Looking for the best horse camping near Silver Springs? Whether you own a horse or are joining a tour group, equestrian camping is an adventurous and unique way to experience the city. Find our top-rated horse campsites from other campers like you. Plan the perfect trip in minutes.
Camping: The park has 49 sites, each with a table, grill and fire ring. The campground is open year round and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Some sites are equipped with shade structures. Two comfort stations, one with a shower, are available. Several sites can hold RVs up to 45 feet in length. Campground Loop A offers water and utility hook-ups at all 24 sites, and a dump station is available. The camping limit is seven days in a 30-day period.
Group Area: The Group Area near the main day use area and boat launch can be reserved for both day and overnight use. Facilities include a covered pavilion, restrooms, 20 picnic tables, barbecue grills, power, lighting, sink, counters, a sandy volleyball court and horseshoe pits.
Equestrian Facilities: Equestrian areas are found at the Main Entrance Area and North Ramp. The main area facility includes an arena, corrals, horse washing station and a covered barbecue area with tables, grill, sink, counter space, power, water and lighting. Camping is permitted for both tents and RVs with large parking areas for easy horse trailer access. This area can be reserved for groups of up to 200. The North Ramp facility is day use only and provides restrooms, parking and picnic tables.
$15 - $30 / night
Camping: Silver Springs Beach #7 offers developed campground facilities open year-round, with restrooms, tables and grills. Primitive on-the-beach camping is permitted in all areas except for day use and boat ramp areas. A camping limit of 14 days in a 30-day period is enforced. Sanitary dump station facilities are available near both entrances to the park. NOTE: Showers and flush toilets are CLOSED during the off-season from October to May.
$15 - $25 / night
$5.00 park entrance fee for non NV plates. On the beach! 4WD recommended. First come, first serve. Seasonal vault toilets. NOTE: Showers and toilets are CLOSED during the off-season from October to May. Named after an ancient lake, Lahontan Reservoir was originally built as part of an irrigation project to water nearby farmlands. With willows and cottonwoods scattered along 69 miles of shoreline, the park is one of most popular places in Nevada to boat, fish, water-ski, horseback ride, camp and enjoy the outdoors year-round. Canoeing from Fort Churchill to the lake makes for a great day trip when conditions allow. Wild horses, bobcat, fox and deer share the park with a variety of birds, including migratory waterfowl, pelicans, herons, egrets and hawks. Lahontan is also a nesting site for bald eagles.
Lookout Campground is located on the California/Nevada border just west of Reno, Nevada. It sits at an elevation of 6,770 feet in a large aspen grove. It is not a highly developed campground, but it is considered a secret hideaway by those lucky enough to know about this remote gem.
Adjacent to the campground is 'Crystal Peak', which can be accessed by vehicle or a short hike. This area is also popular for off-highway vehicles, wildlife viewing, and hunting opportunities.
Adjacent to the campground is 'Crystal Peak', which can be accessed by vehicle or a short hike. This area is also popular for off-highway vehicles, wildlife viewing, and hunting opportunities.
Visitors to this campground will be surrounded by a lush aspen, pine, and fir forest. Sites are well spaced to afford visitors plenty of privacy.
Crystal Peak is known for its impressive crystal formations. Dog Valley and Peavine Mountain are popular off-highway vehicle and mountain biking areas. The American Discovery Trail also runs through this area.
$6 / night
Sadly we were delayed and would not have arrived at Pyramid Lake until 2am so we didn’t stay. We did however visit the lake and museum and visitor center and it was well worth it! We will definitely be back to try and camp here again. We spoke with the locals and they confirmed that once you purchase the camping permit ($15) then you just drive to the lake and find a spot - very rustic, very cool! The lake itself is absolutely beautiful. We can’t wait to come back… maybe during a full moon and fishing season! Be sure to visit the museum and definitely stop at the INDIAN TACO spot on the way to the lake… it was delicious!
This site is really close to Reno, except for the time it takes on the dirt road. We went in one way and out the other. Our way in was from 395 at Bordertown north of Reno on Long Valley Road. Once on the dirt the first couple of miles were bad washboard. Slow going. Then, the rest of the trip had some challenging driving with rocks and ruts. We went really slow and everything was fine. We left via Dog Valley Road and hit the pavement again in Verdi.
We visited for a night mid-week. Only one other campsite was occupied. The trail from the campground to Crystal Peak was great. It's more like Crystal knoll. The history of Cristal Peak is amazing, and the crystals are everywhere. Really nice views from atop the knoll too. Many people visit just for the day to collect crystals.
Beautiful campground! Flush toilets and showers.
We’re regulars at this spot, pitching our tent on the south side, though there's plenty of room for the RV crowd too. The best part? You can camp right by the water! Weekdays offer serene silence, but come the weekend, it’s party and generator central—so bring your earplugs! Pit toilets might not sound glamorous, but these are shockingly tidy and bug-free. Shade might be limited around here, but play a little hide and seek, and you’ll find some cool spots to chill under. For the peeps who prefer having a "camp spot", there’s a semi-developed area with water hook-ups(electricity’s a mystery to us—we’re old-school tenters). Need to stay connected? No worries, T-mobile’s 5G has got your back everywhere in the park—essential for us road warriors. A little heads-up though: always, always check the weather first. We learned the hard way during a three-day wind festival, and, well, RIP old tent—hello, shiny new shelter!
We stayed for 3 days on the beach next to the picnic leantos. We were the only ones camping on the beach. Very quiet. We have a 24' Class C motorhome. The beach was very clean and orderly. The Marina has a great store for just about anything you may need. The staff was very helpful.
Site had a pre-made fire pit. There’s a few spots here to choose from, although if you’re looking for privacy they are somewhat close together. There were 3 others here when we came. Lots of ATVs here. Overall pretty good for a nights stay, especially if you’re in to history!
5+
Scout camp is on the Carson river and within the tall cottonwoods. Camp in the shade or out in the open if it’s very windy as the trees can shed branches. Garbage collection and pit toilets. Nice trail along the River.
As of October 2023 the access road to scout camp was washed out. But there is dispersed camping on the terrace to the south.
Midweek and mid September- plenty of sites even in the non primitive campsites. Beautiful view- very quiet; clean bathrooms.
will definitely revisit if we go by here again.
Nice place to park for the night.
Beautiful views Can only stay a week here. Does not matter the loop your staying. But worth the stay. Close to Carson city. Loop A full hook ups Loop B no hookups Bathroom toilets onsite We had a 35ft 5th wheel w/dually.
Spent the night here on a road trip. 30$ for non Nevada resident but includes full hookups except water was shut off for the season. Flat, wide spaces with mostly pull throughs, clean bathrooms and shower. Convenient credit card pay system. Also a dump station.
We camped 2021 at beach 7 and it wasn’t to bad we were in a tent but the water was low in lake just Carson river running to dam. This year 2022 we are going back hopefully better water in lake🥹and we are going in our trailer so hopefully be better trip this year 😎😁🚍⛺️
Great place
The view is Beautiful. Restrooms available.
[Internet. Verizon via iPhone 12: 22.2 mbps down and 3.38 mbps up with 38 ms ping.]
We stopped here on our way through to Reno. What a great campground. The whole campground is just so clean.
The campground was first-come-first-served. We stayed in the accessible site which is allowed to be chosen by people without the accessibility placard if it is the last site available and you only stay for one night. You can pay for your campsite with a credit card. The machine is all the way at the park entrance. Water at the campsites was still shut off for winter but the water at the dump station was turned on. Only one loop was open for winter. We paid $25 instead of the full $30 required for an out-of-state vehicle at a hookup site. I think $5 was taken off since the water at the sites was still shut off.
I give this campground 5 stars. It’s just impeccable.
[Rig. Mercedes Sprinter. 22 feet]
Dump station? - yes Water fill? - yes Clean site? - yes, impeccable and level Clean bathroom? - yes Flush toilet? - yes Showers? - yes Laundry? - no Dish washing sink? - no
Great spot for a quick camp. The hook-up surcharge makes it expensive in the winter when you HAVE to camp in loop A. It’s not remote but it’s decently quiet and perfect for just catching a night outside
Winter camping is available on Loop A with full power hookups on a first come, first serve basis. Bathrooms are open all winter. Hiking is nice right from the campground and wild horses graze not far away.
We stayed here for just under 2 weeks around Thanksgiving. Very beautiful area with hiking near the lake and mountains. The horses nearby were nice. Right between Reno and Carson City. Access to Casinos and Restuarants nearby(10 minute drive or so). The Park has showers and bathrooms as well as water and electricity hook ups. The camp host was nice and provides us with a huge bundle of firewood for only a $5 donation.
*Loop A was $30, which included $10 nonresident fee. *large sites with a lot of space between sites!
*beautiful view of the Sierras, although we couldn't see the lake from our site *Feral horses. Several came galloping towards us, which was a bit startling, but we move and they went around us.
*Maybe 35 sites in each loop, but they are so spaced out, it is really nice
Stopped here for an overnight on the way to Sparks Marina Rv park. Very quiet, and nice area. The last time here the reservoir was full, and no water is available on the south end.
Camping here was great. Many different spots from able to use the marina or at the boat launch still on pavement or just right down on the beach next to the water. Only biggest issue is there is no trees. So no shade. Bring your easy ups.
THE CAMPGROUND
The campground is great. Many sites have lots of space between them, while a few are side-by-side with just a vehicle parking space separating them. Each has a level, wood-bordered dirt/gravel pad set up for a tent - usually placed in as quiet/remote corner of the site as possible. Each has a picnic table, some type of fire pit (some have a metal ring with nice flipping grate, some are just a circle of large stones), and some type of cooking setup (some have a standard campsite charcoal "grill" while others have a metal table to set your cooktop on.
Very quite. Only noise is campground noise and one infrequently trafficked dirt road nearby (see below).
Campfires are allowed. If you drive in from the south (via Verdi), there is currently a designated area to collect firewood - it is scheduled for a prescription burn and you can pick up any wood from the forest floor - bring an axe and saw.
I visited mid-week during peak July season - there were two other campsites occupied (out of 20 total).
The campsite is in the middle of Dog Valley. The area is used for off-road recreation, so you may run into a few off-road buggies or trucks, and some may stay at the campground. But most stay in other "dispersed" camping, and there aren't nearly as many vehicles as you might see, for example, in a Nevada dunes off-road park.
The Crystal Mine is nearby… quick drive, bit longer walk. I didn't find many walking trails in the area, but may have missed them.
Verizon cell service picked up one bar, intermittently. Enough to get out occasional status update texts and check the weather, but not enough to be able to read stuff off the internet unless… you…. are…. really…. really… really… patient. If you hike up the hill at the nearby Crystal Mine, Verizon gave 2 bars and 5G… you are line of sight to Cold Springs.
There is basically no radio reception at the campground, but one AM station came in during the drive.
There are two 'vault' toilets, both of which were clean and well maintained… no real odor, no spiders, etc. I saw one water spigot but it required a keyed handle to open so it was inaccessible … no other sources of water (potable or otherwise) at the site.
Trash cans are provide. No food/bear lockers provided (bear-safe food storage not required … but always a good precautionary measure).
I give it four stars because it is a good campground, and may be a good base for off-roading or mountain biking, but doesn't have many major sites nearby (hiking trails, rivers, lookout points, etc.) and I didn't find a variety of hiking trails nearby (a major one does run through the general area). Would be tough to keep kids busy, but great for a 2 day getaway for a couple.
Ok… let's talk THE ROAD….
The road is one of the reasons this site generally isn't too packed. There are two main ways in…
From The South (Verdi)
This is the roughest path. It has a fairly good incline and then decline into the valley, so I can only speak to my summer experience, but I suspect this may present a challenge for winter/wet driving.
For this route, you will spend 8.5 miles on a dirt road. I'd estimate this road is 10% "standard country dirt road, flat, fairly level, no major ruts, drivable by any vehicle at 25-30MPH." About 75% of the road is "unmaintained hill road, where you have to hug one side or another to avoid 6-inch+ ruts, loose rocks up to 5" in diameter, passable by a 2-wheel drive vehicle with reasonable ground clearance and not concerned about rocks on the paint, driving 10-15 MPH." The remaining 15% still probably doesn't require 4-wheel drive, but could benefit from it, involves going 5MPH to navigate deeper ruts or 'potholes'. The entire route is totally 100% passable by any truck/Jeep, even 2-wheel drive, driven slowly and carefully at times. Subarus would be fine. I *think* a standard sedan could make it, but you run a very good chance of bashing in the underside of your car… it is doable and I saw a little hatchback do it, but I personally wouldn't recommend.
From the North (Cold Springs)
For this route, you will spend 10 miles on a dirt road.
The first 3.3 miles (about 33%) is "standard country dirt road, flat, fairly level, no major ruts, drivable by any vehicle at 25-30MPH." Very easy driving. About 65% is "unmaintained hill road, where you have to hug one side or another to avoid 6-inch+ ruts, loose rocks up to 5" in diameter, passable by a 2-wheel drive vehicle with reasonable ground clearance and not concerned about rocks on the paint, driving 15 MPH." The remaining 2% is the harder road, as described above… just a few specific spots/turns, not long sections.
This north route is easier, but either way you go, there will be tougher sections.
To be fair - this isn't "off-roading." There are no boulders or 'technical' challenges. It is just an unmaintained (or rarely maintained) dirt road that has ruts, especially in uphill/downhill areas where the water runs across the road. Definitely not just a 'country dirt road', but a more typical mountain backroad.
Pictures below show the most common sections - 75% of the south path and 66% of the north path look like that or a little bit worse. The pictures aren't the worst sections - just more of the 'typical' road you can expect for most of the way.
Final comment: All of the above is about dry, summer driving. After rains, when the ground is wet, or in the winter - could be a very different experience.
Camp on Pryamid lake shore or full hookups @marina RV park tents trailers etc. Indian Reservation permits required. Fireworks sold & allowed designated areas. Also, fishing is great and seasonal. Activte Quiet community 
Nice campground situated close to the shores of Washoe Lake. Great amenities; picnic tables, fire pits and shade structures at many of the campsites. There are a lot of trees as well and pretty views all the way around the campground.
Large sites with water and electricity (loop A). Beautiful views of the mountains. Lots to do in the area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Silver Springs, NV?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Silver Springs, NV is Washoe Lake State Park Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 21 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Silver Springs, NV?
TheDyrt.com has all 8 equestrian camping locations near Silver Springs, NV, with real photos and reviews from campers.
