Nevada's Waterfalls and Natural Springs

Nevada's dryness means waterfalls are rare and prized — but the state has a surprising number of perennial springs, hot springs, and cascade falls in its mountain ranges.

Burro Creek Falls and Hot Spring (Nevada-Arizona border area)
Hot springs are Nevada's most distinctive water feature — dozens of geothermally heated springs throughout the Basin and Range. The Spencer Hot Springs east of Austin (BLM land, free, primitive) are among the most accessible. Thousand Springs Valley in Elko County has multiple spring-fed seeps creating riparian habitat in an otherwise arid landscape.

Ruby Mountains: Thomas Canyon Falls
In the Thomas Canyon drainage of the Ruby Mountains south of Lamoille, seasonal waterfalls cascade from the cliffs after snowmelt (peak: May–June). The Ruby Mountains receive exceptional snowpack; the canyons hold water well into summer. Lamoille Lake at the head of the canyon has a small cascade outlet.

Valley of Fire: Mouse's Tank Trail
Not a waterfall but a water pocket — the "Mouse's Tank" is a natural sandstone depression that traps rainwater. In the desert context, this natural water source sustained the Ancestral Puebloans who carved petroglyphs along this canyon. The water's existence in solid red sandstone is itself remarkable.

Kershaw-Ryan State Park (Caliente)
In the Meadow Valley Wash south of Caliente — a small canyon park with a stream, wading pool, and garden of wild roses. A remarkable oasis in the southern Nevada desert. The canyon's grapes (remnants of an early 20th-century vineyard) still produce fruit in season.

Hot Creek Geothermal Area (near Fallon)
The Nevada desert has numerous hot springs accessible on BLM land — Bog Hot Springs near McDermitt, Mickey Hot Springs in the Black Rock Desert, and the Soldier Meadows Hot Springs complex in Humboldt County are all accessible with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. These undeveloped spring areas offer desert soaking in remote settings.