Cowboy Country

Cowboy Country covers the rugged northern third of Nevada, the high desert and mountain country running from the California line east to Utah and from the I-80 corridor north to the Oregon and Idaho borders. The terrain stacks dramatically — basin-and-range geology with sagebrush valleys at 5,000 feet rising into the Ruby, Independence, and Santa Rosa mountains. The Humboldt River drains the entire central stretch. Three counties cover the region. Elko holds Elko, the largest city, and West Wendover (on the Utah line); Humboldt holds Winnemucca; Pershing holds Lovelock. The Ruby Mountains (often called Nevada’s Swiss Alps) rise south of Elko; the Jarbidge Wilderness covers rugged country at the Idaho line; the Black Rock Desert (host of the Burning Man festival each Labor Day) sits north of Winnemucca. Most trips here run cowboy-and-outdoor focused. Elko’s National Cowboy Poetry Gathering each January draws working cowboys and the cowboy poetry crowd from across the West; the Ruby Mountains carry hiking, heli-skiing, and the Lamoille Canyon scenic drive; the Black Rock Desert plays host to land-speed records and Burning Man; Winnemucca’s Buckaroo Hall of Fame anchors the cowboy heritage.