The refuge was established in 1948 to provide habitat for migratory birds. It
consists of uplands dominated by salt desert scrub and shallow marsh which
varies from fresh water to salt water. The 81,322 acre refuge was designated
an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society and as a site of
hemispheric importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.
The local Paiute tribe, known as the Toi-Ticutta or cattail eaters, have used
resources from the marsh for thousands of years.

The refuge was established in 1948 to provide habitat for migratory birds. It consists of uplands dominated by salt desert scrub and shallow marsh which varies from fresh water to salt water. The 81,322 acre refuge was designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society and as a site of hemispheric importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. The local Paiute tribe, known as the Toi-Ticutta or cattail eaters, have used resources from the marsh for thousands of years.

Bird's eye view of the park

Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge

Grimes Point is an archaeological site which was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1972. During the Pleistocene Epoch, this area
and most of northwestern Nevada, was covered by ancient Lake Lahontan. Over
the last 10,000 years, the level of ancient Lake Lahontan fluctuated widely,
at times drying up completely. When above water, the Grimes Point area would
have been marshland with a wide variety of wetland plants and animals
available for use by prehistoric populations. Grimes Point was first visited
by Native Americans perhaps 8,000 years ago or more.

Grimes Point is a field of basalt boulders that are covered with a glossy
black patina, commonly called desert varnish. Many of the boulders are covered
with pecked or carved rock art called petroglyphs. The antiquity of many of
the petroglyphs can be evidenced by how varnish has completely repatinated the
carved surfaces.

Visitors today can view examples of petroglyphs along a 1/4 mile, self-guided
interpretive trail. The trail was originally constructed by the Youth
Conservation Corps and named Nevada's first National Recreation Trail in 1978.
Handicapped accessible restrooms and picnic facilities are available at this
popular stop on U.S. Highway 50.

Contact the BLM Carson City District Office at (775) 885-6000 for more
information or to arrange for a guided tour of the site for school or other
large groups. Guided public tours are also available at nearby Hidden Cave on
the second and fourth Saturday of each month.

Check out the Churchill County Museum in Fallon and the Nevada State Museum in
Carson City for additional displays about prehistoric Nevada and Grimes Point
and Hidden Cave. Please stay on the trail and help ensure this special place
remains for future generations by respectfully viewing the petroglyphs. Take
nothing but photographs. Please do not touch, chalk, create rubbings of the
petroglyphs, or damage them in any way.

Hidden Cave is an archaeological site which was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places, in 1972, as part of Grimes Point. The cave itself
was formed around 21,000 years ago by the waves of rising Pleistocene Lake
Lahontan. In the mid-1920's, the cave was found by four school boys, the first
20th century humans to do so. The cave has been excavated by archaeologists
three times: once in 1940, again in 1951, and finally a large excavation in
1979-1980 by the American Museum of Natural History. A high proportion of the
artifacts found in Hidden Cave were unbroken and arranged in concentrations.
That led to the conclusion that 3,500 to 3,800 years ago people used the cave
more as a cache (a place to store objects for later) than for habitation.

The BLM gives free public tours of Hidden Cave on the second and fourth
Saturdays of each month with the exception of any three day weekend where the
Friday or Monday is a federally recognized holiday, like Memorial Day,
Thanksgiving, and Labor Day. The tours begin at the Churchill County Museum in
Fallon, at 9:30 a.m. with a special video showing, and then the group caravans
out to Hidden Cave and walks up the trail to the cave entrance. The tours end
by 12:00 p.m. Additionally, tours for private groups can be arranged to be
given at other times by docents from the Churchill County Museum. If you plan
to visit Hidden Cave, please wear sturdy walking shoes, bring water, and dress
appropriately for the weather (it can change in a hurry during every season).

Hidden Cave can only be accessed through taking a scheduled tour. The site is
on a 1/2 mile interpretive loop trail that is not handicapped accessible. The
tour may not be suitable for very young children because of its length and the
climb up the hill.

Grimes Point is an archaeological site which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. During the Pleistocene Epoch, this area and most of northwestern Nevada, was covered by ancient Lake Lahontan. Over the last 10,000 years, the level of ancient Lake Lahontan fluctuated widely, at times drying up completely. When above water, the Grimes Point area would have been marshland with a wide variety of wetland plants and animals available for use by prehistoric populations. Grimes Point was first visited by Native Americans perhaps 8,000 years ago or more.

Grimes Point is a field of basalt boulders that are covered with a glossy black patina, commonly called desert varnish. Many of the boulders are covered with pecked or carved rock art called petroglyphs. The antiquity of many of the petroglyphs can be evidenced by how varnish has completely repatinated the carved surfaces.

Visitors today can view examples of petroglyphs along a 1/4 mile, self-guided interpretive trail. The trail was originally constructed by the Youth Conservation Corps and named Nevada's first National Recreation Trail in 1978. Handicapped accessible restrooms and picnic facilities are available at this popular stop on U.S. Highway 50.

Contact the BLM Carson City District Office at (775) 885-6000 for more information or to arrange for a guided tour of the site for school or other large groups. Guided public tours are also available at nearby Hidden Cave on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.

Check out the Churchill County Museum in Fallon and the Nevada State Museum in Carson City for additional displays about prehistoric Nevada and Grimes Point and Hidden Cave. Please stay on the trail and help ensure this special place remains for future generations by respectfully viewing the petroglyphs. Take nothing but photographs. Please do not touch, chalk, create rubbings of the petroglyphs, or damage them in any way. Hidden Cave is an archaeological site which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in 1972, as part of Grimes Point. The cave itself was formed around 21,000 years ago by the waves of rising Pleistocene Lake Lahontan. In the mid-1920's, the cave was found by four school boys, the first 20th century humans to do so. The cave has been excavated by archaeologists three times: once in 1940, again in 1951, and finally a large excavation in 1979-1980 by the American Museum of Natural History. A high proportion of the artifacts found in Hidden Cave were unbroken and arranged in concentrations. That led to the conclusion that 3,500 to 3,800 years ago people used the cave more as a cache (a place to store objects for later) than for habitation.

The BLM gives free public tours of Hidden Cave on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month with the exception of any three day weekend where the Friday or Monday is a federally recognized holiday, like Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, and Labor Day. The tours begin at the Churchill County Museum in Fallon, at 9:30 a.m. with a special video showing, and then the group caravans out to Hidden Cave and walks up the trail to the cave entrance. The tours end by 12:00 p.m. Additionally, tours for private groups can be arranged to be given at other times by docents from the Churchill County Museum. If you plan to visit Hidden Cave, please wear sturdy walking shoes, bring water, and dress appropriately for the weather (it can change in a hurry during every season).

Hidden Cave can only be accessed through taking a scheduled tour. The site is on a 1/2 mile interpretive loop trail that is not handicapped accessible. The tour may not be suitable for very young children because of its length and the climb up the hill.

Grimes Point Petroglyphs

A photo of Site C040 of Loop C at Tuolumne Meadows Campground with Picnic Table, Fire Pit, Shade, Food Storage, Tent Pad

Grimes Point/Hidden Cave Archaeological Site

Fallon National Wildlife Refuge is a 17,848 acre unit of the Stillwater
National Wildlife Refuge Complex, located in north-central Nevada, 20 miles
northeast of the community of Fallon, and approximately seventy miles east of
Reno.

At the terminus of a branch of the Carson River, Fallon National Wildlife
Refuge lies within the Carson Sink, and boasts the lowest elevation of
Stillwater NWR Complex at 3800ft. This desolate patch of high desert is
dominated by gently rolling to flat desert alkali-shrub habitat consisting of
greasewood and saltbush. A system of both active and stable dunes also
accentuates the topography in this area. Cultural history extends back to the
Northern Paiute people known as the cat-tail eaters ('_Toidikadi_ ') and their
occupation of the Stillwater marshlands several thousand years ago.

Conditions at Fallon NWR are extremely primitive with no cell service or
public use facilities (NO restrooms, water, trash, trails, picnic areas, etc.)

For more information on Fallon refuge and the Stillwater NWR Complex or
contact us at 775-423-5128 by email at stillwater@fws.gov.

Fallon National Wildlife Refuge is a 17,848 acre unit of the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge Complex, located in north-central Nevada, 20 miles northeast of the community of Fallon, and approximately seventy miles east of Reno. 

At the terminus of a branch of the Carson River, Fallon National Wildlife Refuge lies within the Carson Sink, and boasts the lowest elevation of Stillwater NWR Complex at 3800ft.  This desolate patch of high desert is dominated by gently rolling to flat desert alkali-shrub habitat consisting of greasewood and saltbush. A system of both active and stable dunes also accentuates the topography in this area. Cultural history extends back to the Northern Paiute people known as the cat-tail eaters ('Toidikadi') and their occupation of the Stillwater marshlands several thousand years ago.

Conditions at Fallon NWR are extremely primitive with no cell service or public use facilities (NO restrooms, water, trash, trails, picnic areas, etc.) 

For more information on Fallon refuge and the Stillwater NWR Complex or contact us at 775-423-5128 by email at stillwater@fws.gov.

Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge

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Nearby Parks

Grimes Point/Hidden Cave Archaeological Site

Fallon National Wildlife Refuge