River Camp — Lahontan State Recreation Area

Each site has its own charm. Some at the creekside, some pull through sites. The park has the lake and beaches. Great walking, access to all the lake amenities.

For $15 you can tent camp. You get a trash can and a porta-potty. It is probably a nice spot in the summer, but all I had was trashed RV's and obnoxiously loud generators all around me. The bonus was when the neighbor started looking for his dog at 3am and was screaming his name for 10 minutes.

We needed a place to crash on our way home to the east coast. This place was perfect . Not too far off the road. $20 for non residents. We found ourselves alone in this beautiful, quiet spot. Level ground, and it looks like we will be able to get water for the clean tank. Pit toilets are clean but they need emptying pretty badly. Some trash strewn about. But otherwise, met our needs exactly.

Sites are basic, which is fine by me. Sites are spread out and you have privacy from your neighbors. Sites have a picnic bench and a fire pit. There are Porta potties.

Today 9/14/2020 extremely smoky air from surrounding fires. Pesky annoying swarming bugs in the evening.

3 bars for ATT 3G 2 bars for Verizon 3G

Lahontan is an acquired taste. If you're looking for a cool "forest" experience, shady pines, and easy-breezy camping then this is NOT the place for you. It's a huge man-made reservoir in the desert. It gets very hot in the dead of summer and shade is limited in many areas. The trees are mainly cottonwood and willow. Most of the camping areas are not formally developed and you just kind of have to "cop a squat" if you can find a decent spot. The area is hugely popular with boating, fishing, and jet-ski enthusiasts so the beaches and the lake can get very crowded. The restrooms in some areas are BASIC - some would even call them "outhouses". Others are much less primitive. There is one developed camp ground on the Silver Springs side (no RV hook-ups).

I grew up camping, boating, and fishing at Lahontan so it has a soft spot in my heart. Just know that it's not for every one.