As I quickly made my way in and out of the Great Basin National Park Visitor Center to use the bathroom, curiosity drew me to the information board.  I couldn’t resist skimming over the PLACES NEARBY map, especially with its beautiful pictures.  A stunning photo captioned “Cathedral Gorge” caught my eye, as it resembled a mini Badlands National Park.  Seeing that the state park was conveniently located right off the highway on our route to Southern California, I saw that there was no reason why we couldn’t stop for a brief visit.

We pulled over to scope out Miller’s Point, the park’s most spectacular view over the gorge.  To my surprise, it was more than just an overlook–there were covered picnic tables, bathrooms, plenty of parking, and even a couple trailheads, free of charge!  

Miller’s Point:

From Miller’s Point, a metal stairway led me down to the Miller’s Point Trail, which took me through the scenic gorge to the 4-mile Juniper Draw Loop Trail.  This 4-mile trail basically made up the entire state park, making it easy to see what the park had to offer.

Descending from Miller’s Point:

Photos from the Juniper Draw Loop:

The park’s iconic cathedral spire:

For a $7 day use fee, visitors can spend time in the park’s beautiful picnic area along the walls of the gorge (or just park at Miller’s Point for free).

Since we accidentally discovered Cathedral Gorge along our drive, our visit was spontaneous and brief.  Fortunately not a whole lot of time is required to explore the entire park; we were in and out in just over a couple hours.  I’m thankful that I read the information board at Great Basin National Park; Cathedral Gorge was a wonderful little surprise in the area.