Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Austin, NV

Nice little campground toward the mouth of Big Creek Canyon. The campground is right on the creek. Big Creek Canyon is beautiful about 15 miles from the town of Austin and is full of Aspens. There are probably about 10 sites in the campground with plenty of space between each site. Hunting season gets busy but I have never seen more than one or two groups in the campground at one time if it’s not hunting season. There is not a ton of privacy within the campground but there is plenty of space for each campsite. There are trout in the creek and easily accessible depending on how much snow the mountain range got the winter before. The road that goes through Big Creek Canyon is a decent BLM road that will take you to the summit of the range then down into Kingston which is a fun adventure. If you like camping in Nevada but don’t like dry camping or digging holes to use the bathroom, this place is awesome!

Hickison Petroglyphs Recreation Area is about 26 miles east of Austin Nevada on Highway 50. Highway was deemed Lonliest Highway by Life magazine about 20 years ago. There is a sign marking turn. If going towards Austin it will be on the right side of highway. After you make the turn road becomes gravel and there is a cattle guard. The road is in good shape and it is a short distance to Recreation Area. Several pit toilets no water. There are garbage cans spaced throughout the camp ground. Not all camp spaces have same equipment. There are sites with covered picnic tables fire pits and grills. There are tent sites small rv might be one pull through site. None of the sites are large and there are several small trees along the drive. Drive is One Way. First come first serve. We were here for three days and there was medium level of traffic. Breeze most of the time

Free/dispersed only.

Great dispersed camping on BLM land, right next to hot springs. One of our favorite dispersed sites as well as hot springs. There are 5-6 different springs within close proximity and at different temperatures so look around and try them all. The abundant wild donkeys and pronghorn also use the cooler warm springs as a drinking hole which makes an interesting soak. The spots around the springs fill up but there are lots of hills and land around to get some space. No amenities of any kind, dispersed/boondocking only.

Between towns of Austin and Eureka on 50. When we were there, these little towns and few others on way to Tonopah believed COVID-19 was a hoax and many businesses & restaurants shunned mask use or social distancing (see photo).

The hot springs are easier to find first time if you come in off 376 rather than 50.

Plus code: 85F5 84GR+P3

Driving cross country from California, we were looking to pull off in the middle of nowhere Nevada. Every place we came across was packed to the gills. No vacancies in sight. Actually, there wasn’t much in sight really. We were smack dab in the middle of nowhere, slightly desert/ plain like surroundings on America’s loneliest highway - Nevada’s Highway 50. We stumbled upon the petroglyphs. We pulled into the unmanned site , placed a bit off the main drag. It somehow managed to be in the middle of nowhere but tucked away all at the same time. Its bare bones , people. No fees, not much in the way of other people & no amenities that we knew of., except a picnic table & a fire pit/ring. That was fine by us. We had our minivan & our dogs & that’s all we needed. This was a totally fly by night camping adventure but that’s what made it so great! There are designated spots that actually had quite a bit of privacy from our fellow camper- not that we needed it but it’s what we look for most. It was sheer luck. We weren’t fully prepared for our detour so we had no wood. No problemo! We took to the plain , scouting the landscape for sagebrush & pinecones. It added to the charm. We burned that all night & it smelled like heaven. The night was warm, peaceful & void of any biting insects. We slept crammed in the minivan van with all our windows open , sweet fresh night air flowing thru. It was dark & desolate but somehow felt perfectly safe & we slept like logs. We woke just in time for the most spectacular sunrise & jack rabbits abound. It was glorious. The petroglyphs themselves were kind of an afterthought. We didn’t really see many & were slightly underwhelmed. But the cliffs & Rocks were pretty beautiful & colorful. The dogs enjoyed climbing & exploring. It was seemingly completely empty in the morning too. Not a soul around. It was kind of neat to feel like you had an entire campsite to yourself!

Btw- bathrooms are disgusting. I imagine no one gets out there too often for maintenance. But it was no bother. Just suck it up & pull up a nice piece of brush to squat in . You’ll live.

We’d definitely find ourselves back here again. The peace & sense of adventure was immeasurable. It’s a different kind of camping . Perfect for keeping things interesting!