Best Tent Camping near Hawthorne, 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.

Campground is setup in a loop. Pay at the post upon entry - fill out the reservation envelope and put your nightly fee into the envelope.

There are spots for tent camping and even or truck spots with a larger parking space.

This is a seasonal campground and will be closed during the winter months.

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.

…..But we don’t participate in any of these activities. We had reserved a site but now wish we had not and left it to chance as we didn’t end up staying and had to pay regardless. It was VERY windy (in fact, there was an area-wide high wind advisory) and with our pop-top campervan, it would have been challenging. The sites are all gravel and appear level. There is a mix of full hook-up and non-hook-up, tent sites, and, in the summer, tent cabins. There is no privacy between the sites. Although our site backed up to the reservoir, the view from the front was a work in progress (i.e. piles of dirt, extra equipment, etc.) The picnic table had seen better days. 

The bathhouse closest to the nonhookup sites was still closed for the winter; the other one was tiny. The stalls had doors but no privacy closure and would be challenging to navigate for anyone of a larger size. Hot showers were $4.00. There is no private place to dress when showering. There is a laundry room but had a code entry and since we didn’t stay, I did not see the inside. 

As the name suggests, there is a marina. The staff was all pleasant. For us personally, this would be a two-star stay but for those who have a boat or ATV, this would likely be an excellent place to stay, especially in the summer, so I am giving it 3 stars.

Absolute worst experience ever! Nice lake, but there are other and better places to stay nearby, so skip Annett's if you want to avoid unnecessary aggravation. We paid for two nights with full hookups only to discover that the electric at our site did not work due to faulty ground wire connection. Another RVer said electrical issues are an ongoing problem (circuit breakers tripping, etc.) An employee said the electrical issue would be fixed, but nobody showed up the first night (we were told their "electrician" was unavailable, so it would have to wait until the morning.) A general "maintenance" man showed up the next morning and spent a few hours trying to fix the wiring, but didn't know how, so he gave up. We asked for a refund, but were refused. They have a "no refunds" policy. They would not even compromise and reduce the fee to the non-hookup rate (we had not used electrical, water, or sewer), so we left. Later, tried to contact the owners of the park (Norm and Kellie Annett) by phone to seek an explanation and refund, but received no return call. Credit card company sought a partial refund (we were willing to pay the no-hook-up rate for the first night, but sought a full refund for the second (unstayed) night. Owners refused, falsely claiming that "all services were provided." No electrical outlet in women's restroom (it was taped over.) Campground layout is an absolute maze with hard to locate and cramped sites, particularly if you want a tent site. They don't accept reservations, but their "regulars" (who are there to spend the season fishing, not camping) somehow get their sites every year. Save yourself some heartache and money and choose a campground up the road, particularly the forest service campgrounds. You will be glad you did.

We stayed in tent site #4, aka “Extra Special Lakeshore Camping”. The views were absolutely incredible. The site site on a small promontory, affording you incredible sunsets across Bridgeport Reservoir. The drawback to this of course is that everyone has to walk right by your campsite to enjoy these views. Expect very limited privacy, friendly conversation, lots of it, and to meet every dog in camp. As the listing warns, the location also means extra exposure to wind and bugs. What the listing also says is that the site is (just) big enough for a large tent and EZ-up (shade structure), although it doesn’t mention what we were told upon arrival: due to winds coming off the reservoir at up to 60 knots, we were not allowed to rely on stakes and had to be present at all times when the shade structure was up.

Additional clarifications: The “dog beach” is ~30 ft long, and is the same beach the kayaks, SUP boards, and pedal boat are lunched from (and stored). In practice this is fine for playing fetch, but is not enough room for letting your dog run. Individual fire rings are not provided, so if you want a fire cozy up to the communal fire ring, which can get crowded on weekends, hopefully you’re not an introvert. Restrooms and showers are at the far corner of camp, ~1/8 mi away and up a small incline, not the easiest to get to for midnight wake up calls, or those with mobility limitations. FYI re: accessibility: the entire camp past the bathrooms is not firm & stable surface, and the restrooms are very tight with small stalls.

Otherwise the camp was great. We loved the free and easy access to boats. The communal kitchen was a nice convenience, particularly for washing dishes. The bathrooms were always very clean, and having free showers is awesome. The host’s local knowledge was very helpful, and pointed us to the right hot springs for the right day/time/weather. Finally, back to the view. It was great anytime of day, sunrise to sunset, even peeking out when hiding in the tent from the rain and bugs, the view really made the trip.

This is a lovely campground on the eastern slope of the Sierras. Although it's not far from Hwy 108 and I395 it is a very quiet spot. Robinson Creek winds by both loops and makes for a restful night's sleep with it's constant burbling. The sites were very clean and the tent pads were raked level and ready for our tent. No hookups or water at the sites, although it's not far away. Deer meander through the camground throughout the day. We would definitely stay here again.

Campsite is very clean. Flat tent spots. Bathrooms and showers.Weather was beautiful but windy. Came on a day a strange storm came thru. Steps away from a reservoir. Close to Bodie and Mono Lake.

Desert Creek Campground (775) 331-6444 https://goo.gl/maps/oYVUUHTNABcQ3Vc4A

Great secluded place. Not sure why the directions say California when it’s in Nevada. Someone edited the map to a random place in California. I fixed it, if not google maps desert creek campground fixes it.

Sonora Bridge is the first campground you come to on the eastern side of beautiful Sonora Pass. There are 23 first come first serve tent and RV sites shades by tall Jeffrey pines. Recreational opportunities include hiking, fishing horseback riding nearby and of course relaxing.

We stayed at the 20 mile beach camp site. As you make your way down the dirt road, the road will fork at the public trash bins. We headed right, and followed a dirt road down towards the lake. You will see a large round clearing, and that is where we set up our large Kodiak cabin style tent. The dirt road down to the site was a little bumpy. Maybe not suitable for low profile vehicles. We drove in in a Chevy pick up.

Bring mosquito repellent because there are tons of bugs. The lake is pretty dirty. There’s a lot of missy looking substance on it. My kids tried fishing, even though the fishing report stated fishing was not good. I have 9 and 11 year olds... They don’t like to reason when it comes to fishing, or “wetting a line” as they say.

The camp ground is mostly gravel and coarse sand. I had to use a heavy hammer to stake our tent. We didn’t see or hear any snakes. The nights were very pleasant. There is wildlife all around, but nothing kept us up at night. I was kind of hoping for some owl hooting, or coyotes, but I didn’t hear any. This site is also far enough from the road, where you really don’t hear the traffic. Make sure to step out, or open a window to enjoy the sunrise.

This area is pretty close to town so it’s not the quietest. There are also only a few roads to pull down and no fires allowed but we found space to hang out and set up up some tents.

The springs are real close too and they were perfect to dip into and relax as the stars came up. Unfortunately, some people were breaking the rules and camping by them. Don’t be like them! Camp only where you can!

Stayed here on the way down to Bodie. We were at Markleeville the night before, spending some time fishing the local waters.

Chris flat is easy to access but literally backs onto the freeway. There is traffic going into the night so if that’s going to bother you then choose a different spot. Bootleg is about 5 minutes away.

There was only 1 toilet open on my visit. There are 10 sites in total and only about half were occupied. We were the only tent campers there. Everyone else was in an RV.

Water stations are dotted around the campground. Try to choose a site close to one if you can. There are fire rings at each site and wood is available to purchase.

Minimal cover from sun and wind so make sure you have a good tent.

There are NO bear lockers here. So come prepared. The guidance at the campsite was conflicting on how to beat mitigate food foraging from bears but the best thing would be a scent proof box.

Overall not the greatest campground but ok for an overnight stay for multi day journeys.

The Walker river is behind the campground. Access is a little tricky so be careful. Lots of deep holes but difficult waters to fish and a brisk wind coming down the mountain channeled by the valley.

The group campsite was spacious, shaded, and room for many tents to spread out and apart. There were several picnic tables and one nearby vault toilet. The Green Creek was adjacent with nice rushing water. Be mindful to bring plenty of water. The website indicates availability of potable water but there hasn’t been any since 2020. The drive back in to town is long and mostly on unpaved roads. The camp host was friendly and helpful. He placed 2 gallons of nonpotable water at each site in the event of campfire problems.

We had a great time camping here. The hot springs were super cool and there were multiple pools scattered around the area. We swam in the small spring pools as the sun was setting and got to watch the stars come out. Some of the pools are super hot and others not much, also they are very muddy. You can’t actually camp by any of the springs but there are a few pull offs to camp at before you get to the springs. We had phone service. If you want to make a fire make sure you bring some wood as there wasn’t really any wood to collect from the area. It also got super windy during the night but our tent held up fine. Over all really great site, and free!