Wheeler Peak Campground
The Quick Take
Wheeler Peak Campground sits at nearly ten thousand feet, making it the highest campground in the entire National Park System — a distinction you will feel in your lungs and your sleeping bag. Tucked into groves of quaking aspen just below the park's namesake summit, it trades every modern convenience for raw alpine atmosphere. There are no showers, no flush toilets, and critically, no potable water — you are packing everything in. The sites are modest in number, spread across a compact loop that feels genuinely remote despite being at the end of a paved scenic drive. Weather can turn violent without much warning, and summer nights regularly dip below freezing. But the payoff is enormous: direct trailhead access to Wheeler Peak, Bristlecone Pine groves, and a glacier, plus some of the darkest skies in the lower forty-eight. This is the campground for fit hikers and altitude-comfortable campers who want to wake up already above treeline.
Booking
Reserve Your Campsite
All 37 sites are reservable.
Book at Great Basin LodgesWhat You Get
Sites & Setup
RV Information
RVs allowed. Maximum length: 24 feet. No electrical hookups.
Accessibility
Accessible restrooms available. The main road of this campground has paved parking areas for cars and campers. The campsites are gravel and dirt with some steep surfaces. Paved Roads - All vehicles OK
Pro Tips
Reservations only open one day in advance, so plan to book exactly 24 hours before your arrival — spots go fast during peak summer weekends. Have your recreation.gov account loaded and ready.
The campground sits at the trailhead for Wheeler Peak Summit, the Bristlecone Pine trail, and the Rock Glacier loop. Start the summit push before dawn to avoid afternoon thunderstorms that roll in like clockwork by early afternoon.
Bring more water than you think — there is zero potable water up here. Plan on at least one gallon per person per day, plus extra for cooking. A warm sleeping bag rated to at least twenty degrees is non-negotiable, even in July.
Photos
NPS PhotoGetting There
Directions
This campground is located at the end of the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive at 9,800 feet. The Scenic Drive starts just past the main entrance of the park on Highway 488 on the right-hand side.
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