RUBY CREST TRAIL - ELKO NEVADA Rating: Advanced Backpack Length: 3-4 days / 35 miles Gear: Standard Backpacking Gear / Water Carrying Capacity Maps: Harrison Pass, NV; Green Mountain, NV; Franklin Lake NW, NV; Ruby Dome, NV; Water: Intermittent. Be sure to have the ability to carry a full days worth. Season: Mid summer to early/mid fall Notes: The shuttle between the north and south trailhead is about 65- ish miles one way and takes 1.5 hours (or more) to drive each way. Waypoints: Trailhead (2wd) 11T 626479mE 4464924mN N40° 19' 31" W115° 30' 40" Trailhead (4x4) 11T 627799mE 4468743mN N40° 21' 34" W115° 29' 42" Minor Jct. Right 11T 627696mE 4468721mN N40° 21' 33" W115° 29' 46" Jct - Right 11T 627432mE 4468914mN N40° 21' 40" W115° 29' 57" 4-way. Stay straight. 11T 626436mE 4469867mN N40° 22' 11" W115° 30' 39" Small Spring #1 11T 626234mE 4470745mN N40° 22' 40" W115° 30' 47" Very Small Spring #1 11T 625619mE 4471744mN N40° 23' 13" W115° 31' 12" ATV Trail End 11T 625079mE 4471974mN N40° 23' 20" W115° 31' 35" Wilderness Boundary 11T 625225mE 4472355mN N40° 23' 33" W115° 31' 28" Small Spring #2 11T 625320mE 4472808mN N40° 23' 47" W115° 31' 24" Gilbert Jct. - Stay Right 11T 625282mE 4473365mN N40° 24' 05" W115° 31' 25" Spring #1 11T 625586mE 4473445mN N40° 24' 08" W115° 31' 12" McCutcheon Jct - Stay Right 11T 626549mE 4474079mN N40° 24' 28" W115° 30' 31" Spring #2 11T 626560mE 4474078mN N40° 24' 28" W115° 30' 30" Spring #3 11T 626661mE 4474343mN N40° 24' 36" W115° 30' 26" Spring #4 11T 627049mE 4478179mN N40° 26' 40" W115° 30' 07" South Fork Jct - Stay Straight 11T 626383mE 4477562mN N40° 26' 21" W115° 30' 35" Ruby Crest Trail - Elko Nevada - Road Trip Ryan, LLC - Copyright 2006-2021 1 / 9 Faint Middle Fork Jct - Stay Straight 11T 627027mE 4478483mN N40° 26' 50" W115° 30' 07" North Fork Junction - Right 11T 628394mE 4479178mN N40° 27' 12" W115° 29' 09" Spring #5 11T 629363mE 4479177mN N40° 27' 12" W115° 28' 28" Overland Lake 11T 630946mE 4480042mN N40° 27' 39" W115° 27' 20" Overland Jct - Stay left 11T 631248mE 4480198mN N40° 27' 44" W115° 27' 07" Spring #6 11T 630996mE 4480572mN N40° 27' 56" W115° 27' 17" Waterfall 11T 630623mE 4480861mN N40° 28' 05" W115° 27' 33" Spring #7 11T 630795mE 4481769mN N40° 28' 35" W115° 27' 25" Ridgeline 11T 631861mE 4483472mN N40° 29' 29" W115° 26' 39" Long Canyon Sign 11T 633286mE 4484054mN N40° 29' 47" W115° 25' 38" Wines Summit 11T 634817mE 4490003mN N40° 32' 59" W115° 24' 28" North Furlong Jct - Right 11T 635147mE 4491250mN N40° 33' 40" W115° 24' 13" Ponds 11T 634554mE 4492458mN N40° 34' 19" W115° 24' 37" Kletchner Jct 11T 635023mE 4492729mN N40° 34' 28" W115° 24' 17" Farve Jct 11T 635369mE 4492885mN N40° 34' 32" W115° 24' 02" Liberty Lake 11T 635795mE 4493362mN N40° 34' 48" W115° 23' 44" Wilderness Boundary 11T 635934mE 4493977mN N40° 35' 08" W115° 23' 37" Unmarked Jct - Stay Right 11T 635913mE 4494075mN N40° 35' 11" W115° 23' 38" Lamoille Lake Jct 11T 636071mE 4494801mN N40° 35' 34" W115° 23' 31" Stock Trail Jct - Stay Right 11T 636122mE 4494825mN N40° 35' 35" W115° 23' 29" Dollar Lakes 11T 636470mE 4494865mN N40° 35' 36" W115° 23' 14" Trailhead - Lamoille Canyon 11T 637422mE 4496080mN N40° 36' 15" W115° 22' 33" Hype With 314, Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state. The Ruby Mountains, south of Elko, are often touted as one of the crown jewels of the Nevada ranges. Lamoille Canyon, the most visited area of the range, has been described by some as the Yosemite of Nevada. I'm not sure I would go quite that far, but the Ruby Range is indeed beautiful, remote, and has an excellent thru hike that visits a large chunk of it. The Ruby Crest Trail is between 33 and 37 miles depending on who you ask. With small side trips for camping, it clocked in at 35 miles by my count. The hike offers a bit of everything, from lower elevation sagebrush hiking to a stunning ridgeline hike at about 10,000 ft. Though exquisite and offering relatively easy Ruby Crest Trail - Elko Nevada - Road Trip Ryan, LLC - Copyright 2006-2021 2 / 9 access, the Ruby Crest Trail doesn't seem crowded. Sections near Overland Lake on the mid portion of the trail and Lamoille Canyon at the northern trailhead are frequently visited, but the rest feels wild and isolated. This makes an excellent 3-4 day outing, though some may want to push it to 5 days. Be warned, this is an advanced hike and requires skill, fitness, and experience. The most difficult section on the Ruby Crest is difficult because of its elevation and lack of water. On our trip, we did about 14 miles between water sources, crossing several summits en route. Lack of water on the big day is a major concern. Be prepared to cover 14 miles between water sources. In mid- summer, there may be snow to melt along the ridge, but too early in the summer and the passes may be tough or dangerous to cross. I would recommend mid-July through early to mid-September as the prime time to visit. Fall brings with it an explosion of colors as the leaves change. Notes: Be mindful of thunderstorms, much of the hike is above or near treeline. Dogs are allowed on the trail and our dog Abby had a great trip. If bringing a dog, however, be sure to carry enough water for them and yourself on the big day. For our group of 2 + dog, we carried nearly 2 gallons of water between us. The map shows where we found water on an early September trip / average snow year. It can be used as a guide, but if getting low, never pass up the opportunity to fill up. Many springs dry up by late summer. Camping can be a bit problematic as many areas have steep hillsides and not much flat ground to pitch a tent on. The description below breaks the trip into 3 nights/4 days and ends each day at a good camping spot. Smaller groups will have an easier time finding good camping. The hike can be done from north to south, or south to north. If hiring a shuttle, the drivers all recommend south to north. This would be my recommendation as well. The scenery gets better and better each day if heading from the south. Trails Worth Hiking (https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235132/) did a great podcast episode on the Ruby Crest trail (episode 7), including interviewing Road Trip Ryan about our experience on the trail. Well worth a listen, as well as the other Trails Worth Hiking Episodes. You can listen to it on your favorite podcast app, or at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235132/6168730 (https://www.buzzsprout.com /1235132/6168730) . Tags: hike, wildflowers, fall colors, dog friendly, advanced, access: high clearance Trailhead The Lamoille Trailhead (Recommended exit trailhead) From downtown Elko, take 5th Street south, which becomes state road 227. This is well signed for Lamoille Canyon. From Elko, stay on 227 for about 19 miles to the signed Forest Road 660 on the right. Signed for Lamoille. Follow the road to its ends in 12 miles. This is the exit trailhead. There is a toilet at the trailhead, but no camping. Thompson Canyon Campround is part way up the canyon, but can fill up on weekends. See Reserve America for reservations. Ruby Crest Trail - Elko Nevada - Road Trip Ryan, LLC - Copyright 2006-2021 3 / 9 To Harrison Pass (Trailhead) From the ends of the road, go back down Lamoille Canyon to 227. Go left (west) on 227. Follow this back 12 miles toward Elko. Turn left onto state road 228. (signed, major junction) Follow 228 south for 40.1 miles. It passes through the incredibly small town of Jiggs, then continues south before turning east and heading up to the pass. Just before the pass, the road turns to good graded dirt. It should be reachable by all in most conditions. The pass offers good views to the east. Park at the large parking are if you have a low clearance 2wd vehicle. Route Day 1 - From Harrison Pass to the South Fork (10 miles from Harrison Pass / 8.2 from the 4wd Trailhead) From Harrison Pass, walk or drive the jeep road. Stay on the obvious main road and several small forks. It is about 2.8 miles to where the jeep road makes a left on the ridge and flattens out. There is a parking area here and trailhead sign. If driving, I would recommend parking here. Continue along the jeep road, staying right at the first junction, again on the obvious main road. It contours around with several more minor side roads. Ignore this. The further you get, the narrower the road gets and the more it becomes an ATV trail. The trail then crosses the Wilderness Boundary and begins a mellow meander in and out of the many side canyons. A ridgeline makes a good lunch spot before the descent to the South Fork of Smith Creek. There were several shallow streams crossing the road when we hiked this route early September. On the south bank of the South Fork of Smith Creek are several good campsites. The camping is just OK, though, as the area seems to be pretty heavily used by livestock. We continued on and camped in the Middle Fork, but flat ground was very hard to come by.