Best Tent Camping near Carson City, NV

This was our first time at a KOA and we throughly enjoyed ourselves. We stayed for one night. (Tent Camping) The staff was friendly and helpful and all of the sites and communal areas were clean. The tent sites were a tad smaller than what we imagined, but was able to situate our 10x10 canopy and connecting tent between the hook ups and picnic table. The views are beautiful and it is mostly quiet but you can hear the road at times.

This US Forest Service campground is in a longish (5 miles?) steep valley with tall stone walls on both side.

The West Fork of the Kit Carson River runs down the center of the valley and, alongside it, Highway 88. Numerous campgrounds and rustic resorts and hotels are in the area, especially along Highways 88 and 89.

The Kit Carson Campground is well less than an hour from Carson City and South Lake Tahoe, on a very well traveled road. With basic shopping, WiFi, and a few small restaurants relatively nearby, you aren’t “away from it all.” You definitely are away from the big city with beautiful skies and surrounded by a beautiful forest. But this is a super easy campground for a casual trip where you may want to cook sometimes, eat out others, drive to visit various hiking trails to some incredible views, even use as a base camp to explore towns nearby.

THE CAMPGROUNDS

-Campsites are generally open to the camp loop road, but have some good separation from each other with large trees and many large boulders.

-The camp has a camp host at the first campsite, who can be very helpful. When I visited, they sold firewood. $7 for one bundle or$18 for three bundles. $7/bundle was the same price as nearby rural stores, buy larger gas stations on the highway were $6/bundle. There isn't much wood to collect at the campsite.

-Multiple potable water spouts are available throughout the campground.

-Bathrooms were clean and well maintained.

-The entire campground is only 100-200 feet off highway 88, and the main camp loop is a well paved road - so any vehicle can access it without issue.

-Cell reception(Verizon) was very spotty. One bar, maybe two. Occasional data connection. I doubt calls would work. Texts were going through intermittently. The entire valley has poor reception, but a few miles in either direction and reception was perfect. A cafe/bar across the street has free WiFi.

-Each campsite has a large bear locker, fire ring, picnic table, parking space, and clear area for a tent. They won’t fit a large travel trailer (e.g. 25’), and most aren’t a good position for even a small driven RV or sleeping in your car… the vehicle locations tend to be off to the side. Perfect for tent camping.

-The river runs along side of the campground and there is very easy access. When I visited, the water was high enough to walk around in at knee deep. Not exactly for swimming and I didn’t see any deep swimming holes.

-The campground is at almost 7,000 feet.

THE NEARBY AREA

-There are several hiking trails in the area, but nothing intersects with the campground. If you walk 1/2 mile east on 88 you'll reach a trailhead with a short scenic hike (0.5 mi round trip) and access to other longer trails. Walking down the highway isn't great (driving would be safer), and that 1/2 trail actually comes out to the road about 1/4 mile from the campground…. safer access if you spot that entrance.

-The highway runs along the river which runs beside the campground. During the day, I could hear every vehicle, and when walking around the campground, that seemed to be the case for every campsite. This includes semi trucks, large diesel work trucks, RVs, and large commercial construction trucks who frequently use the route. At night, things quiet down quite a bit, but you’ll always be reminded that you are roadside.

-Numerous other campgrounds are in the area. This includes yurt rentals, rustic resorts, USFS tent campgrounds, RV campgrounds and private campgrounds. This isn’t a bad thing- but just a head’s up that you aren’t in some remote secluded destination.

-Across the 2-lane highway from the campground is a cafe. They have three beers on tap, a bar area, a table seating area, and a small stage for live musical performances. They close at 5pm during the week, so this is likely a bit more happening on the weekend. It is part of a neighboring yurt campground.*They have free WiFi.* I don’t know about their food menu. They have some bakery items(cookies, etc.) and a very basic store with some limited camping supplies. It is a 30 second drive to the cafe, and the walk is very short, but you do have to cross a bridge that doesn’t really have a good sidewalk- I would be very nervous with young kids in tow.

-About 1 mile away is a larger restaurant affiliated, I think, with the same resort. It is west along Highway 88.

-There are several “resort hotels” a few miles further away than that, and the town of Merkleeville is about 5 miles east on 88 and then 6 miles south on 89. The town has a brewery (closes several days a week), full rural general store catering to campers with lots of camping food, wine, beer, alcohol, and a good range of general campground supplies. The town also has a cafe with good coffee and a selection of food.

CAMPSITE 8

-I stayed in campsite 8. The pad for the tent is*super* private, at the very back of the site with three enormous boulders providing lots of separation. The fire pit/ bear locker/ picnic table section has several boulders creating some privacy, but you can see through to the adjacent site and the host site is on the other side… your vehicle will most block that. You can easily peak between the boulders to see the camp look road, but you aren’t right up against it. There was virtually no vehicular or pedestrian traffic on the loop road.

Nice bear boxes and bathrooms. Tent sites were big

Booked a tent site. The campground was completely full. My fire ring was at the bumper of my vehicle, the picnic table was basically in someone else’s campsite, and I had to walk up a flight of stairs where the tent site was supposed to be. The site on one side of me looked down on top of me from 10 feet away, the RV site next to me was crammed on top of me as well. Their front porch was basically staring right at my site, like I would be there entertainment for the night.

I had planned to camp out of the back of my truck for a quick overnight stay. Lots of better options around.

It is nice that it is walking distance from Zephyr Cove. But Zephyr Cove was packed. Nevada beach was only a four minute drive away and much more spacious and relaxing.

$67, plus taxes and fees, for no services and being packed in like sardines, no thanks.

If you like Bird Watching (or wildlife in general), Boating, Fishing, Hang Gliding, Paragliding, Equestrian Activities, Camping or BBQ's, or even history, then this is a place you might enjoy.

The lake and the surrounding area takes on a different appearance depending on the season you visit, and whether it's been a wet year or a dry one. Sometimes when it has been extremely dry, the larger of the 2 lakes dries up either partially or entirely, leaving the smaller one as a valuable water source for Wild Mustangs who live in the area. (which is a great opportunity for photographers).

When the larger lake bed dries up a little, it extends the hang gliding / paragliding landing zone. (take off point is up on the hill on Eastlake Blvd, which is also a good view point of the lakes).

During the wetter years, the larger lake fills up, allowing water activities such as boating to take place on both lakes, and provides you with the opportunity to bird watch at any of the wildlife viewing areas provided. The smaller lake also provides bird watching opportunities (Osprey and other birds of prey like to fish there) You can also fish at the smaller lake, just don't eat them, the area was once used for the processing mills during the mining boom.

Also if you are into wildlife, there is the occasional coyote hunting the area, owls, hawks, bald eagles, and if you want to see deer, take a little drive up Eastlake Blvd towards little Washoe Lake, and one of the fields on the right often has huge herds of Mule Deer, and the occasional wild horse. Talking of Wild horses, you are requested not to feed or harass the wild Mustangs anywhere in Nevada (Washoe lake park included). Horses can be defensive, especially when they have young foals. Also feeding them anything other than what they naturally eat in the wild, not only causes a high number of deaths in the herds, it also creates dangerous situations on the roadways when horses come to retrieve the food. (it can also cost you thousands of dollars in fines) There are people who regularly monitor the interaction visitors have with the horses. But if you want to interact with a horse, why not bring your own for a ride around too, people often bring their horses down for a trot around the grounds.

There are restrooms available throughout the park, and facilities for camping. It is a good place for dogs, though it is requested that you clean up after them. There are doggie clean up stations available, and containers for waste.

The land the park sits on was once owned by one of Nevada's wealthiest men Theodore Winters, who was a prominent businessman and politician in early Nevada history. He once owned some of the most famous racehorses in the world, and his cheese was world renown. His Ranch is still around, and you can find it located just on the other side of the lake (Old Route 395), not far from the Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory (which is great if you get a hankering for something sweet), and Old Washoe City.

The lake's history goes back even further than that, the area was once inhabited by the local tribes people, and before the early pioneer's came and settled here, they used hunt ducks on the lake, and fished here. There is probably still the odd chance you might come across old Native tools and arrowheads, but the State of Nevada does ask you to leave artifacts where they are found. Check the local and federal laws before attempting to remove anything.

It has some lovely sunsets here, the view can be spectacular at times and changes according to season and weather, and the wildlife seem to enjoy it. Nice place to go and hang out with family and friends, and if you happen to forget to bring anything, you are only a little drive from Carson City :)

Only $35 dollars, which is the cheapest you'll find north of South Lake Tahoe. Perfect for tent camping. Not busy at all during the non reserve season. Would go again for sure.

Nice campground with numerous RV and tent sites. Bathroom with flush toilets and showers. Big trees provide ample shade. Quiet area close to the amenities of the Carson Valley.

Turtle Rock is a hidden jewel. It is well kept and maintained. Showers are provided for a small fee so make sure you have quarters. Toilets are dispersed throughout the campground. There’s a section for tent camping as well as RV camping. No reservations required as I always drive in whenever I go. One of my favorite spot around Markleeville area.

Great little spot for tent camping or vehicle camping. You'll be fine if you have a smaller RV or Camper trailer but would not recommend for large units. Camp host Scott was really cool and down to earth. The campsite is clean and well maintained. Pit toilets were the best I have ever seen/smelled. The site can be pretty windy so bring tent stakes and cordage to tie out your walls.

Camping during a heat wave so RVs had generators going and tent site near us was having a party. But overall this was chill, plenty of spots on a Sunday evening in July, easy to find (don’t use the GPS directions from this app - nav to Fort Churchill and camp is in the park.

Cell service came and went.

I stayed only one night here in 2022 while traveling through.  It was a pretty drive through rural western Nevada,  which ended in a four mile graded dirt road.  I was driving an SUV with high clearance,  but the road is suitable for RVs if you take it slow.  Both campgrounds are RV suitable.  This one does not have hook ups,  but quail run does.  The facilities are very new.  Each site has a covered picnic table  It is not a great tent camping area in my opinion because it is a desert loop and you are out in the open.  I slept in my SUV.  The area itself is beautiful though,  and I need to make another,  longer stop there and at the nearby "elbow"  unit,  which is more remote.

This campground offered everything I needed and nothing I did not. My tent site was perfect. The lake was absolutely stunning. I rented a kayak and took a lovely paddle enjoying the serenity and beauty of the High Sierras. Around my campfire, I could here birds singing and wind blowing through the trees. The funny thing is that just down the road is the thriving tourism of Truckee, CA. When I wanted to be social, I went there and had an amazing time too.