Every summer, the park hosts the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival in its amphitheater and features plays and performances, including Shakespeare’s Macbeth (July 3 – August 23, 2026). Although it’s not part of the state park, clothing-optional Secret Cove Beach is just a six-minute drive (and short hike) south of Sand Harbor. 

3. Spooner Lake & Backcountry State Park, Washoe County

Best for: Hiking, biking, and horseback riding

Pristine woods, flower-filled meadows, and astonishing views of Lake Tahoe characterize this park, which sprawls across the mountains between the lakeshore and state capital Carson City. More than 50 miles of trails and roads enable hiking, biking, and horseback riding. Kerver says that Spooner Lake also excels at cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. 

The park is a perfect place to hop on the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), a 170-mile, two-state trek around Lake Tahoe that ranks among the top mountain biking adventures in the United States . 

4. Dayton State Park, Lyon County

Best for: Fall foliage

An 18-minute drive from Virginia City, Dayton gained fame in the 1800s as a place where much of the Comstock Lode silver was processed in mills along the Carson River. Fast forward more than 150 years, and the riverside park has a much different appeal—the gold, orange, and red of cottonwood trees in the autumn. 

Kerver also recommends Fort Churchill State Historic Park for fall foliage. Located farther along the Carson River, the park preserves the ruins of a U.S. Army post from the 1860s that protected the Pony Express and immigration route to California. 

5. Walker River State Recreation Area, Yerington

Best for: Fly fishing

One of the state’s newest state parks was established in 2018 thanks to a donation from a private conservancy that purchased four historic ranches. The purpose was to restore the natural landscapes along 30 miles of the Walker River in western Nevada. Hiking, biking, horseback riding, and paddle sports count among its many activities. But the park is especially known for fly fishing brown trout, especially along a remote stretch of the river called The Elbow.    

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6. Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, Nye County

Best for: Ghost town exploration

This eclectic state park offers two major historical attractions. The well-preserved remains of the ghost town (including a rusty Model T Ford) date back to the 1890s and the early 20th century, when a silver boom lured hundreds of miners to Berlin. In the 1920s, miners discovered around 40 ichthyosaur fossils, the first of which were found on the site. Shonisaurus popularis was a marine reptile longer than a city bus that inhabited the region 225 million years ago when central Nevada was covered by a warm tropical ocean. 

7. Cathedral Gorge State Park, Lincoln County

Best for: Amateur rockhounds

Around five million years of erosion carved the park’s imposing spires, alcoves, and slot canyons. Visitors can see the diverse landscape via five trails of various lengths, including a one-mile path to Miller Point via the spectacular Cathedral Cave slot canyon. The state park campground features RV hookups and shaded picnic tables to protect parkgoers from the heat. 

The Nevada state parks Regional Visitor Center at Cathedral Gorge offers information, brochures, and maps on five other reserves in Lincoln County, including Echo Canyon, Beaver Dam, Kershaw-Ryan, Elgin Schoolhouse, and Spring Valley (which holds special significance to the local Western Shoshone people). 

8. Ice Age Fossils State Park, North Las Vegas

Best for: Fossilists and dinophiles

Mammoths, giant ground sloths, dire wolves, American lions, and other megafauna roamed the Las Vegas Valley long before Las Vegas’s Strip attracted modern denizens. After viewing the fossils of those massive Pleistocene creatures at the small park museum, visitors can follow three trails to the digs where their bones have been uncovered since the 1960s.  

9. Spring Mountain Ranch, Blue Diamond

Best for: History buffs

Return to the frontier days through living history programs and pioneer skills demonstrations with reenactors clad in period costumes. Founded in 1876 as the first working cattle ranch in the Las Vegas Valley, Spring Mountain eventually evolved into a Western-style celebrity retreat owned in succession by radio comedy star Chester Lauck, German actress Vera Krupp, and tycoon Howard Hughes. Trees provide shady picnic areas while a large lawn offers seating for Super Summer Theatre and its regular family-friendly lineup of Broadway musicals.

10. Valley of Fire State Park, Overton

Best for: Set-jetting nostalgia and red rock hiking

A popular Hollywood filming location, the Valley of Fire provided dramatic desert scenery for movies such as Viva Las Vegas (1963), The Professionals (1966), and Total Recall (1990). The park’s Silica Dome was the final resting place for the fictional Captain Kirk character in Star Trek: Generations (1994). Film buffs can visit locations from Transformers(2007) on a private guided tour in a bright yellow Bumblebee Camaro based on one of the movie characters. Approximately a 45-minute drive from Las Vegas, the park also boasts hiking trails that lead to petrified trees as well as petroglyphs rendered hundreds of years ago by the region’s Indigenous Puebloan people. 

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