Are you planning a trip to Great Basin National Park with your horse? We've got you covered. Finding a place to camp in Nevada with your horse is easier than ever. These scenic and easy-to-reach Nevada campsites are perfect for your horse camping excursion.
Cleve Creek runs through the campground with large cottonwood trees. 12 campsites and 1 group site with picnic tables & fire grills. Not suitable for large trailers. Restrooms available but no potable water. Restrictions: Hunting/shooting is not allowed within developed recreation sites. Motorized travel is not allowed within Wilderness Areas.
Timber Creek Campground is located in Duck Creek Basin, high on the Schell Creek Range, in eastern Nevada. It sits at an elevation of 8,500 feet, approximately 25 miles from the small city of Ely. Visitors to the area enjoy hiking, horseback riding, fishing and off-road vehicle riding, among other activities.
Timber Creek is a perennial stream with rainbow and brook trout fishing. The High Schells Wilderness can be accessed from a trailhead located a half-mile up the road from the campground. The 30-mile Success Loop Scenic Drive is located in the Duck Creek Basin with views of the surrounding high desert and mountain terrain. Access to the Ranger OHV Trail is located below the campground and offers recreational opportunities for OHVs, horseback, mountain bikes and hiking.
The campground is situated in a dense forest of Engelmann spruce, aspen and white fir trees, which offers partial shade and beautiful fall color. Timber Creek flows past the campground. High Schells Wilderness sits immediately ajacent to the campground and has multiple peaks greater than 11,000 ft. in elevation.
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park is a few miles southeast of Ely, providing an opportunity to see interesting historic stone ovens and hike an interpretive trail. The Northern Nevada Railway in Ely has a museum and offers train rides. Cave Lake State Park is a few miles south of Duck Creek Basin along the Success Loop Road.
$10 - $60 / night
Ward Mountain Recreation Area and Campground sits in the shadow of its namesake, just 10 miles southwest from the city of Ely, in eastern Nevada. It sits at an elevation of 7,400 feet. Many trails are available for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.
Ward Mountain and the surrounding area offers miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. Many of the trails offer scenic views of the surrounding high desert terrain.
Ward Mountain is the highest point in the Egan Range, topping out near 10,800 feet. The campground is well below the summit, but sits high above the desert floor below. A forest of pinyon pine and juniper trees covers the area, offering partial shade and privacy between campsites.
Comins Lake is about 13 miles from the campground offering boating and fishing for trout and bass. Cave Lake State Park is less than 20 miles away, with opportunities for boating and fishing for rainbow and brown trout. Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park is 26 miles away, with interesting historic stone ovens and an interpretive trail. The Northern Nevada Railway in Ely has a museum and offers train rides. Stop by the Chamber of Commerce for more information on local events and sites.
$12 - $75 / night
Ranger
On the whole, it's avg. as far as campgrounds go
Great Basin was full, so went west on 6 about 8 miles and pulled into dispersed campground where there were some covered picnic tables at sites around a large central pond, following road up to equestrian corral and were several more sites. Stayed in#7 which was exposed, but the last one available so we took it. Free. Pit toilets are dirty but don't stink and trash has been emptied. Nice views to Wheeler Peak and out across UT
RangerFREE! On the whole, avg., 3 stars. Not many developed BLM sites around.
Great Basin was full, so went west on 6 about 8 miles and pulled into dispersed campground where there were some covered picnic tables at sites around a large central pond, following road up to equestrian corral and were several more sites. Stayed in#7 which was exposed, but the last one available so we took it. Free. Pit toilets are dirty but don't stink and trash has been emptied. Nice views to Wheeler Peak and out across UT
Ranger
There is a lower and upper camp spots. The upper is about 1mi up a dirt road and has some shade trees but no ramadas. Both have vault toilets. Trash at lower. Horse corral at upper. No cell service except one bar at peak of hill anout 3/4 mi up from lower. Great views of wheeler peak, good hiking trails. Bring tp for the toilets, which were clean just no tp. And FREE 14 day limit. Hot but not unbearable in late july.
Traveler
This is my second stay this year. With Las Vegas temps reaching 115, This is a beautiful respite with highs in the mid 80s. Well kept camp sites are also a welcome bonus. Bring your own water. Super clean restrooms too.
ScoutFree BLM numbered designated sites. We read other online reviews about people making a camp site wherever they want and this happened during our stay. We witnessed this (see the picture) happen to our neighbor. Thursday evening a single male with CA tags comes flying thru the campground and whipped into our neighbor's campsite and pulls right in front of their picnic table with his truck and 5th wheel trailer. Our neighbor came outside (as did several other neighbors wondering what this guy was doing) and confronts the guy. He asks him "you're not going to park there are you?!?". The guy tells him "yes, I need to watch TV" and proceeded to pull out his satellite dish and plop it down. Our neighbor says "this is my site and you're blocking my view." The guy told him he didn't care and set up anyways. Meanwhile there were 2 other RVs camping at the entrance waiting for a campsite to open up. In 7 years of RVing the entire country I have never witnessed such rude and entitled behavior before! The town of Ely for supplies had some of the rudest characters we've come across as well which was very surprising for a small town. This campground might have been a hidden gem at one time but with too much Internet publicity it's very busy now. Constant cars coming and going at all hours especially racing to the upper level of the campground. It probably would've been more peaceful sleeping at one of the highway pullouts.
TravelerGreat sites, very clean and ready for any size rig. 45 minutes to Great Basin and easy to get a site (mid April)
GuideNeeded a place to overnight in my RTT, and this worked out great. Pulled in, was the only one there so had my choice of spots. Had a restful night and hit the road in the morning. No fuss! Not sure if this is what I understand to be dispersed camping, as it’s a first come first served campground with tables, fire rings and pit toilets, just no water.
Guide
Camped on the Western opening of Marjum Canyon. Drove through the canyon a few times. Dispersed camping and small pull-offs all throughout.
Photos are of the Western slope pouring out of the canyon. As you exit the Canyon heading West, there are pull offs on both sides of the dirt road. Some areas may need high clearance vehicles to get over. There are small pull offs and dirt roads that low clearance vehicles can go over.
Most surrounding land is BLM land.
No Water
No Shade
No Wood
TravelerMake sure you take the road up the hill out of the lower camp spots to the upper area. To this day this is one of my favorite spots. Worth staying a few days, we were there in late April and the weather was great.
RangerVery nice BLM camp area. Each site has tent pad, picnic table, and sun shade. Mostly level for van camper. Vault toilets ok, not pristine. Camp is 2 miles East of the summit. We arrived 4:30 on Friday evening several sites available. Quiet.
LegendWe are full-timers in a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow. We stayed in the second site for one night in late May. The CG is very clean and well maintained. Although, the CG is small, 8 total sites, 2 or 3 were available when we arrived at 3:30pm. The sites also have nice separation.
AT&T coverage was poor, with 0 to 1 bar of 5GE and speeds of only 0.3 MB/s. We had access all 3 western DISH satellites and Starlink had speeds were up to 11 MB/s.
Legend
This is a popular stop near the town of Ely (a couple miles north off the highway; the closest town is actually McGill). Because of its proximity to a major thoroughfare, and I guess what northern Nevada would consider a major town, it seems like it fills up quickly. There isn’t a lot of privacy from neighbors because the foliage is limited and the landscaping is minimal, but it’s clean, relatively quiet, well run, and a good pit stop if you’re making a run across this area of the country.
Recommend that, if you know you’re coming in advance, you go ahead and make reservations at recreation.gov.
There are two pit toilets in a pretty good state of cleanliness. Potable water, picnic tables, and fire rings. Out of the eleven sites total, five are considered group sites and six are considered RV sites (you can car/tent camp here no problem, however).
TravelerVery nice NPS campground. My 30' TT and 20' truck found ample back-in FF spaces. Mostly flat. Table, grill and prep counter in good shape. Space is composed of small rock. A separate spot for a tent or (?) which is also covered with small rock is adjacent. Pit toilets were clean. At this time, the area lacks culinary water, hence the one-star deduction. RV dumps located in Ely at gas stations. Some sites can be reserved. About an hour's drive to Great Basin N.P..
T-Mobile's signal was good.
TravelerThis was probably one of the nicest free camp-sites we have ever stayed at. Like others have suggested, continue down the road to the upper camping area and trailhead. Absolutely gorgeous views of the Wheeler Peak range from the upper camping area. Super nice little spots nestled in the trees with fire-pits and a picnic table.
GuideA nice BLM campground to stay at, and free! There was a bit of noise being right on the highway. The pit toilet I used could’ve been cleaner. It had pretty good views and I enjoyed the small trail system they built around the area, brings you up higher for better views and it’s something to do while at camp. Some people were fishing the little pond while I was there, not sure if they caught anything or what kind of fish might be in it. Road in and around the site was well maintained
ScoutGreat spot right off Hwy 50. There’s an upper campground and a lower one, so keep driving down the road if the first one is full. Less than a dozen sites total. It’s all first come, first served and no camp host/ranger. The upper camping area has covered picnic tables. The lower sites are a bit more sectioned off with trees and brush. All seem to have fire pits, but you’d have to bring your own wood. There are only pit toilets, no running water, but you can dispose of garbage at the dumpster near the entrance. The rock formations here are super cool and my kids had a blast climbing on them. We also took the ~3 mi Sac Pass Trail from the campground, it’s not that well marked but we figured it out.
TravelerBeautiful tailpipes and aspens with a flowing creek. Road is a bit rough up, have the trailer secured. Bathrooms were clean.
GuideVery large areas with tables and shade no hookups but it had vault toilets and a small fishing pond. Trails were mapped out with a history lesson on the information board. No fees which is nice but still it’s very clean.
GuideI was going to try out a BLM spot closer to Great Basin but it didn't work out. Luckily this campground was only 20 min away and honestly, in far better shape. I rolled in, very exhausted, at 11pm. I quickly checked out the rules and map at the entrance and easily found a spot to back into. The next morning I got an eye full of stunning views and a nice campground. I'd go as far as to say it seems better maintained than natl park campgrounds. Make sure to bring your own toilet paper.
Legend
This little gem sits on the year round Cleve Creek. We camped here in October and the creek was still flowing strong. Small campground nestled among cottonwoods with 12 sites. Free BLM campground with a 14 day limit. We had it to ourselves for the most part. There is a large group suite with an elaborate grill and fireplace. Super cool spot!
ScoutAlthough it is not immediately evident at the entrance, there are two camping areas here. One circle of 8 or 9(?) sites which surround a little pond nearer to the highway, and then second set of 5 or 6 campsites perhaps a half-mile away past an open gate. I was travelling solo, just had a tent. I approached Great Basin Park too close to sunset to arrange for tent camping, so this area popped up along my route. I am so glad i stopped to check it out. I found a spot before sunset, up in the "equestrian' area. Other spots were occupied by some RV'ers but they were very nice. The vault toilets are maintained. The sites are not large but are well laid out and spaced apart, consisting of a fire ring, a grill, and a crushed-rock level area. After dark I had excellent view of the starry skies. Quiet neighbor campers. Seemed safe.
LegendThis place is located just over the summit of Sacramento Pass on the right hand side the road. Small pond surrounded by several sites in a loop. Covered picnic tables on cement slab with BBQ and there is also a fire pit. Pit Toilets and garbage dumpster are also on site. The campground is close to the road but it was surprisingly not as loud as anticipated. More campers came and squeezed into spaces in between designated sites later in the evening but it did not seem overcrowded. Great FREE place to spend the night while traveling through.
GuideSince Basin was closed due to COVID, we stayed at the Sac Pass area right outside and it didn't disappoint. When you pull in there are about 6 spots with shade, picnic tables, trash cans, toilets and firepits. If you take an immediate left when you pull in, go up to the equestrian campgrounds. We stayed at the one on the far left and it was secluded with a tent pad and firepit/table. Toilets were clean and well maintained. Hiked the Sac Pass trail and Lucky Boy trail right outside out camping spot. Some cell service in certain spots.
ScoutWas passing through planning on camping at Great Basin but I wasn’t to hip on spending the $15. Got a recommendation from the local store clerk to check out the Sac Pass Rec area and I’m glad I did!
Pulled in around 9pm so it was dark but looking around in the car wasn’t bad. Their are around 7-8 camp sites around the pond with covered patio, table fire pit and grill. You can follow the road back into the BLM land even further for camping and lots of activities.
I have Verizon and their was No service, also I didn’t use the bathroom there st the park but their is one near the entrance and lots of trash sites. The place was very clean and felt safe and kept up.
LegendHome to one of the biggest cliffs in North America and you've probably never heard of it. Notch Peak is just to the south of the campground. And has ~2000' of vertical rise and lies 4000' above the surrounding valley. Theres some good climbing in the canyon but there is room for plenty of development.
The coolest thing about this area is the hermit cave a little further back in the side canyon where the gps dot is. A hermit lived here for 20 years and according to my geology teacher would clear debris off the old highway and sometimes block it when he wanted company Haha. Just make sure to bring a gps locator or satellite phone because no one gets service out here, oh and lots of water!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Great Basin National Park?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Great Basin National Park is Sacramento Pass Recreation Area with a 4.5-star rating from 11 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Great Basin National Park?
TheDyrt.com has all 6 equestrian camping locations near Great Basin National Park, with real photos and reviews from campers.
