Lookout Campground

This site is really close to Reno, except for the time it takes on the dirt road.  We went in one way and out the other.  Our way in was from 395 at Bordertown north of Reno on Long Valley Road.  Once on the dirt the first couple of miles were bad washboard.  Slow going.  Then, the rest of the trip had some challenging driving with rocks and ruts.  We went really slow and everything was fine.  We left via Dog Valley Road and hit the pavement again in Verdi.

We visited for a night mid-week.  Only one other campsite was occupied.  The trail from the campground to Crystal Peak was great.  It's more like Crystal knoll.  The history of Cristal Peak is amazing, and the crystals are everywhere.  Really nice views from atop the knoll too.  Many people visit just for the day to collect crystals.

Great place

THE CAMPGROUND

The campground is great. Many sites have lots of space between them, while a few are side-by-side with just a vehicle parking space separating them. Each has a level, wood-bordered dirt/gravel pad set up for a tent - usually placed in as quiet/remote corner of the site as possible. Each has a picnic table, some type of fire pit (some have a metal ring with nice flipping grate, some are just a circle of large stones), and some type of cooking setup (some have a standard campsite charcoal "grill" while others have a metal table to set your cooktop on.

Very quite. Only noise is campground noise and one infrequently trafficked dirt road nearby (see below).

Campfires are allowed. If you drive in from the south (via Verdi), there is currently a designated area to collect firewood - it is scheduled for a prescription burn and you can pick up any wood from the forest floor - bring an axe and saw.

I visited mid-week during peak July season - there were two other campsites occupied (out of 20 total).

The campsite is in the middle of Dog Valley. The area is used for off-road recreation, so you may run into a few off-road buggies or trucks, and some may stay at the campground. But most stay in other "dispersed" camping, and there aren't nearly as many vehicles as you might see, for example, in a Nevada dunes off-road park.

The Crystal Mine is nearby… quick drive, bit longer walk. I didn't find many walking trails in the area, but may have missed them.

Verizon cell service picked up one bar, intermittently. Enough to get out occasional status update texts and check the weather, but not enough to be able to read stuff off the internet unless… you…. are…. really…. really… really… patient. If you hike up the hill at the nearby Crystal Mine, Verizon gave 2 bars and 5G… you are line of sight to Cold Springs. 

There is basically no radio reception at the campground, but one AM station came in during the drive.

There are two 'vault' toilets, both of which were clean and well maintained… no real odor, no spiders, etc. I saw one water spigot but it required a keyed handle to open so it was inaccessible … no other sources of water (potable or otherwise) at the site.

Trash cans are provide. No food/bear lockers provided (bear-safe food storage not required … but always a good precautionary measure).

I give it four stars because it is a good campground, and may be a good base for off-roading or mountain biking, but doesn't have many major sites nearby (hiking trails, rivers, lookout points, etc.) and I didn't find a variety of hiking trails nearby (a major one does run through the general area). Would be tough to keep kids busy, but great for a 2 day getaway for a couple.

Ok… let's talk THE ROAD….

The road is one of the reasons this site generally isn't too packed. There are two main ways in…

From The South (Verdi)

This is the roughest path. It has a fairly good incline and then decline into the valley, so I can only speak to my summer experience, but I suspect this may present a challenge for winter/wet driving.

For this route, you will spend 8.5 miles on a dirt road. I'd estimate this road is 10% "standard country dirt road, flat, fairly level, no major ruts, drivable by any vehicle at 25-30MPH." About 75% of the road is "unmaintained hill road, where you have to hug one side or another to avoid 6-inch+ ruts, loose rocks up to 5" in diameter, passable by a 2-wheel drive vehicle with reasonable ground clearance and not concerned about rocks on the paint, driving 10-15 MPH." The remaining 15% still probably doesn't require 4-wheel drive, but could benefit from it, involves going 5MPH to navigate deeper ruts or 'potholes'. The entire route is totally 100% passable by any truck/Jeep, even 2-wheel drive, driven slowly and carefully at times. Subarus would be fine. I *think* a standard sedan could make it, but you run a very good chance of bashing in the underside of your car… it is doable and I saw a little hatchback do it, but I personally wouldn't recommend.

From the North (Cold Springs)

For this route, you will spend 10 miles on a dirt road.

The first 3.3 miles (about 33%) is "standard country dirt road, flat, fairly level, no major ruts, drivable by any vehicle at 25-30MPH." Very easy driving. About 65% is "unmaintained hill road, where you have to hug one side or another to avoid 6-inch+ ruts, loose rocks up to 5" in diameter, passable by a 2-wheel drive vehicle with reasonable ground clearance and not concerned about rocks on the paint, driving 15 MPH." The remaining 2% is the harder road, as described above… just a few specific spots/turns, not long sections.

This north route is easier, but either way you go, there will be tougher sections.

To be fair - this isn't "off-roading." There are no boulders or 'technical' challenges. It is just an unmaintained (or rarely maintained) dirt road that has ruts, especially in uphill/downhill areas where the water runs across the road. Definitely not just a 'country dirt road', but a more typical mountain backroad.

Pictures below show the most common sections - 75% of the south path and 66% of the north path look like that or a little bit worse. The pictures aren't the worst sections - just more of the 'typical' road you can expect for most of the way.

Final comment: All of the above is about dry, summer driving. After rains, when the ground is wet, or in the winter - could be a very different experience.

There are plenty of sites to choose from on this loop. Two bathrooms and some running water although I believe it is only there for dousing your fire. There is a nice little aspen grove that bisects the campground and every site has a picnic table and a fire ring. You’ll want four wheels drive to get up there, but I’ve seen passenger vehicles make it just drive slow. Clean campsites, Let’s help keep them that way.

This campground earns 4 stars because of its amazing privacy. First, it's quite an adventurous (read: bumpy) drive to get to it from the nearest paved road. Once you arrive, you'll be amazed at how much space there is between the sites. From most sites, you can scarcely see that there are other campsites around! Yet there are still vault toilets.

Lookout is oddly named; it's tucked deeply enough into the forest that it doesn't have much in the way of a view (though in fall, the numerous aspen are undoubtedly stunning).

This campground is dog friendly, with no one to enforce leash rules (if there are any). Since the separation between sites is so large, this doesn't seem to be much of an issue. Down off the mountain, both human and pooch alike can splash around in the Truckee River to cool off. There's excellent swimming right by the bridge.

one of the worst roads I've ever been on...go slow

This is my go to campground, and I live not to far away... Right below Crystal Peak with a nice hiking trail to the peak. A little off the beaten path, but makes for a nice quiet campground. Lot of trails around to explore the beautiful forest. Also has a very large group meeting area for day picnic and such.