Wheeler Peak is located in Great Basin National Park, which encompasses a massive mountain range that looms over the sagebrush flats of western Utah and eastern Nevada. Great Basin is most well known for the ancient, 5,000-year-old Bristlecone Pines and tours of the Lehman Caves. But high above all that, towering above all other summits in the Snake Range, stands Wheeler Peak.

If you want to summit Wheeler Peak, you'll need to get an early start, especially if climbing in monsoon season, to avoid thunderstorms. To do that, it's best to camp in Great Basin where several developed campgrounds are there stake your tent and get some sleep. On summit day, drive up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive as it climbs from sage and grass topography, to a dramatic shift through aspens and fragrant pine forests at the highest elevation. Once there, you'll feel like you're floating on a sky island as the desert spreads out far below in all directions.