Pyramid Lake: A brilliant Blue Gem in a Desert

Lying in the desert-lands of Northwest Nevada is a blue lake that is flanked by rocky protectors by the names of Lake Range and Virginia Range. The lake is called Pyramid lake and it leads a pretty unassuming life in the middle of all those rocks and gravel and scrubs, even though it is not very far away from the quite-happening ‘Biggest Little City In the World.’

Where exactly is Pyramid Lake?

Nevada’s Pyramid Lake is less than an hour’s drive from Reno, yet it looks like it goes unnoticed by the visitors to the casino city. In fact, a whole lot of people haven’t even heard of it. But those who have, seem to think that it is one of the most beautiful desert lakes. Considering the scenic landscape it is embedded in, and the fact that not many people visit the area, Pyramid Lake is a photographers dream. And I’m guessing it’s the people armed with DSLRs who take the trouble to drive down there.

When we left Reno and drove towards Nevada’s Pyramid Lake we had the Truckee River for company for almost all the way there. The waters of the river and we had a common destination. 🙂

When we left the busy Interstate-80 and drove into State Route 447N, the area seemed pretty deserted. We had only passed a handful of cars, most of them driving the other way.

When we got to the little town of Nixon that lies on the south side of the lake, the visitor center had just opened for the day. We met two gracious native American ladies who welcomed us inside. One of them ushered my then 8-year old into the museum so that he could learn about the indigenous people of the area while he played a round of scavenger hunt. The other kind lady gave me a map of the 125,000-acre lake and the roads around it. She also told me which roads and what beaches and points-of-interest were open around that time. Sonny boy and I were on the only visitors inside that beautiful round building for a long time. So we had the luxury of a personalized culture lesson.

A little background on the area

Pyramid Lake lies in a reservation that is inhabited by the Paiute Tribe. They have been living in the area for centuries and have a lot of history here. They continue to manage the area even today.

According to a brochure I picked up that the visitor centre, ‘Pyramid Lake was designated as the first National Scenic Byway entirely on an Indian reservation.’ It has also been named Nevada’s first Preserve American Tribal community.

The leaflet went on to say that there were several recreational activities that take place in the lake. And by that, I guess, it’s in the summer that the area sees more visitors because we saw only a handful of people by the lake’s beaches. (It was in spring that we were there.)

Around the lake:

After picking up a couple of souvenirs and a permit to enter the reservation we headed to the southern end of the lake. Our first stop – popcorn rock beach was a small beach. This beach showed us a few gulls, some white American Pelicans in the distance, Anaho Island that sits in the southeastern part and the pyramid after which the lake was named.

The Pyramid

The pyramid is a 400-meter tall structure that stands very close to the eastern bank of the lake. It is one of the many tufa formations in and around the lake.

Tufa rocks are said to be formed of calcium carbonate deposits and are found near lakes and springs, or where the two meet. Even the big island in the lake is a tufa formation.

When we were visiting, it was only the roads and the beaches on the west and southwestern parts of the lake that were open to visitors. As such, we did not get to see ‘the pyramid,’ Anaho island and ‘the needles’ towards the north, up close.

However, we did get to see several other rock formations by the lake, especially at the Indian Head and Tamarack points.

Have you heard of Lake Lahontan?

Now that you’ve seen Pyramid Lake and the dry mountains and desert area around the lake, let me tell you about Lake Lahontan.

A long, long time ago, and by that, I mean a few millions of years ago, in place of this desert was a large lake that spread over to parts of California and Oregon. My reading tells me that some experts even prefer to call that prehistoric lake an ‘inland sea.’

What’s left of the then 8500-square-mile lake is a much smaller water body of 188 square miles — the Pyramid Lake. Apparently, this part was the deepest part of the larger lake that once sprawled the area.

After soaking up the sights of the sandy surrounding that only had scrubs for vegetation and some wildflowers, we drove further north and saw a bit of Sutcliff, where the settlement is. There were a few scores of houses, an RV park, a storage area and a couple of stores making up a little town.

We then decided to head back to Reno and this time we took SR 445 that ran through Spanish Springs connecting Pyramid Lake to Sparks, Nevada. And this route sure had more vehicles, people, businesses and even residential areas.

Directions: Reno to Pyramid Lake

Now you know: If you want to take the route less traveled, take 447. And if you are more comfortable taking the route that has more people on it, take 445.

You can set your maps to ‘Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Museum and Visitor Center in Nixon, Nevada.

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My Corner of the World

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