Kershaw-Ryan State Park Campground

We arrived at the campground in the early afternoon on a Friday.  There was no one at the gate but we had reserved a site so we did not need to check in.  Our site was ready for us so we quickly set up camp.  Our site was #16.  It was spacious and clean.  The views from the windows were great.  The sites are a little close to each other but not too close.  Our site was an end site so we had plenty of private space.  We had electric and water hookups.  All worked well.  The  bathrooms at the  campground were clean.  The showers were large and  private and water pressure was good.  It is a quarter for 4 minutes but it seemed to run much longer.  The campground has a little free library if you want a book to read and also offers firewood for a "donation".  The state park is very nice and has some nice trails to walk on.  Dogs are allowed on the trails.  The location of the campground was convenient for exploring the area.  We did have some military jets fly over the campground on Friday evening and again on Monday.  I guess they give the locals a break from their practice on the weekends.  The area is beautiful and there are lots of cool places to visit especially if you like rockhounding and history.  We did not have any cell service for 4 days in this area.  Verizon is the only tower and we have T-mobile.

We arrived late afternoon to set up camp, we used the self pay station as there was not a ranger at the station and it was first come for choosing a site. We camped on the weekdays and there seemed to be plenty of open spaces. The sites had a decent amount of space between them and we didn’t feel to close to our neighbor. There is a field with some cattle across from it and was kind of nice to hear the moos from a distance! The showers were $0.25-$0.50 to use so have some quarters handy! There is a hiking and picnic area just up the road from the campsites, on the same property and it was really lovely! I also enjoyed the little book checkout station as I can never decide on which book to actually buy so I now have a book to finally read and will drop it back off the next time we visit! The rangers kept the property looking great and it is a very secluded campground, there is definitely no city light to disrupt our stargazing! Have a Tmobile and didn’t have any service. There was WiFi available for a fee.

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.