High Schells Wilderness
No, a permit is not required to visit High Schells Wilderness. High Schells Wilderness is a 121,449-acre wilderness area in White Pine County, Nevada. It rises from about 6,043 to 11,872 ft. The nearest town is McGill, 5.8 miles away in a straight line.
High Schells Wilderness map
High Schells Wilderness boundary from USGS PAD-US or the managing agency, simplified for display. Not for navigation or legal boundaries.
Fire restrictions
One fire restriction order is recorded for this unit as of Sept. 30, 2026. Each links the signed order.
- BLM Nevada Prevention Order: BLM statewide restrictions Effective May 1, 2026. Applies to all BLM and Forest Service land in Nevada. Prohibited: Possessing, discharging, using or allowing the use of fireworks, pyrotechnic or incendiary devices; possessing, discharging, igniting or causing to burn; explosives or explosive material, including binary explosive targets; discharging a firearm using tracer, incendiary, or steel-component ammunition. [Use of tracer or incendiary ammunition is always prohibited on public lands]; operating or using any internal or external combustion engine without a spark arresting device properly installed, maintained and in effective working order.
Nevada Fire Info, BLM Nevada's interagency fire site, keeps the Nevada fire restrictions map and signed orders for every fire zone, and a Nevada fire map of active fires.
Common questions
- No, a permit is not required to visit High Schells Wilderness.
- McGill, NV is the nearest town, 5.8 miles in a straight line from the boundary (not a driving distance).
- The highest ground in High Schells Wilderness is about 11,872 ft, and its lowest about 6,043 ft (USGS 3DEP elevation model). Its highest named summit is North Schell Peak, about 11,872 ft.
Who manages High Schells Wilderness
| Agency | Acres | Permit | Group size | Stay limit | Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Service | 121,449 | Not on record | Not on record | Not on record | Ely Ranger District, 775-289-3031 |
Getting to High Schells Wilderness
- McGill, NV is the nearest town, 5.8 miles in a straight line from the boundary (not a driving distance). (US Census places, accessed 2026-09-25)
Trailheads at High Schells Wilderness
- Cave Creek Trailhead (0.6 mi outside the boundary, 7,255 ft), at 39.1943, -114.6960 (mapped on OpenStreetMap)
- Overlook Trailhead (0.97 mi outside the boundary, 7,292 ft), at 39.1868, -114.6895 (mapped on OpenStreetMap)
Trailheads mapped on OpenStreetMap: © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License , accessed 2026-09-25. The extract used here, with distances from the boundary: osm-trailheads-nv.json. Where an agency layer lists the same trailhead, the agency's point is shown instead. Elevations from USGS 3DEP.
Named summits, canyons, and springs in High Schells Wilderness
- North Schell Peak summit
- South Schell Peak summit
- Taft Peak summit
- Doe Canyon canyon
- Kraft Canyon canyon
- Clear Spring spring
- Cottonwood Spring spring
Features whose official location is inside the boundary, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, accessed 2026-09-25. Summit elevations measured on the USGS 3DEP elevation model, which can read a few feet under a surveyed summit height.
Campgrounds in and around High Schells Wilderness
Campgrounds inside the boundary: Timber Creek Campground , each with its reservation system and amenities on campgroundsdb.com.
- Berry Creek Campground (right at the boundary): its sites, fees, and reservations on campgroundsdb.com.
- Bird Creek Campground (right at the boundary): its sites, fees, and reservations on campgroundsdb.com.
- East Creek Campground (0.1 miles outside the boundary): its sites, fees, and reservations on campgroundsdb.com.
- Kalamazoo Campground (0.3 miles outside the boundary): its sites, fees, and reservations on campgroundsdb.com.
- Cleve Creek Campground (0.4 miles outside the boundary): its sites, fees, and reservations on campgroundsdb.com.
Fishing and water
- Cave Creek fishing (0.8 miles outside the boundary): its fishing and stocking record on fishypedia.com.
- Cave Lake fishing (0.9 miles outside the boundary): its fishing and stocking record on fishypedia.com.
Public lands next to High Schells Wilderness
- National forestHigh Schells Wilderness lies inside Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
- State parkCave Lake State Park is 0.4 miles away, straight line between the two boundaries.
Measured between the units' boundaries as mapped in USGS PAD-US. Distances are straight line, not driving.
Other wilderness areas in Nevada
- https://wilderness.net/visit-wilderness/?ID=696 (accessed 2026-09-25)
- https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/humboldt-toiyabe/wilderness (accessed 2026-09-24)
- https://prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com/StagedProducts/Elevation/1/TIFF/current/n40w115/USGS_1_n40w115.tif (accessed 2026-09-25)
- https://prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com/StagedProducts/GeographicNames/DomesticNames/DomesticNames_NV_Text.zip (accessed 2026-09-25)
- https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2025_Gazetteer/2025_gaz_place_32.txt (accessed 2026-09-25)
- https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright (accessed 2026-09-25)