Peavine Mountain is popular with Reno off-roaders. Virginia City, Dayton and Comstock Lode Historic District have plenty of rocky trails, old mine dumps and abandoned buildings. Yerington has eight trails and roads for ATVs, dirt bikes and high clearance 4x4 vehicles which traverse Mason Valley or run along the Carson River. The Fort Churchill Road takes you to the old Army post and Buckhorn Backcountry Byway, a single-lane dirt road northwest of Gerlach, traverses foothills to Susanville, Calif.
Winnemucca Sand Dunes have plenty of room for free-wheeling and exploring. The Ruby Mountains and Ruby Valley near Wells, Deeth offer roads and trails for 4x4s and OHVs for exploring and fishing. Jarbidge Wilderness is 65,000 acres of fishing streams and lakes in rugged mountains 100 miles north of Elko. Roads are closed by snow till late summer.
This area is traversed by Highway 50, dubbed America's Loneliest Road and follows the old Pony Express Trail. Sand Mountain, near Fallon, is 4,795 acres of white sand dunes that welcomes campers, sandboarders and ATVers. East of Ely, explore Great Basin, Nevada's largest national park and hike Mt.Wheeler, home to 3,000-year-old bristlecone pines.
Pioche, an aged gold-mining town, has plenty of open country around plus an historic cemetery. North of here, the Mount Wilson Backcountry Byway traverses 66 miles of gravel roads through an old volcanic caldera, now covered in pine forests. High clearance vehicles are recommended and access is difficult in winter due to snow. Silver State Trail covers 260 miles from Caliente Summit to Mount Grafton, offering spectacular vistas.
For sand dunes south of Las Vegas, visit the Nellis Dunes and Logandale Trails, which sport 25 miles of trails in the Valley of Fire. From here, a 28 mile route, the Bitter Springs Trail Backcountry Byway, runs through the foothills of the Muddy Mountains past old borax mines to the North Shore of Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The Armagosa Valley and Big Dune make up five square miles of sand dunes and dips. The Red Rock Canyon Backcountry Byway is a scenic drive on a paved road with many self-guided nature trails. Near Tonopah, the Lunar Crater Backcountry Byway, bumps past cinder cones, 20 extinct volcanoes, over basalt and lava flows.
