National Public Lands Day 2025
Come out and join Friends of Nevada Wildereness, Friends of Black Rock High Rock, Stewards of the Black Rock Desert and other public lands supporters for a weekend of service projects and camping in this remote location near the Applegate Lassen Emigrant Trail. There are hot springs near our camp site!
Friday, September 26th – Sunday, September 28th
There will be projects for everyone this weekend!
Projects: 1 – Installation of Signs around Soldier Meadows
3 – Fence removal to improve wildlife habitat throughout Soldier Meadows!
4 – Cabin/campground cleanup, repairing siding on the cabin, and trash removal.
There will be sign-up sheets for the various projects at the Soldier Meadows Cabin on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Directions From Sparks: The one-way trip is about 165 miles and will take approximately 4 hours. 1) Head east from Reno on I-80 towards Fernley 2) Take Exit 43 towards Wadsworth/Pyramid Lake 3) Head North on NV-447 and follow until Gerlach, NV 4) After Gerlach turn Right (North) onto County Rd 34 5) Follow 34 N for about 12 miles to Soldier Meadows Rd 6) Turn Right onto Soldier Meadows Rd and follow for about 45 miles 7) Turn left after Muddy Meadows Reservoir to arrive at the Soldier Meadows Cabin (Cabin will be on the right, look for the small wooden cabin, pit toilet, and other vehicles) A vehicle with higher clearance and all-wheel drive should be fine making it to the campsite (think Subaru Outback). Sturdy tires and a spare tire and/or tire plug kit are highly recommended.
*Note: There will be limited or no cell phone service at the campsite, and for large portions of the drive, do not rely on cell phone service for navigation.
Gear
There will be multiple projects of varying difficulty. We ask that for all the projects you wear long pants, long sleeves, sturdy shoes, a daypack, and have the capacity to carry lunch, snacks, and AT LEAST 2 liters of water. Please wear clothing that you wouldn’t mind getting dirty or damaged. All projects will be close to the truck and we can fill up our water bottles as needed. We will provide plenty of water and a hand-washing station. The Soldier Meadows cabin also has a pit toilet on site. We ask that you bring your camping equipment including a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, kitchen utensils, bowls, plates, cups, coffee mug, etc. If you need anything, please let us know and we are happy to loan items for the weekend. Here is a packing list to help remind you of what you may need.
Food
Breakfast and coffee will be provided for everyone on Saturday morning, coffee will be provided Sunday morning. You are responsible for dinner on Friday night, lunches, and any snacks. Saturday night will be the Dutch Oven Cook-Off and Potluck Dinner. Please let me know if you have any allergies or dietary restrictions.
Dutch Oven Cook-Off and Potluck Dinner! We invite anyone interested to enter a Main Dish or Dessert into the friendly competition. Our staff is happy to give guidance to those who have a Dutch Oven but have never cooked with coals. We also have a few extra Ovens that we can loan out to eager participants. For those who don’t want to enter a dish, we ask that you bring something else to share for the potluck dinner.
Weekend Schedule:
Friday – Arrive in the afternoon/early evening and set up camp, relax, and enjoy the sunset.
Saturday –
7:30am – 8:30am: Breakfast at Soldier Meadows Cabin
8:30am: orientation and safety talk
9am – mid afternoon: volunteer projects 6 pm: Dutch Oven entries on the table to enter the judging 10pm: Quiet Time
Sunday –
7:30am – 8:30am Coffee at Soldier Meadows Cabin Pack up camp and head home
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