Tipton
- 1.9 mi
- round trip
- 240 ft
- climb
- 6,364 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- May–Jun, Sep–Oct
- best months
Tipton is an easy, short hike in Nevada's Forest Service land, about 1.2 miles from the community of Rock House. The trail is an out-and-back of roughly 1.9 miles, with a low point of 6,123 feet and a high of 6,364 feet, and it gains about 240 feet in elevation. The route is natural-surfaced and allows bikes, so it works for hikers and riders alike. It stays open year-round, and the nearest town, Rock House, makes it an easy addition to a day spent exploring the surrounding area. For comfortable weather, late spring and early fall are the sweet spots. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show May highs around 66°F and September highs around 77°F, while July and August climb into the upper 80s. Several other hikes sit close by. Rock Shortcut is about 1.1 miles away and Rock House is 1.3 miles away. Dawley Creek and Overland Lake are both within about 3 miles.
Best time to go · May–Jun, Sep–Oct
Best time to visit Tipton
Best months: May–June and September–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
39° / 14°
9 wet · 7 snow
Feb
42° / 18°
9 wet · 7 snow
Mar
50° / 25°
9 wet · 5 snow
Apr
56° / 31°
9 wet · 3 snow
May
66° / 39°
8 wet · 1 snow
Jun
78° / 46°
5 wet
Jul
88° / 53°
4 wet
Aug
87° / 51°
4 wet
Sep
77° / 41°
5 wet
Oct
64° / 30°
5 wet · 1 snow
Nov
50° / 21°
7 wet · 4 snow
Dec
39° / 15°
8 wet · 6 snow
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Ruby Lake Nwr, NV, 14.7 mi away at 6,019 ft. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive
Photo: Matt Lavin, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)Hankins Creek
~9 min drive
2.20-mile out-and-back trail in Nevada with 741 ft gain.
Photo: Matt Lavin, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)Green 1 Trail
~9 min drive
1.8-mile out-and-back trail in Nevada with 1,094 ft elevation gain
Photo: simonov, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)Longhair 3 Trail
~11 min drive
2.06-mile out-and-back trail in Nevada with 627 ft elevation gain and loss.
Photo: Matt Lavin, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail
~9 min drive
32.63-mile out-and-back hike in Nevada with 7,542 ft gain.
Photo: Jim Morefield, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)Kleckner Creek
~20 min drive
14.39-mile out-and-back trail in Nevada with 2,561 ft elevation gain.
HIKE
NORTH FORK SMITH CREEK
~9 min drive
1.88-mile out-and-back trail in Nevada with 1,014 ft elevation gain.
Photo: Jim Morefield, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)Castle Lake
~20 min drive
0.49-mile out-and-back trail to Castle Lake in Nevada with 265 ft elevation gain.
HIKE
Colonel Moore
~20 min drive
7.11-mile out-and-back trail in Nevada with 2,860 ft elevation gain.
HIKE
Dawley Creek
~5 min drive
A 3.20-mile out-and-back trail in Nevada with 907 ft elevation gain and hard difficulty.
HIKE
South Fork Smith
~11 min drive
2.74-mile out-and-back trail in Nevada with 831 ft elevation gain.