The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Denio. Denio is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. Ready to plan your adventure? Check out our campgrounds near Denio and user-submitted reviews.
$5 / night
$50 - $110 / night
The Royal Peacock Opal Mine operates a 17-space RV park with full hook-ups. Anyone is welcome, whether or not you intend to mine for opals! Reservations are recommended; please call (775) 941-0374.
RV Park
RV spaces cost $40/night for 30-amp spots, and $45/night for 50-amp spots. Amenities include:
30 amp and 50 amp electric hookups
Ice cold well water
Sewer hook-up & dump
Internet access (WiFi)
Use of restroom and shower facilities
Use of coin-op laundry room
Gift shop offering:
Body soap, shampoos, creme rinse, deodorant, lotion, sun screen
Laundry supplies (soap and fabric softener)
Opals, jewelry, mining tools, firewood, etc.
ATTN: Pets must be on leash, and picked up after. There is no open area for pets or pet poo.
$40 - $45 / night
South Steens Campground is located in the heart of Steens Mountain. Visitors will find picnic tables and grills at 36 family campsites amid juniper and sage. The equestrian site, designed specifically for horse users, is directly adjacent to the family campground. Recreational stock (horses, mules, llamas, goats, etc.) are not allowed in the family portion of South Steens Campground, but are welcome and comfortable at 15 equestrian sites complete with tie posts and small corrals.
The typical season of use at South Steens Campground is mid-May through mid-November.Vault restrooms and drinking water are available.The use of pelletized or certified weed-free hay is required on all BLM public lands in Oregon and Washington.
South Steens Family and Equestrian Campgrounds are close to the Historic Riddle Brothers Ranch, several hiking trails, and the Little Blitzen and Big Indian gorges. South Steens Campground Brochure
Legend
Free, primitive campground along Capnip Reservoir in the Sheldon National Antelope Refuge. Backcountry permit not required to camp here. There are a handful of large sites, with metal firerings. Sites are level dirt surfaces surrounded by sagebrush. Can be muddy when wet. There are some tire ruts on the two tracks off of County Road 34A that you need to drive into the campground. 34A itself is a well maintained gravel road. Nice view of reservoir and surrounding hills. Very quiet. One vault toilet, clean & with tp. No water. Reservoir active with waterfowl & other birds. Coyotes at night. Fishing for cutthroat trout. Other than fishing and star gazing, there is not much to do here, but I really liked this location.
Legend
Syayed here on Oct 2. Paid $8 with senior pass. Nice campground. Level sites. Can accommodate all sorts of rigs, except big bus campers & long travel trailers. Trash service. Water. Clean vault toilets with tp. 2G T-Mobile service. Most sites are open with partial shade. No privacy between most sites. A few sites may accommodate hammock campers. Tent camping possible. Steens Mountain Loop Rd closed at the campground entrance.
Guide
Truly had the best time at virgin valley, only stayed one night sometime this past week and I’m so glad we did. ~2mi down a dirt road off of 140, you do not need ORV/4x4 just go slow and even a sedan will be fine. A lot of the sites are wide open but there are a few with tree cover &/or grass. We tented it and the weather was great, cold at night. The hot spring was warm (not hot) as others have said but it was still LOVELY. It’s great to find the warmer vent spots and just relax for a while. There are two running spring fed showers and drinking water by the spring. Also some pit/vault toilets scattered around the camping area- the one by our site was the CLEANEST pit toilet I’ve ever used in my life- dare I say it smelt good ! The only qualms I could see for some is there is zero service for AT&T (a pro for us but a con for some) and if it was seriously hot there isn’t much space/shade to escape the heat.
Will also end this with the only downside to our visit which was that we were woken up at 6am to a family of ~6 with 3 little kids SCREAMING in the hot spring. They had absolutely zero social awareness that there were clearly 8+ groups asleep and were yelling their conversations before sunrise. Unsure if it’s common for others passing by to visit just for a dip (and be as loud as these guys were) or if this was an anomaly but it certainly made for an early morning & a quick move-on.
Guide
Loved the sound of the creek by the camp, hot springs wasn’t to hot, no shade so come prepared in the summer
Traveler
We drove our van right up near the water in a quiet nook. Spent one night enjoying the many shore birds, a beautiful sunset and a refreshing cool night. I would not recommend swimming in this active wildlife reservoir! Most camping sites were private, separated by sage brush, and did not have toilets, so best for self-serving vehicles- or if you are ok walking down the road a bit. Will have to come back for stargazing after the wildfires die down.
Guide
Stayed 3 nights just off the parking area. The ground was a powdery dirt off the parking area and was everywhere. The hot springs were good in the morning and after 6 in the evening(water temp upper 80’s lower 90’s). Anytime in between they were too hot between 100-120 degrees. Won’t camp there again, made me nervous when people pulled up after 10 at night . I understand everyone has a right to. My dog found used toilet paper with feces dried on it, saw a lot of used toilet paper around. If checking out the hot springs or camping in the parking lot for one night it is a good place.
GuideDidn’t camp just checked it out. Not sure you can swim in the water, didn’t have my water shoes on to try. It looked like more like a pond on shore could be mucky. Not a long drive in, didn’t look like a place to swim. Not a place we would camp.
GuideI think a lot of people go there for the hot springs, only a few stayed and camped. It was tidy, be sure to bring your own toilet paper just in case. Quiet and beautiful!
GuideFirst of all there is this weird moon sand alkali ash dirty shit everywhere. Shit gets in your socks lol so wear sandals or something.
Don’t tent camp at the first road at the entrance, it may be private from the river but at night all the way to 1am visitors are walking and talking up and down that road it kinda pissed me off but I probably chose a bad spot. Maybe just go a bit further up stream, yes it’s a great idea to camp further up stream so you don’t have to deal with visitors and shit who aren’t even spending the night.
Don’t forget to check out dinio junction for supplies and gossip.
AMAXING spot tho the night ski was crackling with white stars. It was windy during the day to keep the heat off and strangle not windy at all night. (Peaceful sleep if not for the guests talking ) And again fuckin windy in the morning lol.
Scout
pretty cool site in the desert with mountain ranges surrounding you. the drive in goes from pavement, to gravel, to dirt roads with some gnarly trenches at the end but it’s not too bad and definitely worth it
GuideFirst, do not use Apple Maps to get here. It will take you a turnoff two miles away and leave you wondering what to do next. Google maps will take you right to the vault toilet.
Second, if you’re looking for a HOT spring, this one might disappoint. It’s warm for sure but not hot at all.
Contrary to a previous poster, I saw no nudists here. Also disappointing but in this area, maybe I should count myself lucky.
The bathroom had no toilet paper. We left a roll, but it seems this is a continual problem.
That’s all the negatives.
Star gazing here is incredible. You’re 150 miles from any real metro (McDermit doesn’t count).
Nice deep fire rings that are safe with nice grill racks on them. Some sites can get muddy after a rain or melt off and one or two were actually under water when we were there.
We had a blast here though. Lots of walking around room. I would imagine this place gets packed on a weekend or holiday. We had the place to ourselves in a Tuesday night with the exception of an older gentleman in a bus who was very friendly.
Any vehicle can make it in here. It’s 25 miles of dirt road but it’s well maintained and 40mph is perfectly doable until you get to the turnoff to the site. The one mile stretch getting in there from the main road isn’t as well kept but you could still do it in a corolla.
We were also lucky enough to see a herd of antelope on the way in. Photos attached.
Ranger
On Thursday (10/12/23) I left home with the plan of driving to the Virgin Valley Hot Springs via 299/8A to see the Annular Solar Eclipse. I arrived at the state line a tad later than expected and followed a beautiful graded 'dyrt' road. The first camp I came across was Fish Spring. I saw some open spaces and figured things were going to get busy with the eclipse, so I grabbed a spot. Beautiful simplicity!!! No real defined spots, but several areas of access. Some pull-throughs were occupied by RVs, other spots had nothing but a car/tent combo. One vault toilet was very clean & well-stocked with paper. I could not find the spring or water spigot. There is a horse corral but looks to be in poor condition. A sign requests "pelletized feed only'. There were only a handful of fire rings and no picnic tables. This was my camp for 2 nights. The following day I drove the rough Mud Spring Canyon Rd to the Royal Peacock Mine & Virgin Valley, and on Saturday, witnessed the Annular Eclipse from here.
GuideWhat a stunning campground. We were passing through the area needed a nights rest. We want to come back n stay 2 nights to explore the wildlife area AND enjoy the warm spring. High desert setting was amazing.
Traveler
$10 per person - shower, laundry, water, Wi-Fi and trash included. Nice people. Stay behind the laundry building for more privacy. We looked at the Virgin Valley campsite on the way and it was full of weekend partiers, happy we moved on, I’d stay here again. Long dirt road to get out there but it was smooth.
Scout
The camp ground was great. It has the basic needs for most camper trailers. There are a few sites there with shore power but I didn’t see any water hook ups. There is water there if you need to fill up jugs, tanks or water bottles. There is a single flushing toilet that is available for overnighters as well as small store with food and drinks for sale. The staff was very nice and helpful. Be aware of the wind! Our first night in our teardrop was pretty rocky. Almost lost our awning because the gusts were at or above 60mph. We talked to the staff and they said to orient the trailer front towards the mountains. It seriously helped a lot. If you tent camp, I would recommend some sort of windscreen or just use your vehicle to block it somehow. Overall the scenery is majestic and is worth the drive out there. 10/10
Legend
We camped 3 nights with a group, with our hot air balloons. But a great time! Flew balloons and a drone, road ATV's, watched a plane fly in and flip over on landing (a bunch tipped it back over and off he flew) and, OH, the stars!
Hot in the summer, beware of the mud after a rainstorm, but otherwise an amazing experience!
GuideI love this place, but be warned. It usually has people bathing in the hot springs nude. Some older people treat this location as a nudist colony. Luckily I don't mind and my kids are all adults and don't do adventures with me anymore. If you have kids, tread carefully. Usually there are many locals here and I never get the chance to jump in the hot springs since many monopolies the spring. I do like this area for 4X4 excursions, and off trail hiking. Sometimes Coyotes can be heard howling in the early morning hours of around 4:00 AM. Lots of birds for bird watchers, and a nice little creek. Stargazing is a must and very beautiful. The road is gravel and I suggest a truck or a 4X4 vehicle. It is not a must, but it makes it easier. I would have given this area five stars, but having no real access to the hot spring is a bummer so I give it three stars. Anywhere in Oregon's outback is a good day.
Scout
Chalk one up for private enterprise: The Alvord Ranch (which also owns the Alvord Hot Springs) is charging $60/night to camp at Pike Creek with no amenities other than open-air vault toilets (be sure to bring your own toilet paper!) I like the idea of paying for a campsite on private land to show the owners that there is intrinsic value in land in its natural state and that you can make money off your land without exploiting it. However, this land owner is trying to have it both ways, because the cows are not fenced out of the campground land (there was cow manure in our campsite.) Also, if you are going to charge for camping, you need to do some work on the land to make it into a campground and maintain it, such as: make it clear where the campsites are (there are no signs or markers), block off unnecessary side roads causing devegetation and erosion, make it clear where day-use hikers should park (they parked in our campsite), fix the road (2WD low clearance vehicles would have difficulty), provide level areas for tents (I saw only 2 places), provide picnic tables (there are none), and pick up litter (there was used toilet paper in our campsite.) The camping fee includes access to the hotspring, but when we drove there, both pools were totally full of people so we didn’t go in. We would rather have the option of paying less just for the campsite, or else let us reserve a time to use the hotspring and set a reasonable limit on the number of people in the pools at one time. The camping fee also includes access to the Indian Creek Canyon trail, but hiking the Pike Creek trail takes all day so we didn’t have time for another hike. The camping fee also includes the use of their private road to the playa, but you can drive onto it for free at Frog Springs just down the road, which is where we camped the night before. The gate to the campground is supposed to be locked, but both times we drove up, the lock was open. There are 2 locks on the chain and they only give you the combination to one of them, so whoever is using the other lock could accidentally lock you in or out. The Pike Creek trail is great and we enjoyed listening to the creek gurgling, the crickets singing, and the coyotes howling.
GuideWell groomed dirt/gravel roads and many pullout/sites to choose from. Sites are pretty spread out and we only saw one other person out here. A local recommended we not go in the hot springs due to lots of biting bugs though
TravelerThis is a simple campground...spaces laid out across the desert, pit toilets and a water spigot. The warm springs are awesome... a large pool with 90 degree water, and a bathhouse with two continuous flow springwater showers. Remember to take your trash with you.
LegendThe road here, yes, it’s 25 miles of gravel. The first 3 miles were great! We drove top speed of 55, then for the next 22 miles our top speed was 10mph. With having a camper truck the washboard road was more than it could handle.
We stayed in the spot next to the last spot in the camp, right next to a stream. At night we heard animals walking through it, it was beautiful. The most beautiful sunset also.
We took 2 dips in the pools. One during the day light and one after dark when the air cooled off.
The bathroom was very clean and no TP. We left a roll there and noticed someone else did too. So bring TP because there might not be any. No water resources so pack enough for your stay. We only stayed one night then headed off to Heart Mountain.
It was so beautiful and peaceful here, we would definitely stay again. Not a lot of campers as we stayed on a Tuesday night.
ScoutChoose tent wisely. A late night sandstorm came through and ripped our rainfly and tent was covered in sand. Had to sleep in car. I should have brought the smaller backpack tent. Beautiful place though. One night was enough.
TravelerCamped here on my way west. It was 100 degrees when I arrived. But after sunset the hot spring felt amazing. If stargazing is your thing, it doesn’t get much more dark sky than here.
GuideOur trip was so amazing when we visited this camp site. We went opal mining and this campsites are right there at the entrance. It was so convent and beautiful. My favorite things about this spot.
TravelerGreat little gem. Just off the highway it made for a quick overnight stay on our road trip with the bonus of a hot spring river. The area was very desolate. But had a beautiful hot spring river right next to your camp spot. Slow moving river so it wasn’t had to sit in but still very clean. Great with my young kids.
GuideBasic campsites, but some are very private. Either sides of camp offer amazing longer hikes to gorges coming off the steens mountain range. Fall colors were amazing, and still some water from the little Indian and blitzen rivers. Coyotes at night, pit toilets, solitude, plenty of trees. Is hot and dry in summer, but the exploration around it is breathtaking. Long dusty road but worth it. Wild horses and scenic
GuideTo truly feel the awe of this place it is best done driving out onto the lake bed and sleeping in the wild. You need to bring everything you’ll need. And very important: tag or mark your spot with gps if planning time leave playa to come back. The desert plays tricks on your eyes. The stunning steens mountain range and quiet are unmatched. Hot springs and good hikes and milkshakes nearby. Treat yourself
Camping near Denio, Nevada, offers a unique experience with stunning landscapes and a chance to connect with nature. Whether you're looking for hot springs or starry nights, this area has something for everyone.
Camping near Denio, Nevada, is a fantastic way to enjoy the great outdoors. With its beautiful landscapes and unique features, it’s a destination worth exploring.
Frequently Asked Questions
What camping is available near Denio, NV?
According to TheDyrt.com, Denio, NV offers a wide range of camping options, with 17 campgrounds and RV parks near Denio, NV and 7 free dispersed camping spots.
Which is the most popular campground near Denio, NV?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Denio, NV is Virgin Valley Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 12 reviews.
Where can I find free dispersed camping near Denio, NV?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 7 free dispersed camping spots near Denio, NV.
What parks are near Denio, NV?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 2 parks near Denio, NV that allow camping, notably Modoc National Forest and Fremont-Winema National Forest.
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