Top 2 Tent Campgrounds near Wendover, UT

We stayed at the Bonneville KOA on a road trip from Southern California out to Colorado. Our original goal had been to drive from the SF Bay Area to SLC, UT (US Highway 80 is a very easy, straight shot drive from CA to UT, even for a 650 mile drive), but got a really late start and changed our target to the NV/UT boarder.

The Wendover KOA is definitely a KOA designed for motorhomes and trailers - it’s BARREN - so not a place I would usually want to tent camp. All of the spaces are dirt lots, including the tent sites - no grass, no bushes, no (well, very few) trees, no privacy, no nothing. Again, this is not the environment I would normally want to camp in, but it worked just fine for a short stop between long stretches of driving when covering miles on a road trip.er

This KOA campground would be great for RV users who want to visit the Casinos on the Nevada side of the NV/UT boarder, and for those spending time at the Bonneville Salt Flats for races or recreational fun.

The facilities were clean - clean bathrooms, clean showers. There were fire pits and picnic benches in the camp sites, and WiFi was available on the campus.

KOAs can be really great and convenient (if not full), considering we did not have a reservation ahead of time, and arrived fairly late, but were able to register through an iron ranger near the front office. If you need to find a place to camp in this area, and do NOT have a 4WD vehicle, I️ would suggest camping at the Wendover KOA instead of the nearby dispersed BLM sites located ON the salt flats. When researching where to stop for the night, we considered staying at the BLM campsites as they were FREE and camping out on the salt flats seemed like a cool idea. We decided against it because we didn’t know how my 2WD Honda CRV would fair on the salt, and because KOAs always have nice clean facilities to use.

We got into a conversation with our neighbors about the salt flats (we had never seen them before). They seemed to think we made the correct choice by camping at the KOA rather than the on salt flats… they regularly take off-roading vehicles out to the salt flats, and have seen a dozen or so 2WD vehicles get stuck out on the flats. Apparently the long, vast salt flats are deceptive, and not always as flat as they appear. Also, they said that it can be very difficult to see pooled water while driving out on the salt, so a lot of people get stuck in deep puddles after rain.

CAMPSITE SPECS

Fees: $26/night

Plumbed Toilets: Yes

Water: Yes

Showers: Yes (no coins needed)

Picnic Table: Yes

Firepit: Yes

Cooking Grate: Yes

Shade: NO

Cell Service: Yes + WiFi

Trash: Yes

Animal Bins/Food Lockers: NO

We happened upon this pretty little desert campground while we were out looking for agate one day around Volcano Peak.  It is a completely primitive site with absolutely no amenities except for rock fire rings.  It sits on the east side of Volcano Peak but there are also sites on the west side as well.  Both sides of the peak have the same quality of campgrounds but it just depends on if you like sunrises or sunsets more!  We personally loved the never-ending sunsets and shadows that grew to tens of miles long!  If you want to rock hound there are better pieces of multicolored agate high up near the ridges of the range.  There are still some lower on the slopes but are mostly clear to white from being thoroughly picked over.

Bonneville Speedway Access Rd > Left on Leppy Pass Rd till you reach a strange mysterious government building > Right on Silver Island Loop Rd > veer right on Volcano West Rd

Dope spot on a bluff looking out at the entire valley, with Pilot Peak prominently featured.   Plenty of space to maneuver and very level.  Already some fire pits.

Watch the rocks on Volcano West rd as you approach the lookout - I made it with my 25 ft travel trailer, but be careful you don't bottom it out.

You can see for miles in every direction, but limited protection from wind.   Wasn't too bad when I was there but I imagine it could be.

Super close to West Wendover and the salt flats.  There's dozens of campsites in this area so definitely go exploring.  While the roads are generally in good shape, some of have pretty bad wash boarding, especially when towing.

Some cell reception, great for Starlink obviously.

Stayed: 5/14/2021

Cost: FREE

Site: SEE PIC

Vehicle: Volkswagen Atlas

Equipment: Tent

AT&T: Weaker 5G

T-Mobile: 2 bars LTE

This is a great area, just outside of the Bonneville Salt Flats, and minutes from the towns of Wendover and West Wendover, at the Nevada and Utah state line. Apple Maps had some issues with us getting to these sites, because it thought it was only walkable, and that there was no road. So, if you plug it in and there is a crazy long commute, that could be why.

Once you take the turn off of Leppy Pass Road, there is an open area that had some RVs and others camping out. If you continue east, passing the ‘Silver Island Mountains Back Country Byway’ sign, you will end up at the Volcano Peak Dispersed area. We traveled about 2 miles down this road, going around a curve with a flat area and big rock to the right. There are many more sites this way, but we turned around and chose the site marked in the map picture. Heads up, the road can be a little rough!

We had some cool views of the flats, I-80 in the distance and surrounded by the mountains. It is a little close to the road and there was quite a bit of traffic, so noise and dirt/dust could be an issue. However, it is a beautiful site!

#DareToEverywhere