Ruby Mountains Wilderness Area

Glaciers scoured the northern end of the Ruby Mountains during the last ice age and created U-shaped Lamoille Canyon in the heart of the Rubies with hanging valleys, towering summits, snowfields that remain all year and the inviting nickname of "Nevada's Yosemite." South of Lamoille you'll discover lake basins and meadows for about seven miles before the terrain turns into a narrow, grassy ridge south of Furlong Lake that runs 20 miles to the Overland Lake basin. The Rubies contain ten peaks above 10,000 feet (including Ruby Dome at 11,387 feet) and over two dozen alpine lakes, rare treats in this state. You'll find here one of the largest herds of mule deer in Nevada, numbers of mountain goats and bighorn sheep, and streams filled with trout including the threatened Lahontan cutthroat. Himalayan snow cocks and Hungarian partridges have been introduced and are doing well.