Highway 50 - Stop 4 - Hickison Petroglyphs Recreation Area

Introduction

About 40 minutes outside of Eureka, we decided to make a stop at Hickison Petroglpyhs Recreation Area.  Like most of Highway 50, we had the place to ourselves.  

There is ample parking here along with restrooms.  There are also picnic areas.  The parking lot is located less than a mile off the road and wasn't a problem to get to in a regular car.

The area includes a fairly short hike -- don't be surprised if you are winded here as you are up in elevation -- that takes you by some ancient carvings in the soft, red rocks surrounding the area.  A lot of the artwork has faded over time due to erosion, weathering and vandals.

That being said, there is a lot remaining and is worth a quick look.  We also enjoyed the roughly 1 mile hike that takes you to an overlook, where you can see for miles to the west.  We were fortunate to have awesome weather and it was worth the 30 - 45 minute detour.  I suspect there were a few other trails in the area, but they may have gone into private property.

A lot of people pass by this, but this place is definitely worth a visit.  

Highway 50 - Stop 3 Eureka Nevada

Introduction

If you are heading west along Highway 50, you'll come to the tiny town of Eureka.  It was also another stamp to get on my passport.

Eureka has a population of just over 600 and once again it was another town where there were hardly any cars or for that matter  people.  

They actually did have a few restaurants and even a small grocery store.  There were some definite signs of life.

I wound up getting my passport stamped at the Court House.  The inside of it was something out another era.  It was clean and definitely had been updated, but some of it hearkened back to another age.

The town takes a whopping 15 minutes to walk around -- at least the main parts.  Like most early towns there is the main drag and then another set of streets on each side.

There were several closed buildings but there were some new establishments that seemed to be thriving.  Eureka is about a half way point if you started the trip from Utah so it was definitely open for lunch.

I took a brief walk around the city and took it all in.  Definitely interesting if you enjoy quiet desert towns:

Highway 50 - Stop 2 Illipah Reservoir

Introduction

Illipah Reservoir wasn't on my passport stop for my Highway 50 drive, but I was told it was a pretty good place to stop off and take a break and see something isn't visible from the roadway.  If I was into fishing or had time for a hike, it might've been fun to explore, but Illipah Reservoir is a mere 30 minutes outside of Ely.

The drive from Highway 50 looks long, but it is about a mile.  It is a dirt road and my Mazda 6 made it comfortably.  

There are some bathrooms here and it looks like a nice place to have a picnic.  If you are so inclined, it looks like a place to do some fishing as well.   I didn't see any official hikes, but it looked like there were a few trails that meandered into the overlooking hills.

I spent about 20 minutes here poking around and looking at the water.  If you need a break and have a few minutes to spare, this is a free stop and worth checking out, especially if like lonely desert scenery.

Also at the entrance is a historical marker for Hamilton, NV.