Camped on Spetember 16th at Berlin Ichthyosaur state park and the experience was lack luster at best. First and foremost, the fly problem was off the walls this year. As soon as we got to the ranger station, we instantly were swarmed by flies everywhere. The park is pretty an all, but we were not expecting to have to wage a war against flies. We looked this park up online and thought the ghost town was open to explore, as well as the ichthysaur exhibit however, everything was locked and closed. We were still able to camp and it was nice that each site had covered picnic tables. The plus is that as soon as the sun set, we could have a fire and the smoke got rid of the flies. The stars were amazing with no nearby light pollution. I would recommend using for day use on the weekends as tours are going and you won't have to endure the onslaught of constant flies. The secluded nature of the park is really nice. The ghost town is beautiful but I wanted to see more. Great 4-wheeling opportunities. The park rangers never spoke to us or gave us any tips, even when we first showed up and were right next to them, not even a greeting. Love the history, but expected more. read more

See all

On a cross country road trip and we drove almost 2 hours out of our way to visit this park after reading the great reviews on Yelp. We were very disappointed. Yes, the Ichthyosaur is cool from what you can see through a viewing window and I enjoyed reading the display and learning about these great beasts. However, the drive out here is long and the roads are TERRIBLE. You will be playing slalom with potholes for hours while everything in your car is tossed back and forth. Parts of the road were completely washed out and we even had to drive through huge puddles.There is literally nothing else to see but the fossil. The ghost town and old mill are there but honestly there is nothing of interest so if you do make this trek, make sure you do it when the park is giving tours. The $10 fee might have been worth it if someone was working or something was going on but I'm honestly not sure at this point. Again, it was cool to kind of make out a fossil through dirty glass but if I could do it over again I would skip this park for sure. read more

See all

Make the drive to this wonderful gem of a state park. The $5 tour of where the massive "lchy" fossils remain is well worth the price...and the free walking tour of the Berlin mining town is delightful. The campsites are clean and quiet with plenty of distance between campers to feel the decadence of nature and the night sky. read more

See all

An awesome combination of two things I love; ghost towns and dinosaurs. Ok, an Ichthyosaur isn't technically a dinosaur but it's close enough. Berlin is located roughly 20 miles outside the small town of Gabbs. It's just $5 per vehicle and is normally self register but during our visit a Ranger just so happened to be at the gate so we gave it to him. The abandoned mining town of Berlin can be found immediately upon driving in. You'll see the visitor center which used to be the house of the Mine Superintendent, the process mill, and buildings where they tested the ore and "cooked" it. Free guide books can be found in the small parking lot. Two miles from here is where you'll find the Ichthyosaur fossils. The preserved bed features the fossils of 9 of them. Outside the building you'll see a mural of an Ichthyosaur and according to the Ranger, is the size of the largest complete fossil inside the building. The park is pretty out of the way and can be explored rather quickly, but it's worth the effort to get out here and see history in more ways than one. It's easy for kids to explore and they'll no doubt enjoy the fossils. Come check it out for yourself. read more

See all

Pretty cool day road trip. It's a bummer that the Fossil house was closed...darn Covid. The town of Berlin was pretty neat and very well preserved. read more

See all

They get four stars because of Todd, the ranger who showed us around. He truly made the state park experience worth the trip. He seemed to be the only park ranger at the time because anytime we had questions or had a tour, he seemed to be the guy at post. I think the small talk with him about his experience and knowledge of the park was more interesting than walking around and seeing it myself. For the park itself.. I would only give it three because I do like fossils and paleontology. The problem was that the only fossils you could see was the ones you had to pay to see in person. You could always just look out a window I guess. I came during the weekdays so I only had a chance to experience the fossil tour. Personally I don't think it was worth the 3 hour drive or money but hey, it was 3 bucks. Whatever. I think this place is better suited for viewing the ghost town and the mining tour. I didn't get to go but I'm eager to come again. read more

Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park - Ichthyosaur fossils up close - Parks Near Me - Austin, Nevada

See all

We drove out here from Reno in the winter - the road from the highway into the park had snow on it but nothing the Subaru couldn't handle. We were able to explore what was left of the town around the parking lot but the snow started getting deeper on the road that goes to where the fossils were located. Since it looked like anybody else had visited in a few days (no tire tracks in the snow) we didn't risk going any further. Some very old buildings in a various state of decay were worth exploring. I definitely want to go back in the summertime when we can explore the entire park read more

See all

Pretty damn cool. In one location there are two ghost towns (although there's not much left of one) AND an archeological dig that contains the fossilized remains of prehistoric marine reptiles ranging in size from about two to over seventy feet in length. The vehicle entrance fee of $4 allows you to see the ghost towns, hike in the park, and see some features associated with the fossils. IMPORTANT NOTE: To actually see the fossils up close, you'll need to take the tour (which costs $3 / adult). The fossil building is normally locked, so you can't just wander around the dig. At this time, the tour is only offered 2-3 times each day, so check the Web page. We spent about an hour at the dig, another hour in the ghost town of Union, and about 2-3 hours in Berlin; you should allow at least 1/2 of a day to see it all, if you like this sort of stuff. Trails are well-marked with signs for each item. Unfortunately, as of this writing the mine tour is not operating. There are developed campsites in the park, but the closest lodging is probably Gabbs or Fallon. read more

Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park - Union, Nevada - Parks Near Me - Austin, Nevada

See all

WONDERFUL state park. (Note the address is for mailing; it's actually about 25 miles east of Gabbs off NV route 361. Note the budding shoe tree on the way in.) If you like dinosaur stuff, the fossils of the ichthyosaur are a treat to see. Tours twice per day; the fossils are in a locked building but you can peek inside outside of tour hours. Tour costs $3. To get to the ichthyosaur, you pass through the ghost town of Berlin, active just after the turn of the century. It's in a state of arrested decay; they have done minimal work on the buildings, mostly securing them and adding roofs on some. Otherwise it's like the folks left yesterday, and they left a lot behind. The town is studded with scores of interpretive signs, so you can tour it on your own. They also give a tour of the Diana mine Fri to Sun; it's kind of scary and gives a real feel for hard these folks worked. You also have the chance of seeing pronghorn wandering the town. The park is small, but also features a nice campground with water, pit toilets, a dump station and ramadas. Very roomy sites, and you can get a pretty large trailer or RV in if you're careful. There are hiking trails leading right out of the campground, which is perched in pinyon pine/juniper forest. It's high, about 7000', so cool even when the valleys are hot. You'd be comfortable camping there in anything from a big RV to dual sport motorcycle. The dirt road to the park is well graded, but in much snow it might be a chore for a street vehicle. The rangers do allow you to unload some offroad vehicles if you are considerate, and there is a TON of roads to explore around there. A good base of operations, or dual sport bike territory. You can even dirt road it into the park from say Eastgate; a very nice but slower trip. A few of the road would also be good on a mountain bike; not too sandy. The long ones in the valleys might be a drag however. The are is super-remote; you can drive even the paved road for a long time without seeing anyone else. The nearby (25 mi) town of Gabbs has some groceries and fuel (you have to ask in the store to get someone to go across the street and unlock the pumps). There are usually three rangers staying there, and they are the most helpful, friendly guys imaginable. They give the tours as well, and are eager to show folks around and help out. The campground rarely fills, but if it does they do overflow at the day use area (nice itself) because they know it's a long drive out. Short trips out of the park lead to Ione, an occupied semi-ghost town (I'm not dead yet!), or Grantsville, dead as a doornail. Lots of junk and old buildings to sort through, be careful. Short drives also lead to the Reese Valley, the Yomba Indian Reservation there, and lots of other mining and ranching sites. A good map helps, and don't expect any cell reception anywhere near there. If you really love NV/Great Basin style desert, you'll love this little park. read more

See all

Among the items at the park are several undisturbed ichthyosaur fossils (Shonisaurus popularis) which are protected by a locked shelter. The shelter has windows so if the bldg is closed, one is still able to view the specimens but from afar. It should be noted that about 40 individuals were found here. Controversy over the cause of death and configuration of the bones since the 1950's still surrounds the site. As for the ghost town of Berlin, it is also interesting. At its peak, some 200 or more folks lived here. A number of the bldgs still stand including the 30 stamp mill. Unfortunately the tour of the Diana Mine was not open at the time of my visit. This town site is very photogenic. read more

Good park, much to do, very educational: Geology, Paleontology, mining history, hiking trails, tour of museum $3, self tour walking trails with 88 sign guides. The campsites are nice, but a bit pricy for that extra car, basically the same price as another campsite. They do have an overflow area; which is good, as we were a bit worried, since they only have 14 sites. We stayed on weekdays, and there was a steady stream of campers, every time a few left, a few more came in, but it never got beyond 50% full. Plentiful water at many locations, multiple clean pit toilets, garbage is kept tidy, as are the campsites. Maximum RV site length is 25", one campsite was closed due to someone in a large trailer breaking so many limbs on multiple trees, that the park had to cut the trees down, and are working at refurbishing the site. Gabbs, NV is 22 miles one way, not sure what services are in that town, though we did drive by the store, and the "Open" sign was on. Very remote, so best to try to anticipate all you will need, as there's no mall nearby ;) Mine tours are Friday-Sunday. read more

Awesome park loved walking around the gold and silver mine. Missed the both tours of the fossil. The building has windows but they are dirty and only on each end. It cost $10 a car i read more

See all

The campground is nice and they allow ATV riding in and out of the park. Yes, you can ride your quad to your campsite and later to a Grantsville or Sheep's canyon. read more

Great State park with extra friendly rangers. If you like remote , off the beaten path , this is the state park for you. Not set-up,for large rigs but they accommodated my 40' trailer. ATV friendly, fossils hunting, mine and dig tours. read more