Celebrating 40 Years of Great Basin National Park
Please join Great Basin National Park Foundation and the National Park Service on October 23, 2026, to celebrate the completed restoration of the Lehman Caves lighting system and the 40th anniversary of the designation of Great Basin National Park.
Schedule of Events (more details below): October 23, 2026
9:30am - 12:00pm: Special presentations at Baker Hall
1:00pm - 1:45pm: Patio talks in front of Lehman Caves Visitor Center
2:00pm: Ribbon-cutting ceremony behind Lehman Caves Visitor Center (refreshments to follow)
3:30pm - 5:30pm: Special presentations at Baker Hall
All day: Free tours of Lehman Caves!
Lehman Caves Tours
Grand Palace tours of Lehman Caves will be offered all day during the celebration, free of charge! See Nevada's longest and most decorated cave system in a whole new light. Tickets are free, offered on a first-come first-served basis, available at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center starting at 8:00am (Pacific Time).
Tour Times (*denotes accessible tour to the Gothic Palace only)
8:30am, 9:15am, 9:45am, 10:30am*, 11:00am, 11:30am, 3:30pm, 4:00pm
Special Presentations at Baker Hall
Hear from park staff, partners, and community leaders during a number of short presentations to learn about Great Basin's founding, history, cave management and science, and more. Baker Hall is located just outside the park in the town of Baker.
Session 1 | 9:30am - 12:00pm
9:30am: How the Magnificent Lehman Caves Formed, with Louise Hose and Harvey DuChene
10:00am: LiDAR: The New Frontier of Caving, with Evan Bowen
10:30am: Designing a New Cave Lighting System for Lehman Caves, with Rod Horrocks
11:00am: A Clean Slate: The Lehman Caves Electrical Demolition Project, with Kirsten Bahr
11:30am: New Light: Installation of the 2026 Lehman Cave Lighting System, with Gretchen Baker
Session 2 | 3:30pm - 5:30pm
3:30pm: Basins & Ranges: The Making of Nevada’s First National Park, with Jeanne Sharp Howerton
4:00pm: 1947: The Insider's Story of the Making of Great Basin National Park, with Dave Tilford
4:30pm: Economic and Community Impacts of Great Basin National Park, with Denys Koyle
5:00pm: How Great Basin National Park Impacted Us: A Cultural History, with James Woolsey