Best Tent Camping near Austin, NV

Just outside Austin in the beautiful Pinyon Juniper forest in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. It’s right off the two lane road so you’ll have some road sounds. It was a perfect stop at the end of a day driving with a nice variety of campsites to choose from, toilets and water. The landscape here is sweeping and stunning. You could set up camp and drive into the lovely town of Austin for a bite to eat or other provisions. I was tent camping and there were a couple on motorcycles and two RVs.

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

Stayed one night while passing through. We arrived Friday of Memorial Day weekend at 2pm. Filled up quickly with RVs by 3pm but two tent sites went unfilled. Sites vary in size, some large, some tight; some pull through and others back in; some level, some not. About half of the sites have a shade structure over the picnic table. Close enough to road to be easily accessible, but very quiet, no highway noise. Short, easy loop to petroglyphs and viewpoints. Amazing sunset. This is a place I'd enjoy for more than just a pass through stay. Everyone staying was very quiet, respectful and friendly.

This campground sits just off of Hwy50 east of Austin, NV. Nice and cool 7,100ft above the desert. Pleasant sites, flush toilets, & water. Sunsets and sage scents are a highlight. Piñon Pines for shade.

Only 3 other sites ocupied (looks primarily by hunters this time of year). Near lightly used hwy. Near Austin. Sites a bit unlevel but doable with 30 ft travel trailer. Slight trench from previous campers made it perfectly level.

Church parking lot packed in with RVs, several lived in by members of road crew working on main route through town. Dusty surface. Hook-ups fine. Shower area clean but rough around the edges. Convenient and cheap in the middle of Nevada. Did I mention that we were packed in like sardines? Staff available, responsive by return phone call, and friendly. All that said, the drive on Highway 50 through Nevada was austerely gorgeous, and we were happy to have hook-ups mid-state.

Overnight stay traveling across Nevada. We came in around 3:30 PM on a Friday and was about 2/3 full. Sites are small. You can fit a van or pickup camper easily. Very small trailers would also fit but would have to park tow vehicle in main lot.
There are pit toilets and trash cans. No water. No dump. You do get a fire pit and sheltered picnic table in each site. Fantastic free campground in a beautiful area.

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!

It is an RV park of the Baptist Church. Tight parking spaces. Full hook up. Toilet and shower old but clean. One night 35 $.

The sites were close together, slope to back so it was hard to get the sewer to flow to the inlet, had to add blocks to back levelers to establish fall. Price was good for the site. Had a miscommunication with the camp operator so ended up only staying one night instead of two.

This is a church rv parking lot with full hookups. There are 18 slots. Tight spots but only $25 for full service. Cute little town down the block.

We pulled in to this campground at 10pm and found one site left the night before labor day! It has a vault toilet as well as a flush toilet. Garbage cans and water pumps. There are fire pits at most spots and picnic tables at each one. A good amount of trees. Cicadas were really loud at night but it was nice. Ground was somewhat soft. Apparently good hunting nearby too.

It is a small first come first serve campground right off of the road.  We arrived at 6pm and found it unexpectedly busy.  We were fortunate enough to get the last site!

We could hear every car that passed in the night but other than that it is a great place to stop at the end of a long day.

Flush toilets, some shade, bbq grills and picnic tables. Water is listed as non potable. Sports arnt very level. At $10 a great one night stay. They are considering futlrthwr improvements like leveling sites and increasing fees to $20 😞

And hooked a toad across the street check out 40 foot Class A motorhome in the Bob Scott's was a little tight but we made it traffic noise when a big truck went by yeah a little bit other than that it's nice and quiet play Scott full over the weekend spent two nights resting place nice place to spend the night

We only stayed one night here on our way to Oregon, but it was really beautiful with wonderful weather. It's $10 a day but I'd say that's a fairly good price for having bathrooms, fire pits, picnic tables, and being really easy to access right off the highway. There was a little bit of noise due to the highway being so close, but we got a great night's sleep and enjoyed our stay. :) I would definitely camp here again.

We love staying here because the signal for Verizon/ATT/Tmobile are all great. Was pulling 120MBPS down and 25up. Pretty great for the middle of nowhere. The site is clean with lots of privacy and water.

Great for overnights or as an in-between for working.

Nice little campground with a great view and running water, it appears that all the picnic tables firings and barbecues are brand new. Toilets are a little outdated but I’ve paid a lot more and had Vault toilets. The price is definitely right $10 per night. Watch out for ants they are everywhere

Lovely Pinyon-Juniper forest. Picnic table, fire pit & BBQ stand. Water and flush toilets. No trash-Pack In/Pack Out. Several sites aren’t level but didn’t matter to us. A peaceful place to camp but some minor hwy noise at night. August 2024 update: stayed here again. No potable water. Plans in the work to upgrade, pave and level sites, increase fee. Hope they don’t ruin its rustic charm.

This is a small campground up a canyon with a pretty little creek. The road is narrow and it would be an issue to meet someone on the road pulling your RV. A few spots and first come first serve so get there early on weekends. We have stayed here when no one was here and had crowded experiences on holiday weekends.

Campsites backup to big creek which is nice to sit and listen to the sound of the water rushing. Not much shade and there were lots of Mormon crickets roaming the campsite but otherwise a great overnight spot.

Easy to find and right off the road on our way to Lassen from Great Basin. Bathrooms were clean and had toilet paper. Plenty of spaces even when we pulled in at 9pm on a Monday night

Stayed there several times, but not lately. Tried midweek in the fall but was full by 2pm. Actually made a cow pie fire there once!