Great Basin cave tour to reopen next month

A tour path in Great Basin National Park’s Lehman Caves is reopening next month after several months of renovations.

The park, located over four hours away from Las Vegas, is reopening the cave system’s Grand Palace Tour path on June 9 after closing it late last year.

The National Park Service has been working to remove “aging and ecologically damaging” portions of the path and add updated materials to create a safer cave tour experience for guests, according to the agency’s website.

As an alternative, the park service is currently only showing the Lodge Room Tour.

This renovation is part of a series of upgrades happening across the park’s roads, trails and campgrounds this year.

After Memorial Day weekend, the park service will also close Lower Lehman Creek Campground through the winter to redevelop and expand the campsite from 11 to 20 sites.

Great Basin will also add accessibility upgrades, a fee station, new waterlines and improve the trailhead at the campground as park of the renovation, the park service said.

The Bristlecone Recreation and Trailhead System, which includes the most heavily trafficked trail head in the park, is also receiving an upgrade beginning in July. The park service said the upgrades will cause temporary closures in the Bristlecone parking area and Wheeler Peak Trailhead through the winter.

A pavement improvement project is also ongoing and expected to wrap up in winter. The park service said crews will do micro surfacing, patching and crack and chip sealing on all paved roads and parking lots.

The pavement project will cause temporary traffic disruptions primarily on the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, including one-way traffic control, the park service said.

For details on all park upgrades and closures, go to nps.gov/grba.