Star Peak
Place Name: Pershing County
Place Description: State: Nevada
Date: 06/23/2021
Elevation: 9,836 Feet
Prominence: 5,400 Feet
Miles: 5.8
Elevation Gain: 3,047 Feet
Lists: NV County HP, Ultras of the Lower 48, Western States Climbers, Great Basin Range5 High Points
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Difficulty
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Solitude
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Kid Friendly
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Summit Views
An Inconspicuous Ultra
For an ultra, county high point, and the highest mountain in the Humboldt Range, Star Peak flies under the radar. That’s fine, the solitude out here is quite nice, as are the views!
Overall
3.1Pros
- Large open summit
- Solitude
- Great views
Cons
- Steep and sometimes nasty road
- Long road walk if you don’t drive it
- Possible access issues
Star Peak in Nevada is passed by thousands of people per day on I-80 and it probably doesn’t get many second looks.
As a ultra, county high point, and Great Basin List Peak, Star Peak is huge a get for peak baggers and a quick half day trip.
Getting There
While Star Peak can be approached from the east, the easiest way is from the west. From east bound 80, you will take exit 138 towards Humboldt and make a right and another immediate right onto the frontage road.
Follow the frontage road back the way you came before making a left turn through the mining area. We passed about 5 vehicles in here and they all waved us on. The road eventually narrows into the canyon and leads to some old structures along a creek in the cottonwoods.
Start of the main road in El Dorado Canyon.
Some can hike from here, or you can continue driving up the mining road. The road itself does not have many rock obstacles, but it is aggressively steep in areas with some tight switchbacks. I decided to park at a turnout at 6800 feet and walk from there. There are some decent turnouts and turnarounds higher after different steep sections.
The Trail
The hike is pretty simple. Follow the road up from wherever you start. The road is steep and you gain a lot of mileage. For us, our gain was 3100 feet in 2.9 miles.
While the road can be walked all the way to the top, it goes way out of the way. When you see the mining structure on the left of the road, it’s a great place to start up.
Old mining structure. We left the road here and went straight up.
From here it’s all low scrub brush and 1,300 feet to the summit in 0.49 miles. It’s very steep but saves a lot of time.
Straight up. This is steep!
The Summit
The summit area has an antenna and wind shelter. The views were hazy when on my trip, however, there you can see many peaks and Rye Patch Reservoir below. The ridge lines of the Humboldt Range are very pretty.
Star Peak summit views south.
While climbing, puffy clouds starting building to our south and turned into a small thunder storm. We high tailed it off the the summit as rain drops fell and thunder clapped.
Thunder storm coming in.
The Final Word
While Star Peak isn’t the greatest peak in the world, it also beckons to be climbed by avid peak baggers. It’s definitely a worthwhile day to visit the highest point in Pershing County, Nevada and you will likely have the place all to yourself.
