Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

Austin Ranger District

Steve Williams, District Ranger
100 Midas Canyon Road
PO Box 130
Austin, NV 89310-0130
(775) 964-2671

The Austin Ranger District is located 170 miles east of Reno in north-central Nevada. The District’s over 1 million acres are located near what has been dubbed the loneliest highway in America, U.S. Hwy 50. Highway 50 runs through the huge town of Austin, population approximately 250, making Austin the closest “large” town and home to the Austin Ranger Station.

Terrain

A linear-chain of mountains, separated by long valleys, stretches north-to-south across central Nevada forming the rocky-mountainous terrain of the Austin Ranger District. In the lower elevations, the valleys vary from lush-fertile fields to barren playas created from evaporate minerals such as salt.

Elevation Changes

Elevations on the district range from approximately 5,000 feet on the valley floor to 11,474 feet at the highest peak, Bunker Hill, in the northern Toiyabe Range south of Austin.

Climate

At an elevation of over 6,500 feet, Austin’s winters are moderately cold and snowy with an average snowfall of 70 inches and daytime temperatures generally in the upper 30s to low 40s, falling to the upper teens at night (record low is -25). The average precipitation is over 12 inches a year, mainly falling as snow in wintertime.

Summer temperatures climb into the upper 80s (record high is 105), dropping into the upper 40s to low 50s at night. July, August and September are the driest months of the year.

Points of Interest

Arc Dome and Table Mountain Wilderness Areas, Spencer Hot Springs, Toquima Cave (for Native American rock art), Little Grand Canyon, Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, old mining towns such as Austin, Berlin, and Kingston

Flora and Fauna

Flora varies from sagebrush and other high desert and steppe vegetation, to trees such as pinyon and juniper at higher elevations.

Fauna consist of sage grouse, chukar, and other birds, to deer, elk, antelope, wild horses and burros, desert bighorn sheep, and a few mountain lions in more remote areas of some of the mountain ranges, and trout in some mountain streams.

Recreation Types

Hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, OHV recreation, horseback riding, bird and wildlife viewing, photography and pine nut collecting

USDA Forest Service - Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Last Modified: Monday, 17 September 2007 at 18:28:03 EDT