Horsethief Gulch Campground — Spring Valley State Park

As a tent camper, this place is well manicured and most tent pads are level. I prefer Echo Canyon campground to this neighboring site, but due to the lack of water at the Echo Canyon Reservoir, we decided to come here instead because we drove 3 hours.

Time of the year: July 13-16, 2022

Cost to camp: $15 per night

Reservations: First come

Site: 21. Around noon, the sun exposes the west side of the shade structure. So, remember to move your coolers as the sun moves throughout the day. This site is located at the very end of the entire loop. It is nestled up against the mountain, where you could possibly hike it, but it was too hot. There are no water spigots at the site, but 2 sites down there is a community water spigot and the flushable toilets. There is a fire pit only, so bring additional cooking gear if you don’t want to cook on the grill grate on the fire pit.

Restrooms and showers: Yes, to both. However, the showers are in the lower campsite area.

Water: There are community spigots throughout.

Firewood: I didn’t see firewood for a donation.

Handicap accessible: Yes, there were a few.

Stargazing: it was cloudy and it rained for 3 nights.

Fishing: Yes. We tried at 6am, 1 pm, and 7pm, but we didn’t catch much. There was an occasional catch by others, but it wasn’t what I remembered. Worms and green Powerbait were the winners of the season.

Bugs and such: Tons of flys at this time of the year. You must have bug repellent!

Temperature: Rain wasn’t forecasted, but during the day is was about 75 and 67 at night.

Other: If you need to get ice, drinks or food, there is a store and bar to get additional supplies. The neighboring town, Pioche, had a small grocery store and 2 gas stations if you need them.

Overall, clean campsites, but too warm. I’d go back in the spring.

Can’t wait to go back... literally the best place I have ever been. Such a good little vacation spot. What’s better than fishing and riding your kayaks? Nothing for me. The spots are perfectly sized with plenty of places to spread out and enjoy. You are not on top of anyone. We have a state park pass so camping was included in our yearly pass so something to look into... it’s a good value for what you get.
Love seeing the mountain blue bird flying around and loving life. The Bald Eagle soaring high in the sky, something so majestic to watch him circle his prey... he’s so strong and brave... no ones he’s out nations mascot. Gliding across the water in my kayak with my kiddos... watching daddy fish from the doc... This place is so magical. Nothing better than going potty in a spotless bathroom and than showering without putting quarters in... just enjoying the warm shower before you bundle up for the night. Outside the bathrooms you can select a nice book to read on your stay. All the spots have covered tables, grills and fire rings, plus they have electrical hook ups and a dump station when you first pull in. If I could give this place a 100 stars I sure would. The rangers are great and came by and checked all the time. And people came and cleaned the restrooms and sites on a daily basis.

I just love this place! I did go through two cans of propane each night... it was cold but hey I like the heater and bundling up. They do have trash cans so your not lugging all your stuff out. Keep this place clean! Because this place was spotless and needs to remain clean. There was group spots at the top. Cheers!!!

Visited on October 10th. This was a quick one night in-and-out for us but very enjoyable. The water at the lake was low and no fires due to the lack of rain in months. There were a lot of families fishing. We are more into hiking but this spot made me think about getting into fishing as well. The sites are close to each other so there isn’t much privacy but everyone was very friendly and the bathrooms and showers are amazing (we are used to primitive camping). The ranger came by to check on everyone.

This is a first come first served location with no option of reserving at this time. There are fire rings and covered tables at each site. One note of caution, there were a lot of bees. I am not sure if it was the heat and lack of moisture but it did make lunch very uncomfortable.

We really want to go back and we want to go back in the winter as well to check out everyone Ice Fishing. I would love to do some hiking. It is such an interesting area, screaming to be explored. The kids and dog loved it.

We spent three days/two nights. We got to campground around 10am. Their was a few people already setup. They have hookups for RVs and campers. A few spots for handicap accessible. They remolded the first bathroom. Two showers and four bathrooms. Shower is fancy, it has a rain shower faucet. Bathrooms are cleaned every morning.

We camped in spot 27. It easily fit two tents. Close to second bathrooms, not close you can Enough to hear people coming and going. All sites come with a fire ring and covered table. I noticed a cleanup crew come in and rake the area and clean up every site.

10pm is quiet time. No generator after or loud music after 10a.

Ranger comes by frequently. I saw a sign that They put out fire wood every morning. I didn’t noticed. We took 4 bundles of firewood. Sign was posted that no campfires were allowed. I saw quite a few campfires burning. Gas propane were allowed.

The reservoir was maybe 4 mins walking. Was very close depending on where you were. We were in the back so it took a little longer. The hookup sites were in the front mostly.

Plenty of places to sit and fish. It was stocked With rainbow trout.

Happy Camping