Best Dispersed Camping near Searchlight, NV

8 mile road is open to free dispersed camping for 7 days. There is a couple dumpsters about a 1/4 mile in but that is all for 2.1 miles of terrible washboard road down to the receding water line. No water, toilets, trash cans at beach areas. The limited beach areas tend to be hogged by folks trying to keep other campers at a distance. I found floating trash all along the shore, styerfoam, plastic bottles, ect. Ugh

Govt Wash is my favorite place to stay in the wintertime. Temperature is manageable without auxiliary heat in my van.. 70s in the day, not below 40 at night through January. Love the views of the lake. Feels so far out but only 30 mins to Vegas. Henderson for groceries and gas is very close. Lots of coyotes, even during the day. Be mindful of that if you have a dog along with you. Free dispersed camping here (with NPs Pass) with bathrooms and dumpsters at entrance. Washboard road isn’t too bad, and you get get pretty close to the lake even without 4x4. I loveeee being here. Sunsets and sunrises are awesome.

As a budget travel blogger, you can’t beat a good find of a site. I tend to stray away from boondock camping because it isn’t really designed for the every day tent camper that I am looking to inspire to go on the road and try something new. Though I like primitive sites and will often do some back country camping, I also take into account that my followers don’t always. But this site was a bit different and made it worth checking out for my blog.

Free Camping usually doesn’t come with a functioning bathroom, but this one does along with lake access. So what is the kicker?? There has to be one right?

The first catch is free is only truly free if you have a National Park Pass, otherwise there is a day use fee which is charged as you enter the Lake Mead area. I have mine, so that means it was in fact free!! One of the only times this pass actually guarantees you any kind of camping related benefits.

The other, the road to the campsite is a little sketchy at times. When I went it was post a good rain which had settled a lot of the dust and while I was afraid it would have ruts from people driving out, it wasn’t bad, just a little washboard feeling. In a small car that carries very little weight I usually find these roads to shake and rattle me all over, however it was minimal so I made it down to the camping area.

This area is available to both tent and RV campers and is pretty open for those wanting to stay. When I was there I noticed there was no shortage of space available to me and I could select pretty much anywhere I want to be so I determined I would set up for my short daycation away from a couple of RVs which seemed to be traveling together.

I noticed that there were no other campers in tents but later after settling in and meeting my neighbors they told me there had been and those people had been a bit more noisy. I was happy to know that the RV group there wasn’t in that same mind set so it was going to be an enjoyable quiet time.

The outdoor space here is really nice. The beach is a mixed beach of harder sands and shells from when the lake used to be much higher and had a lot more life in the area. There are hiking areas all over Lake Mead so this is a great place to set your basecamp and move forward with adventures.

TIPS:

• Bring a car if you are in an RV so you can disconnect and move around the entire Lake Mead area more easily. You can also look into a smaller motor bike, however these are not permitted in all areas.
• Bring batteries since there is no power you will want to make sure you have lots of batteries for your lanterns and flashlights, this is a true dark space at night.
• Get Your America The Beautiful Pass!! This is a park pass which allows you access to all national parks and recreation areas for one calendar year. They do have senior and military passes available as well but the standard pass is $80 a year. If you travel to even a couple parks you have more than paid for it in savings as it doesn't just allow you personally access but up to 4 people in your car!

One of the best things about Nevada and Arizona are the numerous areas which offer dispersed camping. There are a lot of BLM lands in the area as well as Recreational areas so it is really quite easy to find a place if you are willing to look. Since I have several full-time friends who spend the maximum of 2 weeks at each site before moving on, someone suggested I check this space out when I was on a trip to Nelson, NV.

It was along the same stretch of highway and not very far away at all. While it was vast and open, there wasn't a whole lot to really say about it other than just that, it is what you make it when you visit.

So what is the benefit of staying at one of these remote locations you might ask? It is about 45 minutes from Vegas, so that isn't terrible if you want to go into the city itself and explore, but part of what makes these spaces a bit more exciting is that they are removed from everything.

I took a moment when I was there to check the basics like what is there to do closely that does not involved the city itself. I could quickly see why my friends recommended this location because it was not far from Lake Mead Recreational Area in an area which was a non-pay station entrance, it was relatively close to Searchlight and not terribly far from Boulder City so if you did need supplies you could easily get out to get them without issue and I think the most intriguing was the proximity not just to Nelson Ghost Town, which is free, but also the many abandoned and never sealed mines.

Lots of activities in the area to keep you busy. Sure it doesn't have amenities but it was a perfect canvas for making the world around you all yours. The friend which recommended it also happens to meet up with other full timers at locations like this so they have a sense of community so I could see how something like this would be a perfect space for that kind of traveling community to set up and enjoy.

TIPS:

• Be able to sustain fully off grid living. There is plenty of sunshine to keep your solar panels full.

• Check out the surroundings and bring a motor bike if you have one to explore so you will not have more options for driving around some of the more remote areas.

• Be careful of mines, though they are fun to explore, some of these are not as stable, I would check out the one just past Nelson which is more heavily trafficked and also stable.

Halfway between Kingman and Bullhead City, on the western side of the pass, is this BLM land that will knock your socks off!  Many places to pull over for a night or for a week or two along the road. No services, no water, no toilets, just beautiful open desert with quintessential AZ mountains. Closest towns with supplies are Kingman and Bullhead City, about 20-30 minutes from each.

This is a perfect dispersed camping spot! Dirt road in was about 4 miles long from the highway but pretty well graded and easy to drive, big rig friendly. 

Plenty of camping spots along the water with some shade trees. Dumpster onsite and a few vault toilets for the tent campers. Very safe crowd.

But the place I ended up is just BLM land off the highway. There's a turn off the highway, super easy to miss, and it immediately goes up a hill. There's a gate at the top that just says "please close gate - Bureau of Land Management" so I just went in. The road is very smooth and well worn as of this review, my prius had no problem. Not a single other soul in sight. The road sorta stops after the electricity thing (why am I blanking on what these are called?), but it looks like high clearance vehicles have gone through.

This spot is amazing. Free public land. There are only a few pull off spots. Very quiet and beautiful.

Please practice leave no trace etiquette! This spot is gorgeous, let's keep it that way :)

Someone had told me we could do a little dispersed camping at Sloan Canyon, just outside of Vegas. In addition to many hiking trails this place has a pretty extensive area you can hike around to find some great views and camping.

We started out by stopping in the visitor center, which is little more than a mobile station at the beginning of the Petroglyph Trailhead with portable toilets. There wasn't a lot of information online about staying here only that it was in fact BLM land and it was accessible for those who are wanting to stay. To hike in we figured we needed a permit, but when we got there we just kind of got a puzzled look.

Finally a ranger helped us and told us that people do in fact hike in to camp dispersed but there was no permit. We hiked down the trail with our gear and about 2 miles in found a great spot just beyond the petroglyph gallery. It had a view of the mountainside and a great view of the sunset.

We settled in and enjoyed a quiet evening amidst the tall walls of the lower canyon. We had views of the larger mountain ahead but opted to not stay up higher because the winds get pretty strong I this area.

I will say that we were told you cannot set up in the petroglyph area because it is preserved, but it did make me realize that a lot of people probably don't follow this by the fact that there were numerous smaller trails leading through this area where people clearly are not remaining on the main trail. I think the most important thing about camping in a place like this is respecting the leave no trace rules. I you are visiting a place with such history and want to allow others to continue doing the same then you should respect the area you are in.

While this was a clean area for the most part you could see where some people hadn't respected the land the same way.

TIPS:

• Stop at the visitor center before closing hours to get a map and find out about the area. There are two routes to the area we were in and depending on your level of desired difficulty this hike can be easy or have some light scrambling.
• Remember this is a dark space so you will want to have your own light with you because there are several animals which roam at night and you will want to be able to see.

Drove through here looking for dispersed camping and saw a few sites but even better was the lake. The campsites themselves were gravel and pretty uneven but we expected as much. No coverage and little privacy for dispersed camping as all sites are right off the main gravel road. We swam for an hour and then departed to next campsite for more coverage as it’s 100+ degrees today.

Our first time camping on this free land.  We call it free as we have a National Park pass and didn't have to pay to enter the park.  So many spots to camp and set up your rig that no one was on top of you.  Views of the water were amazing and the sunsets to behold!  There are trash dumpsters at the entrance to the dispersed camping area and we saw BLM folks out patrolling.  Many off road paths around to take your jeep or side by side.  It does get hot here in the summer so would recommend coming in during the winter or spring

Wonderful dispersed free camping in Mojave National Preserve. Find the first road adjacent to the white cross memorial. We arrived after sunset and we reluctant to drive too far down the uneven and non-maintained dirt road, but were rewarded with an outstanding campsite for our risky persistence!

The road has many wash out holes and soft sand, but I was able to navigate successfully (and slowly) in an AWD Honda Element. Higher clearance four-wheel drive vehicles will be able to explore additional camp sites further down the road, but there are a handful of sites near the entrance.

Tip: Stargazing at this site was outstanding. Rock formations provide comfortable platforms for laying on your back and watching for shooting stars. Camped here in December with overnight lows around 30 degrees. Bundle up and enjoy!!

This site is saying Telephone Cove is on the Arizona side and costs money? I stayed at Telephone Cove on the Nevada side....Dispersed camping and free! Took some effort to get there in a large motorhome...but we'll worth it. I kinda doubt there is a Telephone Cove on both sides of ....oh yeah...Lake Mohave...not Lake Mead!!?? Hmmmmm?

Note that this area is free camping, however Lake Mead has an entry fee, unless you have a Senior Pass. Wide dusty washboard road to access, 2-3 miles. Dumpsters at top by Northshore hwy but nothing later, no toilets or other facilities. I would never haul a trailer in there. 7 day limit free camping. Cell signal great though.

We stayed here on our way to the Hoover Dam and had a fine time. Nothing fancy, super basic free camping on public lands. Highlight was our visit to the dam itself

Great place for dispersed camping and the main dirt road goes As far as the eye can see you so there’s plenty of places to pull over park camp and enjoy your time when you first pull in there’s decent spots for big rigs but I wouldn’t drive any further back if you don’t feel comfortable with the road so just know what your rig can handle Before you push the limits and searchlight there is a corner store beef jerky and a gas station as well as a McDonald’s In case you need anything that’s the nearest town and it’s about a 2025 minute drive but regardless if you need something it’s there besides that just you and your rig

This place is special to me. My family used to come here every year, and 7 days free camping right on the river. The road is windy and narrow, but drivable, there is our house and no running water, but they do have a dumpster

Free camping!! Horrible roads!!! Trash cans right when you pull in so that’s nice and a bathroom about half way down and if your at the water and. 10 minute drive to the bathroom. So overall a nice place to camp. Plenty of little areas to get some privacy or pull over and make it your spot! It’s dispersed so the choice is yours. Also today it was not packed a few cars down by the water so I can see this place filling up within the next few weeks all the way until the end of summer. It’s hot and it’s early April so make sure you pack plenty of water and food. Don’t forget your sunblock. If you have a 4x4 you can go explore a few other places that I’m sure are a bit more Private.

Oh I screen shotted my location, it shows we are in the water it’s actually desert and it’s the road down to the cove.

Big dispersed camping site right on the southwest corner of Lake Mead. Being the nearest to the NRA entrance from Vegas it gets crowded, especially weekends and holidays. A lot of day-users come to fish. Also very hilly and rocky once you get off the main drag to find a better spot. Common to see 4x4s stuck on the rocky/sandy hills.

Views are pretty, sunsets are nice, and lots to do in the NRA. Lots of stone fire rings all over. There are dumpsters at the main lot. There are also water-fill, trash and dump stations at nearby campgrounds you can use for free.

Donkeys and coyotes everywhere. Supposed to be bighorn sheep, too, but we haven’t seen any here yet. Also gets quite buggy, flies, gnats and mosquitos. Good cell service. Not our favorite dispersed site but it has its charms, including proximity to nearby Henderson/LV, good scenery and good cell service.

There is a NRA entrance fee but free with the America Pass.

This is a free camping area inside the Lake Mead NRA but you do not have to pay an entry fee to access. 4.2 miles of dusty washboard gravel road, with some steep pops up and down, but folks haul TTs and Class As in there. The actual beach area is FCFS, 4 vault toilets, huge dumpster, but no potable water. Cell signal is best on far north end. Signs note 7 day camping limit, and park rangers do patrol this area.

I’d give it 2 1/2 stars. Here on Veterans Day which happens to be on a Monday.... packed full. I decided to take the R-pod down a hill to the waters edge to get away and there were still people. LOTS OF TRASH. And I can’t stand that. Picked up a full garbage bag in a very short distance. The stars are for the water, and free camping. Easy access too I guess. Photo from my bed window tho.

I drove in at night and originally passed the campground because I saw people there, and thought it was a solo spot. It’s a beautiful little spot and has a cool history. It is close quarters to other campers compared to most dispersed camping, but you still have more room than your typical campground.

This place is very busy during the summer months and people stay for quite a while so remember that…

But it’s free camping and that’s always a bonus. It’s dispersed with no amenities. If you can get to the waterfront of this place it’s awesome!

Wear water shoes and bring protection from the weather elements. It gets hot so pack a lot of water and sunblock.
Totally family-friendly, So bring rafts and fishing gear. You are still going to get the vegas city lights so a few stars are all you see… Killer sunsets Oh, and it’s super dark so pack a lot of light.

Here are my star ratings based on my lifestyle and based on what I like.

 I'm also a mother, dog mama, and a wife so it's not just me it's my crew and i. 1 star- AUTOMATIC relocate… the property is no longer there, trashed or/and I could never have my children there and I wouldn't ever think about staying no matter what OR it is not something our campers are on this is more of an Airbnb. 2 star- Not really my jam, and would NEVER go to again… It probably more of desert life and not really my style for sure…Being from Vegas I can't stand being in the desert and I love the Trees and the Green more than anything. 3 star- Would stay there again in a pinch, but not really my style, the reason its not is because not enough family things to do, the scenery, or the location… but I would go again and feel safe having my kiddos here but only if I needed to in a pinch. 4 star- a really good rating for sure, maybe needed some improvements, minor things like being on top of each other, not a lot of privacy, but honestly little cosmetic things that aren't anything to sweat and would be back again for sure. 5 star- MY FAVORITE… love the location, safety, the surroundings, big camp spots available to fit toys for my kids to play, hammocks to hang, our big family tent, cases of firewood, our suburban or RV, etcccccc….. I would not only come back but would live if I could!!! 

Anyway thanks for reading and enjoy every moment like it's your last! 

CHEERS!

ok, when you drive in from the entrance off of bullhead make sure you keep driving and pass princess cove and just keep driving until you see a paved road on your left... PASS THAT and a little way down the road you will see a turn on the left that is a dirt road take that down and find your spot!!! You want daylight because you want to make sure you see where you're going.

This is free camping!!

If you park at telephone cove and boat up to here that's also a way to get there as well.

Make sure you pick up after yourself.

Great place, wasn't busy today but in less than a month this area will be busy with boats and trucks.

This is a site that is in a dispersed camping area and is used be OHVs. It is on Buckwash Road off of Highway 68. Before you get to Bullhead City. When you turn off the highway be aware that crossing the cattle guard there is a major hole go driver side hard and you might miss it. There will be a staging area for OHVs and you head up the hill. We stopped at the top of the knoll on the left side. There was just enough room for our cabin and Jeep. No services. Amazing sunsets.

Total boon docking and rough roads. But it’s free and you can literally canon where you want... sooo eyyy if you need it than it’s here. At this location you can stay 7 days. It’s a hike to get to the water from here you can’t actually get down to the water so keep that in mind. For me I like the water so it’s not an ideal Spot for me.

Note if you need an actual bathroom at the entrance of government wash you have a bathroom. Included the picture

Great place for desert boondocking! Very quiet and amazing stars! Joshua Trees all around. Coyotes howling at night. Watch out for cacti which are enormous! A huge fire left a large area of this part of the preserve damaged but there are still some spots where the Joshua Trees are un damaged. It’s a dirt road with some large-ish rocks to get to the dispersed spots. We made it just fine in our pick-up towing a teardrop. 2WD cars shouldn’t have a problem expect. High clearance definitely makes your life easier for sure. Most sites have a rock fire pit and not much else. We opted for a spot against some jumbo rocks for wind protection. It’s a decently trafficked area but wasn’t at all crowded or trashed. We’d 100% stay here again.