Best Tent Camping near Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Headquarters

Ranger Review: GCI Pod Rocker at Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, near Alamo, NV.

CAMPGROUND REVIEW 

Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, 9 miles south of near Alamo, NV. This campground is absolutely gorgeous and FREE!! However, nothing is ever really"free," so the price you pay is tolerating the noise from the very close US 93 highway. Noise diminishes at night, as there's very little truck traffic. At the time of this writing, Interstate 15 is detoured to this highway en route to Utah(until Spring 2020). All sites are first come first serve.  Each site has a picnic table, grill, fire pit, and a view of Upper Pahranagat Lake. Sites were clean& tidy in spite of no camp hosts. There are very few amenities: No water and a few scattered vault toilets. There is a handicap accessible site at the end of the long campground road with a paved stretch of sidewalk that goes to the south end of the lake. At the south end, there is a telescope for viewing wildlife and a park bench. We fished in the kayak a bit, but there were no bites. The landscaping is beautiful, with song birds always chirping. There's also a loop trail around the lake and another trail to the visitor's center. 

Campground highlights:  https://youtu.be/Gch2ndb3t4Y

PRODUCT REVIEW 

As a ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. While camping at Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, we tested the GCI Pod Rocker. 

https://www.gcioutdoor.com/rockers/pod-rocker/ 

GCI Pod Rocker looks very sharp and is well constructed. However, it seems to be more suited for a heavier person. For a lighter person, the rocking motion takes some work, unless the chair is positioned on a downward sloping hill. Sets up quick and easy, has a little drink holder pouch, and it has nice storage case with shoulder strap. 

Pod Rocker in action:  https://youtu.be/MnZ4hCHwrXY

In summary, we loved camping at Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, but with no water the stay was brief. However, adding this fun chair to our camping gear made our stay extra comfy!

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.

We stopped in to review the campground for a future trip, pulling a 34 ft travel trailer with no problems. It’s located on a gravel road with a small portion washboard surface. Good for kayaking until October 1st. Then, closed to boating for the season. No swimming, no hookups. Fire rings available to use, but must bring your own firewood. There’s a trail at the south end of the lake. There are a few spaces for small vehicles only, but we found open choices today to fit our trailer. The highway runs along the campground, so there is road noise. We’d like to come back in a different season.

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.

After a long, hot, WINDY ride down the ET Highway, I was ready for a stop.  I found this place via The Dyrt.  A bit difficult to find the actual entrance, to the north of the camps.  The Visitor Center, to the south, was closed.  The camps are rather exposed, but right on the water's edge.  Most were filled, as it is 'first-come' camping.  I was able to share spot #3 with a big motorhome in #2.  Pretty cute extremes in camping.  The camp host was kind, and had no problem with me setting up a clothes line for drying my sweaty gear.  Pit toilets are only at the two ends of the camping area, so plan ahead.  It was about a 5-minute walk from #2, for #2.  Quite a few bugs got me during the evening hours, but not too bad.  Fun to watch the Mexican free-tail bats come out in the evening.

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.