Ruby Mountains Wilderness
No, a permit is not required to visit Ruby Mountains Wilderness. Ruby Mountains Wilderness is a 92,652-acre wilderness area in Elko County, Nevada. It rises from about 6,283 to 11,320 ft. The nearest town is Lamoille, 5.2 miles away in a straight line.
Ruby Mountains Wilderness map
Ruby Mountains 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 Ruby Mountains Wilderness.
- Lamoille, NV is the nearest town, 5.2 miles in a straight line from the boundary (not a driving distance).
- The highest ground in Ruby Mountains Wilderness is about 11,320 ft, and its lowest about 6,283 ft (USGS 3DEP elevation model). Its highest named summit is Mount Fitzgerald, about 11,156 ft.
Who manages Ruby Mountains Wilderness
| Agency | Acres | Permit | Group size | Stay limit | Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Service | 92,652 | Not on record | Not on record | Not on record | Ruby Mountains Ranger District, 775-752-3357 |
Getting to Ruby Mountains Wilderness
- Lamoille, NV is the nearest town, 5.2 miles in a straight line from the boundary (not a driving distance). (US Census places, accessed 2026-09-25)
Trailheads at Ruby Mountains Wilderness
- Colonel Moore Trailhead (inside the boundary, 7,213 ft), at 40.5615, -115.3537 (mapped on OpenStreetMap)
- Joe Billy Basin Trailhead (inside the boundary, 6,658 ft), at 40.6441, -115.2910 (mapped on OpenStreetMap)
- John Day Canyon Trailhead (0.02 mi outside the boundary, 6,448 ft), at 40.7747, -115.3311 (mapped on OpenStreetMap)
- Soldier Basin Trailhead (0.04 mi outside the boundary, 6,804 ft), at 40.7749, -115.3122
- Thomas Canyon Trailhead (0.25 mi outside the boundary, 7,564 ft), at 40.6493, -115.4054 (mapped on OpenStreetMap)
- Gardner Creek Trailhead (0.46 mi outside the boundary, 6,831 ft), at 40.8142, -115.2290 (mapped on OpenStreetMap)
- Island Lake Trailhead (0.51 mi outside the boundary, 8,783 ft), at 40.6056, -115.3758 (mapped on OpenStreetMap)
- Roads End Trailhead (0.67 mi outside the boundary, 9,212 ft), at 40.6063, -115.3794
Trailhead locations: Forest Service recreation sites layer , accessed 2026-09-25. Elevations from USGS 3DEP.
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.
Named summits, canyons, and springs in Ruby Mountains Wilderness
- Mount Fitzgerald summit
- Mount Gilbert summit
- Wines Peak summit
- Box Canyon canyon
- Echo Canyon canyon
- Castle Lake lake
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 Ruby Mountains Wilderness
Thomas Canyon Campground (0.2 miles outside the boundary): its sites, fees, and reservations on campgroundsdb.com.
Fishing and water
Lamoille Creek fishing (0.8 miles outside the boundary): its fishing and stocking record on fishypedia.com.
Public lands next to Ruby Mountains Wilderness
- National forestRuby Mountains Wilderness lies inside Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
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=505 (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/n41w116/USGS_1_n41w116.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://apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_InfraRecreationSites_01/MapServer/0 (accessed 2026-09-25)
- https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright (accessed 2026-09-25)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Mountains_Wilderness (accessed 2026-09-24)