CAVE DIVING: 12 of the Best Caves in Nevada

Lehman Caves Visitor Center in Nevada

Are you looking for an adventure close to home? Explore the hidden wonders of Nevada’s varied geography and discover 12 magical caves that will leave you awestruck! From secret hiding spots tucked away in remote hiking routes to wonders located within easy day trip distance, this list is sure to satisfy your curiosity. Don’t miss out on these incredible opportunities, check them out today!

The Top 12 Caves in Nevada

Lehman Caves Visitor Center in Nevada
Lehman Caves Visitor Center in Nevada

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

  • Address: 1000 Scenic Loop Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89161, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.8 (22847)
  • Phone: +1 702-515-5350
  • Website: Link
  • Opening hours:
    Monday: 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM
    Tuesday: 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM
    Wednesday: 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM
    Thursday: 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM
    Friday: 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM
    Saturday: 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM
    Sunday: 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM
  • Reviews:
    We spent several hours here doing short hikes and just exploring the canyons. We visited in October and it was hot 80s F, but not unbearable. Many of the trails are very walkable and easy. I would recommend a hat and sunscreen as there is very little shade. It was about a one hour drive from Las Vegas and a perfect day trip. We combined this with also driving to Death Valley at sunset. Beautiful landscapes and so much to see. Highly recommend!
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Amanda Edgar (2 months ago)
    Red Rock is the perfect day trip if you are in Las Vegas and want to enjoy the outdoors. There are numerous trails, each with dynamically different scenery. The Calico Tanks is a 2.5 mile round trip hike with about 400-500 feet in elevation change. It is absolutely beautiful. When you get to the end, scale the wall for an amazing view of the entire Las Vegas Valley. If you are a bit adventurous, go off trail on the way back. You can’t get lost, as the canyon walls lead back to the trail head.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Brian (6 months ago)
    If you’re in Vegas this is a must see. It’s a quick 30min drive from the strip. It’s like a 20 minute drive without stopping to drive through. Very inexpensive and excellent scenery. There are areas to pull off every mile, each with incredible back drops for photos. There are trails after virtually every stop. From short hikes to advanced trails for long hikes. It’s got everything you could ask for. Absolutely gorgeous, a must see and one of the few inexpensive experiences you can find in Vegas.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Dustin Weinbrecht (6 months ago)
    Amazing scenic drive and the weather was perfect that day. If you time your entry right, don’t forget to have a picnic lunch at the Willow Springs parking lot… plenty of picnic tables just be aware they aren’t covered so you’re exposed to the sun. Many stops and parking lots along the scenic drive for photo opportunities. I’ll be back here again someday!
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Albert Kim (10 months ago)
    This was my first real glimpse of a proper desert, with mountains, giant boulders, Joshua trees, and those red rocks that give this place its name. It’s absolutely gorgeous and if you’re visiting Las Vegas this is a must. It’s only a 40-45 minute drive, and it’s easily accessible. There’s a 13 mile scenic loop that offers many stopping places for pictures. There are also many great trails. It’s just incredible to have such a scenic area so close to the Vegas strip. Do take plenty of water, but it’s just on the outskirts of suburban Las Vegas so food, gas, and shopping are only a short drive away.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By jeremy miniard (6 months ago)

Valley of Fire State Park

  • Address: 29450 Valley of Fire Hwy, Overton, NV 89040, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.8 (12451)
  • Phone: +1 702-397-2088
  • Website: Link
  • Reviews:
    Valley of fire State Park! Wow I can’t even begin to describe the beauty of this place. Here is just a few pics of it. First of all it is the most peaceful and quiet place. It looks like it’s not even real at all. The weather was just perfect and sunny. I would advise you to wear enclosed shoes and have some water on you if you decide to hike around. There are wildlife out here like snakes etc so be careful of the holes in the ground. Also make sure you have enough gas in the tank Because it’s a long way to a gas station and cell service might not be the best out there.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Stephanie Lall (10 months ago)
    This is one of my favorite parks in NV. This place is very unique, gorgeous, and different, with amazing rock formations and colors. On top of that, the hikes are nice and short and you can get easily achieve them in a day. I always pack a picnic basket with me to enjoy after a few hikes. Many picnic areas within the park. If you are lucky you will run into mountain goats. The visitors are fun to explore. They do have a water station you can refill your bottle. If you are not a fan of hiking then do the scenic drive. Also, the night skies here are awesome, especially on the full moon evening. You can get an annual state pass for $80 or else $10 for a day pass.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Kimberly Pham (6 months ago)
    This place was amazing. My recommendation is to come early. The park is huge and you won’t want to rush the experience, you could be there all day and still not see it all. Overnight camping is permitted and there are plenty of day use areas perfect for a day long getaway! Make sure to look for Sheep as they are all over the park. Located only a short drive from Vegas, this is a must see!
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Cloudy Cowboy (11 months ago)
    Beautiful, breathtaking and worth seeing! Rent a car if you can. It’s better than buying tours because you control how long you spend there and where to take pictures. We got to see the mountain goats in their glory walking up and the down the mountains. Pictures don’t do this place justice, you have to see it to believe it. The weather at the different altitude was amazing too.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Ayo A (10 months ago)
    Exceeded my expectations for a state park. A couple of very nice hikes with beautiful views, a good visitor center with professional and friendly staff (yes, a junior ranger program is available 🙂 ), well marked parking lots, landmarks, and trails. Definitely worth a visit if you are visiting Las Vegas and need a change. Just a 50 minute drive. Easy orientation, west-east is the main road with the Visitor Center in the middle and a road to the north. S great experience.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Pavel F (2 months ago)

Great Basin National Park

  • Address: Nevada, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.7 (1733)
  • Phone: +1 775-234-7331
  • Website: Link
  • Reviews:
    A very hard to reach national park but if you’re anywhere near the salt flats or Zion/Bryce I recommend spending a day in Great Basin as well. It’s a unique atmosphere compared to the surrounding area since it sits high up above the basin and is full of ancient pine trees and tons of granite.

    Drive up as high as you can depending on the season and then hike to Stella Lake

    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Kyle Kempf (5 months ago)
    A MUST SEE! Take a few days to visit the Great Basin National Park. Diverse and Beautiful. Star gazing at the Visitor’s Center. Take the tour for the Lehman Caves and hike the summit, 13,000+ feet, to see the Oldest Living Trees on Earth! Estimated age 4700-5000 years-old. Don’t miss this!
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By angela sandhu (7 months ago)
    Two very good things to do here…Lehman Caves and Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. I’m not a caves person but there were lots of people taking that tour. The scenic drive takes about an hour at the most as you climb to about 10,000 feet. There weren’t that many cars on the drive….just be careful.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Mike McGuire (5 months ago)
    BEAUTIFUL but in remote area. It’s a long drive to get to. In order to see lakes you must hike. The caves are beautiful and by the park office. A BIG temperature difference. It was 93 in Vegas and 27 and snowing last weekend!!! Next time I’m going to camp for at least 3 days to see more.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Scott Proctor (6 months ago)
    Fall is a beautiful time to visit, but be prepared for cooler weather. The drive to Wheeler Peak parking lot it 9,886 feet. Glorious aspen groves along the way. Lehman caves have wonderful tours.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Jan Doane (2 months ago)

Cave Rock – Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park

  • Address: US-50, Glenbrook, NV 89413, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.8 (1584)
  • Phone: +1 775-588-7975
  • Website: Link
  • Opening hours:
    Monday: 6:00 AM – 4:00 PM
    Tuesday: 6:00 AM – 4:00 PM
    Wednesday: 6:00 AM – 4:00 PM
    Thursday: 6:00 AM – 4:00 PM
    Friday: 6:00 AM – 4:00 PM
    Saturday: 6:00 AM – 4:00 PM
    Sunday: 6:00 AM – 4:00 PM
  • Reviews:
    Tahoe is just what can you say beautiful. From the entrance off highway 50 you drive down and you can either go to boat launch area or turn left and pull into the parking area. You are supposed to pay after you park but it was pretty expensive and I only stayed 10 minutes to take a few pictures and get some fresh air. I love Lake Tahoe it was a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 60’s. This is one of those places that is refreshing and breathtaking with things to do outdoors year round.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Just Roy (4 months ago)
    Cave Rock is by the ocean. When coming from the Gondolas at Heavenly, it is right before you get to the tunnel. We went past it and we missed it the first time, so use this tip to get to it perfectly. You have very pretty views from the deck by the ocean. Entrance is ten dollars per car, no drone is permitted here. They tell you before you pay. I thought it was good they did this warning, so we could head out if we wanted. We didn’t. We stayed for a while enjoying the beautiful views of cave rock, the beach, and the homes by the beach. It is worth a stop.
    ✭✭✭✭ By Rosanna Sánchez (8 months ago)
    Beautiful spot for sunset. 3 very amazing views. A must visit if you have time. Its a 0.8mile hike to the spot. 90% of the hike is super easy. Just a simple pathway to the main rocks. The last 10% is where it gets tricky. Pretty steep with big leaps on rocks. Climbing down from there is a bit of challenge. Very small spot on the top so go early for sunset if you wanna secure a seating. Very limited parking. Maybe 7 cars. You can do street parking there but that’s pretty limited too. The other parking place is all the way down which is pretty big. Although the walk from there would be close to 2miles. Type in “cave rock trail” in gmaps for the right place.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Nisarg Trivedi (3 months ago)
    A majestic rock stands on the highway and you can drive through it through a tunnel. There is also a boat launch area where you can park and take photos. It has some history provided there.
    ✭✭✭ By Niv Sri (2 months ago)
    Great spot for the sunset views of Lake Tahoe! Parking is very limited. You will have to take a short trail and kind of a rocky patch at the end to reach to the top of the cave. Come prepared accordingly. No restrooms around.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Abhishek Patil (a month ago)

Lehman Caves Visitor Center

  • Address: 5500 NV-488, Baker, NV 89311, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.7 (479)
  • Phone: +1 775-234-7331
  • Website: Link
  • Opening hours:
    Monday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Thursday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Friday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Saturday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Sunday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Reviews:
    Take the longer cave tour. In the summer they also have an astronomy program some nights, after dark, that is wonderful. Nice telescopes that they set up so you can use. You can see Saturn’s rings, amoung other things.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Paul housley (3 months ago)
    Really beautiful cave system that is very well managed by the nps rangers. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and really added a lot to the tour. I would recommend this as the highlight of any visit to the Great Basin National Park!
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Allen Liebing (4 months ago)
    Cool astronomy exhibit, beautiful (and short) nature hike that shows off the flora and surrounding views, and of course the caves. The ranger gave a great tour (that didn’t sound full of made up nonsense for tourists). Warm restrooms and picnic tables if you want to have a bite while waiting for your cave tour.

    Taking it down a star because the cafe and “real” gift shop are closed seasonally.

    ✭✭✭✭ By Brandon Jagow (a year ago)
    Nice and informative visitor center showing some of the geology,history of the park,its cave system and its founders.That’s the place one checks in for the cave tours.Reserve the tickets in advance online.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Globe Trotter (2 months ago)
    Unique visitor center compared to others nearby, rangers are highly cooperative. Cave tours can be bought from here, also those starts just behind the visitor center.
    ✭✭✭✭✭ By Sourav Kumar Ukil (5 months ago)

Cave Lake State Park

  • Address: US Highway 93-Success Summit, Ely, NV 89301, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.6 (427)

Lehman Caves

  • Address: 5500 NV-488, Baker, NV 89311, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.8 (303)

Grimes Point Archaeological Area

  • Address: Fallon, NV 89406, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.6 (296)

Cave Rock

  • Address: 1430 US-50, Glenbrook, NV 89413, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.8 (260)

Cave Rock Trail Head

  • Address: 669 Cave Rock Dr, Glenbrook, NV 89413, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.7 (166)

Mine And Caves

  • Address: 7563-8307 S Fort Apache Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89178, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.3 (121)

Lovelock Cave

  • Address: Nevada, United States
  • Map: Click here
  • Rating: 4.5 (102)
Lehman Caves Visitor Center in Nevada
Lehman Caves Visitor Center in Nevada

Thank you for reading! We hope this list helps you find the best caves in Nevada. If you have any additional information, please leave a comment below!

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