The best part? You can hike, stand and marvel in a sacred grove full of these truly ancient trees after just a few hours’ drive east from central Utah. More specifically, you’ll find them in Nevada’s Great Basin National Park — just beyond Utah’s border. And unlike the vast majority of national parks, this highly underrated and nearby national park is free to enter.

Now, I won’t fault you, kind reader, for thinking trees are boring. They’re certainly commonplace, I’ll grant you that. But I challenge you to think that way after visiting Great Basin’s Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, where some of the oldest living organisms walk — err, stand — among us. I’ve seen the tallest trees in the world at Redwood National Park in Northern California and the widest in the world at Sequoia National Park in Central California. And I can honestly say that Great Basin’s bristlecones are just as special, if not more reverent. Like looking into the soul of the universe.

OK, maybe not that deep. But it sure does feel close by mortal standards.

One legendary tree found on Wheeler Peak was estimated to have lived over 5,000 years before being felled in 1964 to count its rings. Although the 3-mile round-trip hike to Great Basin’s ancient grove only has trees up to 4,000 years old, experts and park rangers admit to several that are over 5,000 years old. They just won’t tell you where in a gracious act to protect and preserve them.

Courtesy photo

Back in 2020, I made a personal pilgrimage to see Great Basin’s bristlecone forest for the first time while reporting for Lonely Planet. The hike to get there is relatively easy, starting near Wheeler Peak Campground and winding up 600 feet in elevation gain past alpine lakes before reaching the ancient grove.

Not at all what I expected, the trees themselves are twisting, stoic, alive — each trunk a sculpture molded by millennia of wind, ice, drought and cosmic rays. As you can see in pictures, the trees can survive this long after using their dead outer trucks as protection. Either way, I swear they looked at me with contempt for modern life. I soaked up interpretive signs that told the tale of several trees that were thousands and thousands of years old. Blew my mind.

As Nevada’s only national park, Great Basin is actually closer to Utah Valley than it is to Las Vegas. And unlike Bryce Canyon, Zion or Arches (all of which charge admission), this park lets you wander in without handing over a dime at the gate. In addition to free views of the ancient trees, you’ll also find unmatched dark skies at Great Basin — one of the best spots in the lower 48 really to take in the sky-sweeping Milky Way.

If you’re starting in Utah, gather supplies and fuel up early. Baker, Nevada — the park’s closest town — is charming but sparse on services. For best hiking weather, visit between June and September, though even then you might see snow at elevation. Also, plan ahead or show up early for Lehman Cave tours. These paid tours sell out fast, especially on weekends.

As for me and my house, though, the ancient bristlecone pines are the real stars of Great Basin National Park. Just like there’s no excuse for anyone in Utah not to visit our five national parks at least once in their life (since so many others travel halfway around the world to see these parks), there is simply no excuse for any Utahn not to drive the three or four hours it takes to see the oldest trees on Earth.

In short, Great Basin is a nearby gem that finds itself at the intersection of time and space. It’s profound. It’s reverent. And it just might change how you see the world.

Blake Snow contributes to fancy publications and Fortune 500 companies as a bodacious writer-for-hire and seasoned travel journalist to all seven continents. He lives in Provo with his wife, five children and one ferocious chihuahua.