Best Tent Camping in Nevada

While Grey Cliffs campground didn't impress me as much as the other campgrounds as it was more open with far less trees than the others, you won't have the RV crowd here, this is a tent only campground, No RV's or trailers allowed.  Campsites can be reserved during the summer season.  On my visit only two of the three loops were open in June, the other loop was being used by the Park Service.  Sites are nicely spread out which is nice.  There are 2 ADA Accessible campsites site C3 and A8 both sites are located next to accessible restrooms.  Campground has vault toilets, trash service and recycling.  Each site has a picnic table and metal fire ring.  Fire ban is currently in effect.  No water is available at the campground, water can be obtained at the Visitor Center.  Campground does have some group camping sites for groups between 9 and 16 people.

You can take that heat from Vegas and completely forget you are in Nevada when you travel just outside the city and to McWilliams Campground and Mount Charleston area. But because of this break in the heat all summer you have to make reservations, even though they say there are walk up sites I wouldn't suggest banking on them to be there.

This campground is dry camping but with the setting of the mountains it hardly seems like any kind of inconvenience. There is a nice bathroom facility here without showers but plenty good for enjoying this place it is heated which makes for a lot better user experience especially I assume during winter months.

When I was there I saw a lot of RVs and Tents alike all pulled into spots and comfortable. While I didn't seem boxed in and overcrowded I did speak to someone who said when it is filled with more RVs it tends to get a little claustrophobic feeling.

Sleeping in a tent here I noticed that I could hear my neighbors pretty easily until around 11 p.m. after that it got pretty quiet and short of a few animal noises here and there it was silent. Temperatures dipped considerably at night so even though it was summer, in a tent I was finding I needed a little more cover than expected and pulled out the sleeping bag for some warmth.

Something I loved about this site was the set up for campers with the fire ring and table. The slab around the ring gives you a flat surface if you have camp chairs and also allows you do better manage your space and keep debris out of your fire.

TIPS:

• Bring a light or headlamp. Not sure if it really doesn't have light or if it was just burned out, I didn't check again, but the bathroom was dark at night so you want to have a way to see.
• Bring Cash or Check they didn't accept cards for the $25 nightly fee.

This is a popular stop near the town of Ely (a couple miles north off the highway; the closest town is actually McGill). Because of its proximity to a major thoroughfare, and I guess what northern Nevada would consider a major town, it seems like it fills up quickly. There isn’t a lot of privacy from neighbors because the foliage is limited and the landscaping is minimal, but it’s clean, relatively quiet, well run, and a good pit stop if you’re making a run across this area of the country.

Recommend that, if you know you’re coming in advance, you go ahead and make reservations at recreation.gov.

There are two pit toilets in a pretty good state of cleanliness. Potable water, picnic tables, and fire rings. Out of the eleven sites total, five are considered group sites and six are considered RV sites (you can car/tent camp here no problem, however).

We set out to camp here, but money was tight so we opted for a spot about 23 miles from town (south).

Looks as though it’s an old highway.

Great Hiking

There are a lot of animal remains in a ditch and a really neat dry creek to look for rocks and such.

It is our first night here so i may take more pictures. You can see from this side of the road that the highway that’s used is starting to slide away from the underside of it. Very scary. Soft ground everywhere.

The road is easy to drive on but as you rear the end of the road it turns into gravel and bushes as it leads back to the highway again.

Looks to be about 4 or 5 good places to set up camp on the road.

The rocks from both sides of the road are falling all over the road.

I would definitely stay here again. Its frozen in time on this road. Very nostalgic.

Highway noise isn’t very bad either.

This is a campground within Great Basin National Park. It is reservation only, which is why we picked it, but there are several other campgrounds within the park. I believe the others are first come, first served. We found that the sites were pretty private and not on top of each other at all. The cliffs here are very pretty and are a nice backdrop. Grey Cliffs is a tent only area and each site has a fire ring with a grill and a picnic table. There is no running water, vault toilets and trash cans put here and there. We have a tent that needs to be staked-this was a problem there. The ground is so rocky it became very difficult to drive a spike into the ground far enough to work and not bend them. Do not bring a large tent, the pads are small. It wasn’t terrible once we were set up, and the price is right. If we were to come back to the park we’d try to either camp at Baker or Wheeler Peak, up the road a ways.

Great experience. I arrived late at night and was still able to check in with a pay stub. Even though it’s mid/late November the weather was great! Just take a cool weather sleeping bag and you’ll be good.

This campground is reservable 15 days in advance, but if you missed that deadline, there is first come-first serve camping as well. There were many spots open when I came. When you get here, scout for a spot, remember your site number and license plate info, and then go back to pay at the pay stub center (at the entrance of the campground).

Its $20 a night to camp here. BRING CASH! :)

No showers, just bathrooms.

Baker Creek Campground is a first come - first served campground in Great Basin National Park.  Campground has 37 sites and sits along Baker Creek.  It is a dusty drive to Baker Creek campground along a gravel road, but that dust leads you to a pleasant campground.  Stayed in the upper most loop at site 14.  RVs and Trailers over 24 feet are not allowed on Upper Loop.  Three sites in the campground are ADA sites.  Each site has a picnic table and metal fire ring.  Water is currently not available in the campground, water can be obtained at the visitor center.  A fire ban was in place due to dry conditions.  No cell service at the campground except for a few spots in the upper loop.  If I stood in just the right spot in my camp site I could get service.  Campground has vault toilets and dumpsters for your trash.  The campground was quiet at night and being next to the creek was an added bonus.

Had a bunch of little sites all with fire rings, picnic tables, fire stoves, and shade!! Each site seemed to have some tree cover or a cabana over the picnic table (for those without trees). There were a couple vault/pit toilet houses all stocked with toilet paper (although I would still byo just in case). Overall had the best “facilities” for free dispersed camping that I’ve been to! & keep in mind there is no water so make sure to bring what you need

Also want to note the flies are HORRIBLE right now- unsure if this is a seasonal thing or what but they were relentless.