Highest Elevation

Mt. Rose Weather Observatory

No other marker in the system even comes close to this marker's extreme elevation.

At 8,900 feet and less than four miles (as the crow flies) away, Mt. Rose Weather Observatory stands atop Mt. Rose Summit on SR 431, on the flank the flanks of Mt. Rose, Washoe County's highest point. This one almost showboats its way to the top! If you're visiting here any time of the year, bring a scarf, a hoodie, or some thick britches will you. Even during mid-summer, the high elevation winds up here can be downright blistering.

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Lowest Elevation

Von Schmidt State Boundary Monument

Sitting at only 550 feet above sea level, Von Schmidt State Boundary Monument takes the crown as the lowest marker in Nevada! Even so, this title has been stretched thin because this marker technically sits in California making this claim to fame debatable. If we're counting markers fully within Nevada proper, then this superlative goes to Old Spanish Trail (Garcés Expedition) at an elevation of 1,131 feet. Weirdly, Marker 188 resides a little over one mile south of the Nevada state line approximately one mile west of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County ... *ahem*, California.

Only Marker in Another State

Of course, this strange duck wins the strange title of being the only Nevada state marker that resides in another state. Although it might sound ridiculous, the SHPO had good reasons for doing so, and much ado with funding. The California Historical Landmarks Society partnered with the SHPO to build their own versions of the Von Schmidt Monument simply for convenience and maintenance purposes! See CA #859 here. How's that for a strange one?

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Westernmost in Nevada

Luther Canyon (Fay Canyon)

We've catalogued - 118 - Luther Canyon as the westernmost marker in Nevada. Cross reference the map below and you'll see that Marker 118 stands approximately 663 feet east of the California state line. Upon first visiting the marker, you wouldn't think the geography matches up, but it all has to do with the state's long diagonal border that separates it from California: a distance that isn't initially apparent since it sits in wilderness country. At this particular spot, State Route 206 hugs the border by making a quick swing southwest coming less than 700 feet from the state line. How's that for some funky cartography?

Westernmost Marker in Nevada

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Easternmost in Nevada

Virgin Valley

Let's give another one to the south! [56] - Virgin Valley in downtown Mesquite sits 1.06 miles west of the Arizona state line, designating it the easternmost marker in Nevada. [56] shares its real estate with [31] -- Old Spanish Trail in front of the Virgin Valley Heritage Museum on Mesquite Blvd. [56] is a close winner with a difference of only 48 feet between the two. (Guess how we know this?)

Easternmost Marker in Nevada

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Northernmost in Nevada

Duck Valley Indian Reservation

Here's another extreme addition to the marker system with two sweet superlatives! - 151 - Duck Valley Indian Reservation sits just 38 feet south of the Idaho state line, reigning supreme as the northernmost marker in Nevada. Though it's placement is odd to us, the marker is actually centrally located within the reservation that that extends over the state line into Idaho for several dozen miles. Find [151] at the main Tribal Headquarters just before crossing the state line on the Mountain City Highway (SR 225).

Northernmost Marker in Nevada

Future Markers

The town of Owyhee, Nevada, located entirely on the Duck Valley Reservation, is one of only three communities in Nevada that observes Mountain Time. That means, along with Marker 251 in Jackpot, this quirk single-handedly places Marker 151 solidly one hour ahead of all the others in the system!

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Southernmost in Nevada

Von Schmidt State Boundary Monument

Now we circle back to our friend, Marker 188, who selfishly already holds two feisty superlatives! At 1.2 miles south of the Nevada state line within California, we're fitting it with the title of southernmost marker in the system. However, our fingers hover on the pause button. Since this marker technically sits in California, its claim as the southernmost marker is debatable. Strictly speaking since Marker 188 is very much a part of the State Marker System, it must be included, therefore granting this marker its official designation as the southernmost ... even though us purists believe it otherwise.

For everyone's sake in all corners of the debate let's acknowledge another scenario. If we're counting markers strictly within Nevada proper this superlative immediately goes to - 140 - Old Spanish Trail (Garcés Expedition), a long tenured-MIA that was replaced in 2015. Sponsors and partnerships decided on a great placement for Marker 140, currently along Needles Highway, 6.5 miles north of the California state line. Whew! How's that for a touchy title?

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Most Centrally Located in Nevada

Hickison Summit

No other markers come closer to being literally in the middle of the state! Some of you may be wondering how we found this distinction as "centrally located" in the irregularly-shaped wedge we call Nevada. Visit my Journey to Nevada's Geographical Center for these reasons and the awesome binge into the wilds behind it!

At approximately 24.8 miles east of Austin, - 137 - Hickison Summit is the closest marker to Nevada's actual geographic center. As the GPS bird flies, find this marker perched atop its namesake summit on US 50 in Lander County, about 25 miles due northeast of the approximate center.

Most Centrally Located Marker in Nevada

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Most Remote (furthest from services)

- 162 - Camp McGarry in the far southwest reaches of Humboldt County, wins the coveted title as Nevada's Most Remote Historical Marker.

Deciding this distinction was difficult because anybody can declare any of Nevada's rural markers as "remote," but declaring a single marker as "the most remote in the entire state," can be a bit tricky if not ambiguous. Hunters, please understand my reasoning behind this declaration ...

Many of you Jarbidge fans may be reeling in disappointment and I can assure you that this wasn't intentional. Okay, maybe it was, but there is good reason for this. "The most remote" marker distinction was solely based on ADT (average daily traffic) surrounding the marker, in this case, the Soldier Meadows Road and its surrounding routes. Although Marker 162 and the Jarbidge markers are equally remote in terms of distance from a major community, the Jarbidge markers are located within an actual community with a year-round population. By comparison, the only thing you'll find at Marker 162 is a sole guest ranch that oversees one of the most remote acreages of land in the lower 48 states.

Less than .001% of Nevada's population resides within 200 square miles of this remote place that I've lovingly named, "the northwest corner." The Soldier Meadows Guest Ranch serves as the only form of "services" in the surrounding area, including the High Rock Canyon area, the Summit Lake Indian Reservation and acreage as far west as Cedarville, California, east to Denio, Nevada and north to Adel, Oregon. Unless you count guest lodging and maybe a meal, the word "services" is stretched very thin. Finally, unlike Jarbidge, neither Summit Lake nor Soldier Meadows can be defined as "towns," "villages," or even "outposts" per Nevada vernacular. Soldier Meadows is simply a point of reference and a convenient guest ranch within that point of reference. The owners of the Ranch take good care of the marker and promise to keep it nice looking for future marker hunters! See them if you're planning your visit ... and take everything with you (including the kitchen sink!).

To emphasize the wonderful remoteness of this area, I highly recommend visiting my Trip to Soldier Meadows which records every mile of this incredible journey!

Runners Up!

Did you really think we'd forget about these lovely runners-up? In order from most to least ... Long live the "remoteness!"

High Rock Canyon

Marker 149 in extreme northern Washoe County sits all by its lonesome along County Route 34. For obvious reasons, many Nevadans refer to the northwest corner as the "forgotten corner," a place where the human population averages less than .001 percent. You'll find this marker between Vya (Ranch) and Gerlach (41 miles to the south), a location right in the middle of all that beautiful open space. The nearest services heading north from [149] are Cedarville, California, 68 miles in Alkali Valley, or Adel, Oregon, 75 miles in Malheur County.

Choosing between this one and Marker 162 was painfully close!

The Jarbidge Markers

The Jarbidge Markers in northern Elko County have been paired for the next spot and for the sake of consistency, neither one takes the cake over the other. Although each of these is two individual markers, they've unofficially been categorized as one by the SHPO and by all marker hunters and geocachers. The Jarbidge markers reside within what's been crowned as "Nevada's most remote town" and although Jarbidge is a tiny hamlet (population 18 to 84 depending on the season) with one main street, it is a town with active businesses and basic services, including gas and a deputy sheriff, thus knocking its "remoteness" factor down a notch. Find Nevada's most remote town by heading north out of Elko for 102 miles. Jarbidge can be accessed only via two main dirt roads from the south or by one year-round route in the north from Rogerson, Idaho.