Mack's Canyon Dispersed

Parking Coordinates: (36.3636285, -115.6685757)

Relatively easy dirt road. This spot was located right before the road closure. Was able to fit the truck and a ground tent with amazing views overlooking the valley below. Visited June 22nd it was 110 in the city but up here at 7700 feet it was a nice 85-90 during the day and a cool 65-70 at night. Not a lot of tree shade at this spot but if you create your own it helps during the day.

NO facilities at all. No water, no trash pickup, and no toilets. Bring Everything and pack it all out. 

If there are fire restrictions, PLEASE don't light campfires. After years of drought, this place is a tinderbox. Your mistake could easily trap people further up the canyon with no way out. It is Illegal for a reason. 

The first mile is an easy dirt road, suitable for RV's and Campers.

The rest of the way is a fairly rough forest road - heavily rutted in places, with some steep drops. I wouldn't take anything but the smallest trailer back here, but it's perfect for tents. 

That being said; my AWD Subaru Outback made it there and back with no problems. 

Beautiful and cool during the summer - gorgeous stars at night.

Lots of dispersed sites along the road and if you're willing to explore a bit, there are some hidden from the road as well with some amazing views.

Very few insects due to the elevation, and except for the occasion airplane taking off from Vegas, pretty quiet. (Though occasionally there are mysterious booms? Jets from nearby air force base? Dunno.)

Great spot to get out of the Vegas heat. Found a spot to setup my hammock to watch the stars at night. Was private and quiet. A lot of disperse sites and you can go anywhere with any vehicle if you drive carefully.

Its a little bit of a drive (4 miles) into the wooded terrain to get to the listed campsite. However, you can camp in multiple areas along the route. Just about anytime I head towards this site, you will see people tent or truck bed camping. On occasion, I will see a motorhome or pull trailer in the area. Most of the time, they are near the front entrance, as the road and openness for large rigs are more friendly.   About a mile down the road is Sawmill trailhead. They have picnic areas and trails you can explore. Although, the current signage says not to camp overnight in the Sawmill area, you will see tents and rare times, small trailers (less than 20 feet) dispersed in the area. There are multiple nooks and private areas to disperse. As with any dispersed camping in this area or Sawmill, "No open fires." Just visited today and seen too many left over rock ring fires in the area. The usual from a long holiday weekend.

We found this by chance as we were heading to McWilliams for an overnight, but they were full.

On a lark, we saw the sign and decided to take a look. As we SUV camp (and not 4x4) we didn't head a long way in, but discovered numerous locations that were easy to get to, but still secluded.

Very few cars, and a nice getaway. Just be aware there are no open fires, only stoves. But we'll do this regularly when we want to get away from the heat of Vegas.

Stayed at Mack’s Canyon campground and the sites were beautiful with trees and views!

It’s not necessary to have it but I would recommend having it to get to a neat place to camp off of the main road. We DO NOT have a 4 wheel drive but my husband is a skilled driver and we were able to make it pretty far, we came about a week ago and the weather was perfect and I’m also adding my images from our April trip just to let you know there is still snow on the ground in April when we went and whenever they have snow fall in the mountains plan to see it here first. The road is narrow so stay alert while driving to maintain a safe adventure. No service so if you need a map I recommend you download it from the pro version of the dyrt ahead of time. Make sure to clean up anything and put your fires completely out.

Mack's is a good dispersed camp ground. No services. Pack out what your bring in!

Its a close drive from Vegas great for a quick get away. The road is a single road and pretty rough a 4x4 is recommended however a skilled driver might be okay in a 2x4. There are a number of existing sites along the road in and a open air camp at the end. All of the sites are good. Its quiet and peaceful. No fires. The park ranger actually checked to make sure we were aware of the fire restrictions. I assume this is due to the Mahogany Fire a couple weeks ago.  Great spot for a nice quick get away from the Vegas heat!

I’ve camped at Mack’s at least 3 times now. It doesn’t get old. Most of the campsites are accessible with a 2 wheel drive vehicle you can only get so far. The views are amazing and it’s just far enough away to see the Milky Way at night. There are no services so remember to leave no trace. 5 stars for this dispersed camping area.

Not sure where some of the photos for this campground come from but it’s not Mack’s Canyon. Ha ha ...this is another spot that is just convenient for a one night getaway. It’s free, and although it’s posted “no fires allowed,” everyone still lights them - no natural water. Not much wildlife or good hiking - but this place will always hold a special spot in my heart because I saw my first mountain lion here! So crazy. Strange to because I’ve been there so many times and never even see deer really. Lucky night I guess. Anyway, don’t take an RV here - the road gets a little too rough for that. Nothing spectacular about this spot but it smells good and puts you under the stars, so it’s still refreshing

Had a great time both times I’ve camped here with friends. The dirt road takes you far out of the way and away from everything. Some of the sites are situated on the side of mountains so the views (especially at sunset) are breathtaking. Sites are spacious and set far away from each other. Very happy with these sites. Great place to disconnect. Very primitive. Make sure to take all your trash out with you. Gets windy at night so stuff can blow away.

This is basic- no electrical hook ups or paved roads/spots so if you want to be true to nature this is great! After a mile or so 4WD is recommended. We saw a few people unable to get up the hill near us, so be prepared. The stars are brilliant though, since there’s no lights nearby.

The road is a bit rough, you just have to go slow. The campground is primitive. There are two little springs that seep out of the ground. I just love how quiet it is you get about a handful of people that come up to see the flowers that are near the spring. I haven't seen any wildlife up there except for chipmunks, but the trees are great.

This site is excellent and should be explored fully to dig all the hiking opportunities. Three great spots to boondock, Mack's Canyon, Lovell Canyon, and Champion Road. All are great spots and far superior to the established campgrounds on the mountain (with the exception of Hilltop Camp but only because that site has hot showers). Access to trail heads and the spring mountain visitor center on the way in and out along the Kyle Canyon route. One of the top things to see is the bat colonies who come out at sunset and stay the evening. The stargazing is great as the forest is bristlecone and the canopy does not block the view of the Milky Way. We stayed two nights and had the place pretty much to ourselves mid week though I hear weekends can get crowded. Do not miss this spot. FYI it is typically much cooler on the mountain which is a short 47 minute drive from the site. It was 104 in the valley and 78 on the peak. An easy choice in the summer. Grooved to Reckoning on this trip and the book was Kybalion. Check them all out.