Best Tent Camping near Dyer, NV

I stayed here May 10-12th with my two dogs. I chose a site right along the creek which was wonderful to fall asleep to the sounds of rushing water. Many sites are quite spacious and offer a sandy area for tent set up. Most sites have a picnic table, fire pit, & metal bear box for food storage. Vault toilet available that were surprisingly clean. Camp host was friendly and had firewood on site available for purchase for $8/bundle. The website lists nightly rate as $21/night but when I arrived the sign had been updated to $23/night. This was the perfect basecamp for some day hikes up Big Pine Creek Trail to some beautiful blue lakes.

On our way from Reno to Vegas we drove into a serious thunderstorm, so while we weren’t planning to stop, we were thrilled to find this campground when we did! Close off the Highway and very close (~2 miles) from grocery, gas etc. in town, yet feels secluded and is very quiet. Clean vault toilets. Picnic table, water spigot, fire ring, BBQ pit and bear box at each site. Despite the rain we were happy to find a covered, honor-system firewood stack ($7 in the bucket) so we could still have a fire. Great spot for getting up and heading to hike at the many awesome trails surrounding. Lots of people had their OHVs along too- must be good trails for that too! Gotta pay on rec.gov.. no cash ranger box.

East Fork Campground is a large campground in the Rock Creek area down below the road. It looked like the best sites were in the trees along the creek.

Our site, #27, was in some low aspen trees and was not set up well for tent camping. The site with the tent pad, picnic table and bear locker required stepping down on some rocks from the parking area. The tent pad was small and sloped, our four person tent was wedged into the area. The people in the site behind ours has set up there tent right next our only place to fit a tent.

The bathrooms were near by and very clean.

Stay at Rock Creek Lake Campground in mid June. The drive up from Hwy 395 was easy for a mountain road. There were about 7 campgrounds along this corridor. Rock Creek Lake is at the top. The campground is at about 9,500 feet so be aware for altitude. 

Campsites are very close to the water. The walk in tent sites are next to the creek. We were in site 24. This site was located in a small clearing that gets midday sun so it can heat up. Other than site 25, the other sites had better shade coverage. The walk in sites had a dirt pad for your tent, picnic table and bear locker. Your site has assigned parking. 

It was about a 50 to 75 yard walk from the parking, water spout, and bathrooms. Camp host was pleasant and had wheelbarrows to help move your stuff. The bathrooms were flush toilets and sink. The sink faucets were variable.  

The weather was still quite chilly especially at night. The campground in general was very quiet. We didn't hear loud music or groups over 4 days. There were lots of mosquitos the whole time. Rock Creek Lake Resort just down the road has a store and restaurant serving pie. During the weekend, there are lots of day use visitors but they cleared out in the evening. 

I would definitely be back

There are two types of campsites at Upper Sage Flat. The first are lovely shaded sites with the rear of the site adjacent to Big Pine Creek. They have tree cover but are really open to the neighboring sites. Honestly, would have thought they were pretty great if we hadn't stayed at nearby Big Pine Creek Campground (check it out).

The second are the sites on the roadside and they are HOT AS BLAZES. There is almost no shade and they are basically just dirt/sand/rock pads. It's like being in an entirely different campground. Strongly recommend using Google Earth to check the site you're reserving (or first come, first serve if at (lower) Sage Flat campground.

If you're in the river side sites you'll love it. There is a bridge over the river that leads to a trail heading north to the Big Pine Creek Trailhead. You can also walk up the road but the trail is a more interesting option. Plus, it is the narrowest part of the trail you'll run for about 5 miles. That's a good thing because if you make it that first 1/2 mile you'll be fine the rest of the way when it opens up into some pretty incredible trail after passing through Big Pine Creek Campground and Glacier Lodge Cabins & RV park.

Decent pit bathrooms but right in the sun all day so much nicer in the mornings than evenings as far as flies and smell go. Bear boxes, fire pits and picnic tables. ***So basically a 4 if you have river side and a 2 if not. Maybe a 1. Location alone is worth 2. Yep. At least that. But really, try to stay by the river.

Campground Review:

Baker Creek Campground at first glance was a small campground when just booking it online. Not too many photos or information about it other than bathroom, trash cans, fire rings etc. We showed up around 6 A.M. when it was still dark in the campground. I knew the general area of the campsite, so we drove around with only head lights to guide us. We ended up essentially drive through campsite 33 I believe it was, to get to our campsite 34. So that particular step up was a little different. We we stepped out of the car we could hear a stream on both sides of us, ahhhh we made it. The sound of the stream was lovely. We set up camp and knocked out for a few hours. Waking up in the sunlight was an experience because it was pitch black when we showed up; past our two stream, we hadn't known what was surrounding us. Upon waking up we could see there was a trash can and restroom not too far away. On our West side past the creek was a small hill. To the east on the other side of the stream there was two other campsite. There was rocks in the stream so you could cross with ease. It also helped with the serenity of the stream sound. We went hiking to Big Pine lakes that day. When we returned 5.5 hours later, everything was as we left it, but we had gained some neighbors. It was a little weird that we now had to drive through an occupied campsite to get through to ours, but there was plenty of space to do so. Also, across the stream we gain a gentleman and his dog. This site was a little overgrown and the whole campground itself was a little malnourished. Before leaving the following day we drove through the entire campground to find it was much bigger than we anticipated. There were ponds for fishing and the stream ran through the entire campground. There were spots for RVs. Car/ tent. There was a option for tent/walk-up too. Seems like a pretty popular campground despite its appearance.

Overall we would love to camp there again!

Here is a summary of the campground:

Pros:

Restrooms (pit)

Trashcans

Fishing option ( no we didn't fish )

Fire rings w/ grills or it had separated grill

lots of options for camping ( i.e rv/ tent/ car)

lots of options for site sizes/ tree coverage- no coverage

only $14.00 a night

open all year round

Location ( just a block over from Glacier Lodge Rd. for many good hikes )

Cons:

Grungy appearance

Sites not well maintained

Can only reserve online at Reserveamerica.com

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - today I am testing TredAgain's Sandals!

These TredAgain Sandals were one's I have been looking forward to reviewing. This is the first time they have come camping with me, but I've been using them daily. First of all, I would like to say that while shopping for them that I really enjoyed they had a selection of colors to choose from, but I am a simple gal so black was the way to go. Second of all, I respect and love what TredAgain is doing as a company for the Earth as a shoe-wear company. Recycling, or as they call it up-cycling , old tires into durable footwear! It speaks to my love for the environment!

Though it was chilly outside this weekend I still rocked my TredAgain's around camp with my stylish sock! They were perfect to walk across the rocks to get the restroom. Since the sandal is the rubber material, I didn't have a doubt skipping across the rocks! Sitting by the fire, they never over heated like some shoes will so that was enjoyable to get the heat from the fire and not have to worry about my sandals. I know I will be taking these sandals on more adventures with me in the future!

Summary..

Pros:

Stream line design

Traction on outdoor surfaces

Color selection

The material strap

Durability

Being able to quickly wash them up

The fact they are up-cylced

They make more than just sandals.

Cons:

Only available online , to what I've seen/read

They do squeak a little when wet