Best Tent Camping near Mount Charleston, NV

Need a capable vehicle to get here. Toilets were clean and there was paper but don't count on it. There are about a half dozen sites mostly geared towards tent camping. Kind of dispersed.

The campsite is very clean and pretty. We were tent camping and cooking in the provided firepit or on out coleman stovetop. The extra stand for the stove was great and freed up table space for dining and cards. The level tent spots are great. Wild horses came by our tent at night and kept us awake for a short time. Cool to see though. The bristlecone loop trail nearby was an easy to moderate 6 mile trek. I wish there was a shower since we got very sweaty from or hikes. They do have nice clean restrooms and plenty of water to fill up my portable shower.

This place has all the basic amenities you will need. There is no tent camping, only rigs. The prices start around $40 a night with hookups. They did have security patrolling through the park, so that is a plus for the location. Everything was clean and well kept. They do allow up to two pets, however, large dogs and aggressive breeds are not allowed. "Don't follow the GPS coordinates on The Dyrt app." It lead me right into the middle of the neighborhood next to the facility.  Not cool when pulling a trailer.

Very nice spot for tent camping. Each space has a large concrete picnic table and bar b q grill along with a nice fire pit and metal table for your camping stove. There is a 10:00 pm quite time so if you are looking for a place to party this is not it, but if you are looking for a place to relax surrounded by ponderosa pines then you have found the place. There is no hook ups for RVs but in the summer the night tempartures are in the low 60s so no need for air conditioning.

This campsite is on the Clark County Shooting Complex property. It has 62 RV spots with hookups. There is a 14 day max on staying with a 24 hour break before you can stay another 14 days. Ensures others get the chance to stay at this location. The cost is $30 per night. The place is secure and well-maintained. You have full access to come and go when the facility is closed if you are staying at the RV site. I didn't notice any tent camping areas, but all the RV sites were lined up with no shade/trees.

A really nice and clean park. Super impressed. They have a pool, laundry and dog relief areas. Nice designated parking for your vehicles as well. The staff is super nice and accommodating not to mention the sites are being totally sanitized after each use(the hook up boxes and grounds being raked) Please lock your belongings this is not the best part of town like I’ve said about Boulder highway before. Your about 10 minute drive to down town Las Vegas and about 15 minute drive to the strip. Oh and NO tent camping allowed either it’s a law here.

This campground is pretty magical with forest ponies wandering in the woods.  At night the stars are incredible and I usually see multiple shooting stars.  I camped here one night during a meteor shower and it was awesome.

The bathrooms are clean and have flush toilets with sinks.  There are water faucets throughout the grounds and water tastes really good.

I've seen horses, donkeys, deer and squirrels here.  The tent sites are nice and clean and lots of dumpsters for garbage.  The camp host is also very nice.

Mount Charleston itself is quite sparse in trees but the few high pines shade the campgrounds below. The air is nice and fresh although the air can be more thin than accustomed to so take breaks on hikes.

The campground is managed well and ranges from busy to vacant. No river running through.

We love camping at Mount Charleston in the summer! It provides the perfect break from the Vegas heat! McWilliams campground was renovated in 2015 featuring paved parking areas at each campsite. Bathrooms are modern but no showers. Lots of hiking available! We had a very small herd of wild mustangs go through our site! Very cool! Campsites fill up fast!! It can feel crowded. Best to reserve your site in advance www.reserveamerica.com. Campground is dog friendly! There are no RV hook-ups and no dump site.

Two nights tent camping. 35$ a nite but considering it has everything a KOA has and is in California near a national park that's a pretty good price (KOA in Bakersfield charges upwards of 80 a nite for way less for example) (we didnt realize theres free blm dispersed camping right down the road, whoops). Wifi is good, grass is great for a tent, mostly rvers tho for sure. Warm water pool is excellent. Pupfish are cute. Walking distance to crowbar cafe and the extremely overpriced gas station (it's worth it to drive to pahrump nv to buy gas food cigs beer etc). Quick drive over to tecopa where we spent most of our time (recommend the free hot springs, food from kit fox cafe, beer from death valley brewery, hikes and food at the China ranch date farm and talking to all the weirdos that live in or frequent the area). Also highly recommend ripping up to death valley junction to take a tour of the spooky beautiful Amargosa Opera House. At the campground small little annoying rules about locking the bathroom, shower in men's room doesn't lock, but overall a good quiet, safe spot, would def come again if needing all the amenities. No fire rings at site, one group fire pit by library .

Spent the weekend at Fletcher View campground at Mount Charleston just 45 minutes north of Las Vegas. This small camp ground has only 10 sights with at least two offering double capacity space. All sites have electric and are pretty spacious. Each sight had a charcoal grill and fire pit (although the mountain was under red flag fire alert so we were not able to use either — propane BBQs were allowed). We did experience some road noise but not bad. These sites, even with half offered as first come first served, are hard to get. This campground is the only one on the mountain that offers electricity all the rest are dry. It is highly recommended to reserve sites in advance on recreation.gov. The campground is also dog friendly! The Camp Hosts were very friendly and available! The sites were all very clean. This is our absolute favorite camp ground on the mountain.

So, this park uses two names it appears.  Shoshone RV Park and Shoshone Village Campground.  It has 35 RV sites, some with 30 and 50 Amp service, along with water and sewer, 7 tent sites, and 2 group sites for tents.  There was a bustle of activity in the park when we arrived, as a tree service was doing a major pruning job on all of the cedar trees.  Although we chose a tucked away site, further away from the road when we booked online, we were reassigned a more 'cozy' site near the road because the tree guys were trimming the trees on the site we had chosen.  A bit of a disappointment, but what are you going to do.  

I think I signed about 6 pages of receipts and affidavits that I understood all of the rules for the park which included:  "No nude bathing or topless".  while using their warm springs swimming pool.  We didn't use the pool, so I can't comment further on that amenity.

We did use the laundry room.  It has 2 washers and 2 dryers.  It looked like it had not been swept in a while.

They give you a key when you arrive that opens all of the park's facilities.  

There is a great pizza cafe and brewer just a few miles south in Tecopa that I can recommend.  There is also a small convenience store/gift store in Shoshone Village that sells gas and fuel.  The price for a gallon of #2 Diesel was $6.09.9.  The store also had a couple of boxes of DEF on the shelf.  We didn't try the sole cafe in Shoshone, the Crossbar.

I might camp here again, but probably not for more than 1 or 2 nights.

All of mount Charleston Is so pretty once you get off the Main Street and get out and explore. All the camp grounds and picnic areas are well kept and maintained very well. Not to mention all the cool trails you find. It’s cold because of the cold weather we have been having so make sure you bundle up and prepare yourself well enough. This area is day use only as of right now. The rangers are not sure when it will Be opened for the camping season but this is also a campground not just day use so make sure you check that it’s open for camping. It’s all first come first serve and it’s the cheapest place on the mountain when it is open for camping. The ranger said April or may they will open but not sure on a date yet. 12 during the week and 18 weekend prices. If you have a big spot I recommend the double spots, all spots are great for RVs no hook ups but they have tables, grills and fire rings. Super nice camp host bob who is there and super helpful. Keep enjoying nature and taking care of her along the way! Cheers

The McWilliams Campground, recently renovated and well maintained is my go-to campground when visiting the Mount Charleston area. When the Las Vegas heat smothers the Vegas Valley it is usually over 25 degrees cooler in the mountain, so it seems appropriate that it is referred to as a “sky island” because as a Las Vegas local it feels like an island getaway within an hour drive.

If your navigation app can’t find it try entering the Lee Canyon Ski Resort because that is less than a mile up the road. The campground sign will be on your right heading up the mountain just past the Lower Bristlecone Trail . The even number sites are first-come while the odd numbers are reservable but go quickly when released. My trip this week saw a full campground but it was a family crowd and no rowdy campers. They designed sites for tent or small trailer camping on the back loop and a lot of fairly level sites for RVs dispersed throughout. RV hookups won’t be found here so be prepared to dry camp.

Mule deer grazed in the woods behind my camp site in the early morning. Wild burros and horses also inhabit the area. Wild horses congregate a short walk away at the Meadows in cooler parts of the day. Blue birds and hummingbirds are a common sight as well for birding.

The camp host was friendly and helpful. There were a few drinking water pumps out of order so he helped me find one down the road and offered to drop my 5 gallon jug back at my site up the hill so I didn’t have to carry it.

Droughts affect the mountain and campfire restrictions are common in the summer months. Waterfalls and creeks dry to a trickle. Majestic Bristlecone Pines well adept to the climate provide shade for many sites.

Our first time camping in Nevada, and first time camping for my son. It's only 40 mins away from us. We went there the weekend before my son's school starts as last hurrah. It was a great way to scape Vegas heat. It hits 64 Lows during early morning and up to 78 on daytime. The hosts were very friendly and helpful. I got lucky getting a FF site #6. I went on Friday afternoon and came back Saturday morning to book it for two nights. Left early Sunday evening. 

Although most people has trailers and RVs, we had a 9 person tent and plenty of fun. The site we got was perfectly closed to the restroom which was a plus since my brother was on crutches. Site has 30A, 50A,110 Power. Water spigot was also just a step away from the site. There's a little creek on the side, but dried up for summer. Water might be on during rainy days or when snow melts. It's by the side of the highway so you will hear some loud cars time to time, but not too bothersome. It's very quite at night, except for the soothing cricket sounds.

We will be back for sure!

Stayed two nights with a few friends and we had two campsites next to each other. Because one of my friends brought a huge tent for just her and her daughter, my wife and I moved our tent off the main section of where you are supposed to place your tent. After we got set up and in the middle of making dinner for everyone, the host comes up and makes us move our tent… we were only a few feet away from the designated tent spot. We had the only two sites in a curve, so no other campsites where around. He sees my obviously pregnant wife by our tent and continues to tell us to move, and didn't even give us time to assist with making dinner. There was a total of 6 of us with 2 kids between 2 campsites. He ended up calling the LVMPD on us for being too loud at 7pm. Metro saw 2 kids and 4 adults and one who was pregnant and sided with us. He saw we weren't being loud and said he would talk to the host. This spot is one of my favorites in Mt. Charleston but the host is not great. Not sure what the issue really was, as hardly any of the sites were occupied. Would not recommend pulling a trailer around this site, there are two extremely tight turns. All tent campers except for one pop up pull trailer that was about 10 feet long.

For those who enjoy a good FREE campsite, this is a great site for getting away from the hustle of the city of Las Vegas and being able to enjoy the natural side of this area of Nevada. Close to lots of hiking or boondocks sites this site is a great place for the person who is wanting to set up a tent but have the comfort of a toilet.

This area is a great place to check out!

I found this space when wandering around close to Red Rock. I had sought out some camping in the area and found the Fish and Wildlife area and had to check it out. A lot of times I have found these free lands to be great for camping, well patrolled and lots of other like minded people enjoying the spaces. This one was the same!!

The campsite had a picnic table and fire ring so it was a pretty standard primitive dry camp. But what set it apart from some in the area was the friendly nature of those patrolling. We were there a while and a ranger pulled into camp and since we were outside of the tent he spoke to us about the grounds. You can stay here for up to 14 days they just ask that you respect the area and carry out all you carry in. He was very helpful in telling us the areas best for hiking and gave us a few ideas as to what to expect in way of wildlife in the area. SUPER HELPFUL!!

This campground itself is kinda small, only a few sites but they are spread far enough apart that you don't feel stacked on your neighbors. Throughout the area you will find boondocks in RVs and rigs all abiding by the same 14 day policy.

I will go back here during the cooler season for some more great camping. I LOVED it here!

There were only a few negatives I did find as a tent camper. High winds roll across this area and can create a lot of dust storms which were a problem on one of the days we were there, that made it a little difficult to enjoy the camp because there is no real shelter from this. Although this isn't an every day occurrence when it does happen it can completely ruin the day.

The only other negative was that it is kind of far from any civilization and with AT&T I had no signal, so this could make for some issues in case of an emergency.

TIPS:

• If you have a booster for cell signal make sure to bring it!
• Pack an outdoor shower booth as there are few places to set up a make shift shower area, bringing your own unit can make it a lot easier and private.