Best Tent Camping near Hiko, NV

Ashley here with The Dyrt! We're so happy to have this new partner on our platform! Tent camping, the least light pollution in this part of the world, and maybe even a UFO sighting. Come give this place a try and leave your review here.

Campground Review: This lake is incredible! It is on the road to Cathedral Gorge State Park and filled with wildlife! We were there for the bird count and it took all day just to count the birds on the lake. 

There are fifteen lakeside campsites are available along Upper Pahranagat Lake. Sites are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. They are free, but there is a donation box at the registration kiosk if you want to leave some support for the Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge reserved sites for our group participating in the bird count service project. So be aware that you might want to have a back up plan if the sites are full since there is no reservation channel.  Several of the sites can accommodate multiple tents, camping trailers, or RVs. No electrical, water or sewage facilities are available. There are vault toilets. 

Visitors may stay for a maximum of fourteen days within a 31 day period. Quiet hours are from 10pm to 7am. Generators are allowed, but if the generator is noisy it should be shut down overnight to respect other campers. Fires are allowed only in provided grills and fire pits. 

Non-motorized boats or boats with electric motors are permitted on Middle Marsh Unit and Lower Lake throughout the year, and on Upper Lake from February 1 through September 30. Upper Lake is closed to boating October 1-January 30. Due to fragile habitats, the use of boats, rubber rafts, or other flotation devices is not permitted on the North Marsh at any time. Watercraft must be in compliance with all applicable state and federal rules. Trailer launching is not permitted. To prevent the spread of invasive species, only car-top watercraft are permitted.

Campground Review: Cathedral Gorge State Park is a beautiful spot of geologic mystery. When you are driving in, you will wonder what the appeal is initially and then BAM! The first small cathedral formation shows up on your right and you are awestruck. You head off to the campground where you are greeted with a large pile of firewood for sale, an intro sign and pay kiosk, and plenty of campsites. Granted it was late December in the middle of the week but I was basically the only person in the entire campground. There was one other RV there but it was very quiet and calm at the site. The sites were mostly level but were rocky dirt so tent camping would have been a bit tricky. Each site has a picnic table, fire pit, and shelter over the table. There were free hot showers on the main campground side and the water was very hot and the bathrooms were heated too. Flushing toilets and sinks were well maintained. 

The amphitheater is right next to the bathroom and in between sites so if there is an event happening there it might be loud for the closest sites. The group sites are across the road from the main campground so they are easily accessed by the other site. In the group site there are single stall bathrooms and more showers but they took money. I didn’t see a sign for how much they cost. 

There is also a handicap campsite next to the bathrooms on level paved ground so it would be best for van or RV camping. 

There is a trail that you can take straight to the main attraction of the park, the caves. They were absolutely stunning. It was so much fun to play in all the slots and explore on your own. They aren’t super long so it would take a lot to get lost. But be careful, it is crumbly and slippery in snow. I ended up hiking from the campground all the way up to Miller’s Point lookout and back in about an hour. It was a great spot to check out for sunset. I was solo out there so I was able to really appreciate the beauty of the park and the creation of the formations. You can see the rock formations in all stages of life. It’s a great spot to hike, bike, and play. 

**Travellers Autobarn Kuga Campervan Review(Cooking): **While out volunteering over a week for the Audubon Bird Counts, I was able to evaluate the AWESOME Kuga campervan. Check it out: https://www.travellers-autobarnrv.com/campervan-rv-rentals/kuga-campervan/

Since I was gone for 7 days, I broke my evaluation up into sections where the most important features of the van were utilized. If you want to see the rest, check out my reviews for Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge, Cathedral Gorge State Park, Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge, Desert Wildlife Refuge, and Big Dune Recreation Area. 

This company is awesome, they come from Australia and New Zealand and we are super excited to have a truly affordable rental camper van in the United States! You can rent out different sizes and get an array of gear with them. This is perfect for music festivals, road trips, and for camping in extreme weather. 

• Cooking: In order to cook in the van you will need to get out of the van and turn on the propane tank. It’s a good idea to leave the door to the tank open too for extra ventilation. This makes it a bit frustrating when you have to keep going in and out to open and shut the door/turn it on and off but that is campervan life. You will also need to open the top vent(and maybe even the fan) when you are cooking. When you get ready to take off, you will need to shut all the open doors and top vent so it doesn’t get caught on anything or taken in the wind. You will need to pay for the propane tank to be refilled or prepay for the tank before you leave. 
• Water: There is a 14 gallon tank on board and I didn’t even come close to using it all on my 7 day trip. There is a switch you will need to turn on in order to activate the pump. Make sure you turn it off at night so the pump doesn’t freeze! There is not a garbage disposal in the sink so make sure your plates are scraped off before you wash them. Don’t put garbage down the sink. It is only cold water for dishes so you will need to boil some water and fill the sink in order to scrub dishes properly. I used the sink for storage of clean and drying dishes when I was travelling too. You will need to empty the tank when you are done. It is easy flip open of a toggle underneath the edge of the van. 
• Food storage: There is plenty of counter space but no way to keep the food from moving around so with the cabinets filled with gear, I had to do some rearranging to get food stored in there too. The fridge was totally big enough for what I needed for my trip(lunch meat, cheese, dips, condiments, beer, and veggies). I even had some ice cream and whiskey in the freezer. It stayed nice and cold due to being run by the solar panels. The microwave is run off external power so you will need to be connected to an electrical outlet in order to use it. The cables are supplied in the van.

We got in on a Thursday night right around 6:30 pm. We knew we were going to be cutting it close and in our 26 foot rig out of the 10ish spaces that could fit us (some spots are only for vans or tents) only 2 were left so we suggest getting here earlier. We found a space that was available next to another camping couple who were very kind. They were pulling a Bighorn maybe a 28 ft with slides and we both fit in spots 2 and 3 with ease. The road heading in is incredibly washboarded. Stick to the left side of the road if you want a slightly less bumpy ride. Scenery was gorgeous. Lots of shade for Nevada. Amazing view of the stars too! You are close to the highway but at night the road settles down and it was not a problem for us. Being so close to the lake be prepared to be inundated with bugs at night time if you have any lights on at all. Also, people do not seem to pick up after their pets (maybe even themselves?) as the closer you get to vegetation the more poop you’ll see alongside the grass/bushes. Overall, we enjoyed our stay here. It is a donation only park and it is first come first serve! We arrived Sept 17th around 6:30 pm with only two spots left and right after we pulled in another van and camper pulled in so I’m pretty sure it was full by 7 pm. Temps were low 60s at night and 85 when we arrived up until about 8:30 pm! Each site is spaced far enough apart where you aren’t necessarily on top of each other (except for our site which was meant for two rv’s)! There are also picnic tables, grills and fire pits at each site.

One of the best hidden gems in Nevada! Great camping with clean restrooms and well maintained campgrounds. Plenty of good trails nooks and crannies to explore.

Highly recommended!!

This campground has super small sites that are close together and offer little to no "camp privacy". I would say that this is more of an RV/trailer friendly campground than tent-friendly. There are tent pads at a couple of the sites. Each site offers fire rings, grills and covered picnic tables. There is flushable toilets and free showers available which is super nice.

The more we explored this park, the more awesome things we found. Close to the day use area, there is a horseshoe pit and a very nice volleyball court. There are a couple short hikes super close to the campground also, that offer beautiful views of the fall foliage. I highly suggest visiting this in the Fall as the colors were amazing.

Nice little campground located in the Cathedral Gorge State Park in Eastern central Nevada. Sites are first come first serve. Each has Electrical hook ups, but no sewer/dump facilities. Bathrooms have running water and a shower which is very nice. The hiking trails are great and provide lots of exploring on the Cathedral Gorge.

Steve, the “Happy Camper”

This was our second Nevada State park campground and it was just as immaculate as the first. The sites were level, groomed, and not a speck of trash to be found. Great Verizon service, no ATT. We didn’t use the bathroom because of covid, but based on the cleanliness of the rest of the place, it was probably perfect. The park is nice, definitely worth a day’s visit. This campground would make a good base for exploring more state parks nearby.

03/22/2022 Rode in on motorcycles and checked in at check-in station. Looked for open sites and settled on site 11, which was built upon a mound. Had to park the bikes at the bottom and carry gear to the top of the mound, which provided a partial view from the top. One of the tent pads was hidden between some bushes which was good for some partial wind coverage. After setting up camp we went for a 3-4 mile walk around the lake, didn’t see much wildlife besides a few birds. Didn’t get to use the firepit due to high winds so bed time came pretty early after dinner. The vault bathrooms were clean, not smelly at all. Unfortunately there is constant road noise from the main road being about 75 feet away from the camp sites, and numerous cars hit the rumble strips causing even more noise. Right before bed time there were two large explosions that sounded like a bomb went off right across the lake, but I think it was from the aircraft bombing range nearby. There are no trash cans on site so prepare to pack out all trash. A few mice came out shortly after sundown so keep all food away from things you don’t want chewed through, like backpacks and tents. No other animals were seen during our stay. Camp sites were clean, neighbors were quiet, but the stay was quite boring and windy. Verizon service was good, no 5G but had full bars of 4G. Able to stream videos and check email/social media if needed. There is a gas station 5 miles away that is open from 5am-9pm.
This campsite is a good spot to stay if you just need a free place to stay for the night and can sleep through road noise.

There are natural springs and the flora is gorgeous!!! The short overlook trail is absolutely stunning. Our trip was in Fall so the colors were amazing. We camped for only one night but had a good visit and plan to return since this is a very nice place. This is a small first come, first serve campground with electric hookups, restrooms, and more. Each site has a picnic table, BBQ, and fire pit. The picnic table has shade and there are trees around the campground. There are showers but I didn't use them to verify they work well or are warm. There are water spouts, for use but not to hookup. There is a dump station at the park entrance but no sewer hookups. We got the last spot in the campground, it fills up quickly and people came after us who had to leave to find another place. Lesson: arrive early in the day probably between 10am-1pm will get you a spot. The campground is at the park entrance and is 0.8 miles from the main park area where the playground, wading pool, grassy areas, and most trail heads are. That main area is also where you will find maps and the stamp to use on your Nevada state parks passport. When we came the wading pool was empty. But I guess during summer it's a nice refreshing place for children to play. There are two spots to play horse shoes and one for volleyball. The playground equipment is old but usable. Cellular service is better up at the main park area than at the campground but the campground does offer wifi for a fee. Just outside the state park is a grazing area with cows and just past that is the railroad- you may hear the train from your campsite. We liked that but I'm sure some people wouldn't. Animals in the area we saw: turkey, rabbits, kangaroo rats, frogs, and various butterflies. The camping price is$15 per night without hookups,$25 with hookups OR if you get the state park all access pass then camping is free and you just pay$10 for the hookups if you use them. Read up on the Nevada State Park website for more details.

Nice and quiet campground in an interesting state park. We went for site #4, which was in the interior part of the single-loop campground. The bathrooms were a short walk over a hill shortcut or you could walk the campground loop road to them.

Bathrooms are clean with a single shower. I had no problem with hot water, but the campground was not busy on the Monday after Fourth of July and it was hot out. It was nice to be able to get off the dust!

We had checked out another site on the outside part of the loop (#12, if I remember correctly) and it had a nice tent space, but ours could easily fit two small tents and possibly up to three if you did not have a fire.

There was an electrical hookup box, but the regular plug-ins were blocked, so we were unable to use it to charge our phones. (There was like a plastic insert blocking the plugs.) I didn't have an RV-style plug to try.

People were good about turning off their generators at 10pm.

There are a few trails that go off from the campground to explore the local area and its slot canyons. A nice afternoon excursion if you have the time. Pretty flat trails, though the one we took had been washed out in places. Just follow the trail posts up the dry stream beds in those parts and you'll be fine.

Beware of flash flooding in this region. I know the campground was caught in a flash flood in July of 2018 because of video online, so just be aware of that. From the news coverage, this does not seem to be a common event.

I would definitely come back to this campground.

We stopped here for lunch to check it out as a potential spot for the future. So we didn't actually camp here but we looked around, took pictures, and made a plan for our return. First thing is that since this place is free and beautiful it fills up quickly. We arrived around 11:30 am and there were spots available but they were all taken by the time we left after our lunch. However, there is another free boondocking spot across the highway near the refuge entrance, so if you arrive too late to get a spot you could camp at the boondocking spot for one night and then try to get a campsite at the refuge the next day. It was October when we were there and the weather was cool and the leaves turning. Just gorgeous scenery and the campsites are literally right next to the lake. Lots and lots of water fowl. There are nice trails around the area too but be careful at the lower parts of the refuge because hunting is allowed there. The refuge consists of two lakes and a marsh. Parts of the lakes are muddy, which is probably how the place gets it's name. There are sites big enough for RVs and sites where only tents are allowed. None have hookups but they do have picnic tables. The road noise might bother some people. And the entire park is dirt roads, not paved. Parts of the road are narrow, so caution must be taken when passing other vehicles.

I want to start off by saying I was never able to check with a park ranger and ask how the overflow camping is technically supposed to work but here was my experience. I arrived at the campground around 5pm on a Friday night and everything was full. After driving around for a bit I saw signs for Overflow camping. There appeared to be two sections where overflow camping is permitted. I will post pictures of the one I stayed in over by the slot canyons and day use areas. Since my setup does not require a tent and is super easy to move around. I was able to use the camp fire rings at the day use area for dinner, s’mores, and star gazing. It was actually lovely because the noise of the busy campground was far away and I had the entire day use area to myself. Then after I put my fire out I drove back over to the overflow parking spot. If you are in a Van or similar car/suv setup this may be an option for you if the campground is full. Also, I was still able to use the showers at the campground and use the bathrooms at the day use area so that was nice :)

The drive on 375 was decent road, all uphill but not bad. Great views. Drive back down was super easy! A bit disappointed as the app had said showers and toilets.

It’s about a 2 and a half 3 hour drive outside of Vegas depending on how fast you’re going. If you drive past the sign, you missed it! You pull in off the highway and just pick a spot. I’ve been here 3 maybe 4 times. This is the first time I wasn’t alone, but there was enough distance between the sites that I didn’t mind it. There is a couple of fire rings and old picnic tables. No water hookups, bathrooms, or cell service. Nearest gas station is about 30 miles in either direction. The road in is a bit rocky, but not too bad.

Drove in and veered to the right to a campground that had a firepit next to a juniper bush that provided some nice privacy. Very quiet at night, did some hiking around the area and lots of desert wildflowers and landscape. Does have a trashcan but not much else. We had a 17ft sprinter van and accessed it with no problem. Lovely free campsite for the night.

Followed detailed directions in app and boom Great spot! Didn’t know till I saw strange aircraft that site was actually right in area 51’s night sky. So trippy.

I spent a couple of days here in August and did some nude hiking around the rock areas.  I  had the whole place to myself for most of the time.    It was hot, but that's perfect for me since I'm nude all the time.  I'd return here when I'm headed to the Lake Mead area in the near future (one of my very favorite nude destinations).