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Best Dispersed Camping near Las Vegas, NV

414 Reviews

The desert landscape surrounding Las Vegas, Nevada transitions dramatically from arid lowlands to alpine forests, creating distinct camping environments within an hour's drive of the city. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) areas and Lake Mead National Recreation Area provide numerous free dispersed camping options, while the Spring Mountains offer higher-elevation sites at Lovell Canyon and Champion Road. Most dispersed sites lack facilities but feature existing fire rings and informal parking areas. The contrast between low desert camping near Lake Mead (elevation 1,200 feet) and mountain camping in the Spring Mountains (up to 6,000 feet) creates year-round opportunities depending on seasonal preferences.

Road conditions vary significantly across camping areas, with many requiring high-clearance vehicles for full access. As one camper noted about Mack's Canyon, "The first mile is an easy dirt road suitable for RVs and campers, but the rest is a fairly rough forest road with steep drops." Fire restrictions are strictly enforced throughout much of the year due to drought conditions. Cell service remains surprisingly good near major roads but diminishes in canyons and remote areas. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 100°F in lower elevations, while winter brings snow to mountain sites, sometimes unexpectedly. A Champion Road camper reported, "I went in February and got nice slow flurries, but woke up to three inches of snow. Exiting with snow reminds me why I need 4-wheel drive."

Night sky viewing ranks among the top experiences mentioned by campers in the region. "The views are amazing and it's just far enough away to see the Milky Way at night," reported one Mack's Canyon visitor. Lake Mead shoreline camping provides water access but requires awareness of changing water levels and wind conditions. Many campers note the importance of arriving early to secure prime spots, particularly at popular areas like Government Wash and Valley of Fire dispersed sites. Wildlife sightings include coyotes, wild donkeys, and desert tortoises. Trash accumulation remains problematic at some heavily-used sites, with multiple reviewers mentioning the need to clean up after previous visitors. The proximity to hiking trails in Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, and the Spring Mountains adds recreational value to most camping locations.

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Best Dispersed Sites Near Las Vegas, Nevada (45)

    1. Lovell Canyon Dispersed Camping (Spring Mountain)

    55 Reviews
    Blue Diamond, NV
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (702) 515-5000

    "We arrived before sunset, full of small spots along the road, which allows everyone to have their own space surrounded by vegetation."

    "Prefect place to get away from Vegas. Many places for camping and easy to pull a trailer. Main road mostly paved. Other roads were dirt but well maintained and manageable."

    2. Government Wash — Lake Mead National Recreation Area

    32 Reviews
    Nellis Air Force Base, NV
    24 miles
    Website

    "Great Verizon service, toilets at the parking lot, several dumpster locations, and easy access to Lake Mead made this a place worth revisiting. The dust was a bit much, but that's too be expected."

    "Great spots for rv Close to lake Lots of people fishing Road is graded with camping spots or drive further rough road wild spots"

    3. Harris Springs / Spring Mountains Dispersed

    9 Reviews
    Mount Charleston, NV
    15 miles
    Website
    +1 (775) 331-6444

    "Spent the night in a campervan here. Keep an eye on the GPS, the coordinates are correct, but Google maps switches the location on you once you start the directions. Ended up at the ski resort at Mt."

    "When you pull up to the campsite, you will immediately be intimidated by the steep and windy road up the cliff to access the campsites."

    4. Champion Road Dispersed Campsites

    18 Reviews
    Mount Charleston, NV
    24 miles
    Website

    "When you pull into the empty turn around and onto the dirt road you could be immediately disarmed."

    "Everything else on the trail was kind of tight. It wasn’t terribly cold but it started snowing overnight! Woke up to 2 inches of snow and witnessed a gorgeous winter wonderland from my tent."

    5. Gass Peak Rd Camping Area

    3 Reviews
    Las Vegas, NV
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (702) 879-6110

    "Pretty sunset, desolate dirt road to arrive. Guarantees that no one else will be in this spot…this is your spot. Wonderful little camping spot in the middle of nowhere."

    "The camping out here is off grid so bring supplies. The hike is amazing with a quick elevation and amazing 360 views."

    6. Kingman Wash — Lake Mead National Recreation Area

    49 Reviews
    Lake Mead National Recreation Area, AZ
    33 miles

    "Great place to disperse Dry camp. Spots are scattered along the main road. You can camp close to the interstate or 3 miles away at the lake. The lake shore gets crowded."

    "We took our camper van down to the water. About 3 miles on the dirt road. Some spots are bumpy but we made it without ever getting stuck. Beautiful view. Worth it."

    7. Mack's Canyon Dispersed

    15 Reviews
    Mount Charleston, NV
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (912) 441-2518

    $50 / night

    "NO facilities at all. No water, no trash pickup, and no toilets. Bring Everything and pack it all out. 

    If there are fire restrictions, PLEASE don't light campfires."

    "Most of the campsites are accessible with a 2 wheel drive vehicle you can only get so far. The views are amazing and it’s just far enough away to see the Milky Way at night."

    8. Corn Creek Wildlife Refuge

    2 Reviews
    Las Vegas, NV
    14 miles

    "Campedboff dirt road where GPS sent me. There were some facilities I didn't have time to explore. Parked in day use area near dawn didn't get any grief. Was up late for full moon."

    9. Eight Mile Dispersed Camping near Government Wash — Lake Mead National Recreation Area

    12 Reviews
    Henderson, NV
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (702) 293-8906

    "Another start in the boon-docking sash! Only caveat is the trash! Come one fellow campers, whatever happened to picking up and leaving no trace?"

    "While camping at Lake Mead, you can opt to stay in there campground that has electrical hookups, but we prefer to boondock."

    10. Valley of Fire Dispersed

    26 Reviews
    Overton, NV
    34 miles
    Website
    +1 (702) 515-5000

    "Some rough road getting in and to some of the spots, but popular area with lots of fairly flat spots and fire rings."

    "When you turn off the paved road it is only half a mile to spacious level sites. No amenities. 5G Verizon. Very secluded."

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Recent Free Dispersed Camping Photos near Las Vegas, NV

226 Photos of 45 Las Vegas Campgrounds

Dispersed Camping Reviews near Las Vegas, NV

414 Reviews of 45 Las Vegas Campgrounds

  • Jay A.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 22, 2022

    Mack's Canyon Dispersed

    Great Summer Tenting Area

    NO facilities at all. No water, no trash pickup, and no toilets. Bring Everything and pack it all out. 

    If there are fire restrictions, PLEASE don't light campfires. After years of drought, this place is a tinderbox. Your mistake could easily trap people further up the canyon with no way out. It is Illegal for a reason. 

    The first mile is an easy dirt road, suitable for RV's and Campers.

    The rest of the way is a fairly rough forest road - heavily rutted in places, with some steep drops. I wouldn't take anything but the smallest trailer back here, but it's perfect for tents. 

    That being said; my AWD Subaru Outback made it there and back with no problems. 

    Beautiful and cool during the summer - gorgeous stars at night.

  • SThe Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 25, 2024

    Valley of Fire BLM Dispersed Site

    Spacious and Convenient

    A very short but kind of rough road right off of Valley of Fire Hwy less than two miles from the Parks north entrance. Free boondocking with no amenities. Follow the road and find your spot! You can see the traffic going to and from the park, but it is not a nuisance. The park is technically closed from sunset to sunrise so the only traffic is the occasional camper, arriving at the campground within the park. There are so many trails and points of interest to visit inside and outside the park. I highly recommend paying the price to drive through the park and then through the Lake Mead national recreation area into Henderson, Nevada near Las Vegas. The road along Lake Mead is as beautiful as Valley of Fire is!

  • Amanda M.
    Jul. 25, 2019

    BLM Logandale Trails System Primitive Camping

    Red rocks and beautiful dunes

    a short jaunt from las vegas. we took the scenic route through lake mead national park. drove out on a sunday and had sites a plenty to choose from. Loved the off grid camping with majestic rock formations surrounding our camp which felt like beach sand beneath our feat. secluded and spectacular.

    PACK IN PACK OUT

  • Caroline D.
    May. 4, 2024

    Lovell Canyon Dispersed Camping (Spring Mountain)

    Several campsites demarcated by vegetation, very pleasant and lots of possibilities

    We arrived before sunset, full of small spots along the road, which allows everyone to have their own space surrounded by vegetation. We have a van, it is easy to leave the main concrete road to enter the pitches, some are bumpier than others. The sites I saw were clean with leftover campfire pits. I recommend this spot, it is specific to Death Valley and located 30 minutes from Red Rock or 1 hour from Las Vegas. For the night of May 2, no problem with the wind, very good weather conditions

  • Jeff
    Jan. 4, 2021

    Kingman Wash — Lake Mead National Recreation Area

    Dispersed Camping

    Great place to disperse Dry camp. Spots are scattered along the main road. You can camp close to the interstate or 3 miles away at the lake. The lake shore gets crowded. The road is bumpy but we saw cars all the way down to the lake. The sign recommends 4x4 high clearance vehicles. The mine road offers good views and a few camp spots. 4x4 is definitely recommended for this road. There is no garbage collection so pack it out. One vault toilet near the lake. Bring your own firewood. No trees for wood in this area. Wood can be purchased at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area Campground Store. We spoted motor homers near the interstate, ground tenters, rooftop tenters, van campers and pull behind campers at the lake. We camped up the N Mine Road with our RTT trailer.

  • EThe Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 30, 2020

    BLM dispersed camping west of Valley of Fire

    Private boondocking site away from the clusters of other RVs

    We couldn't get a spot inside Valley of Fire State Park so we decided to boondock on the BLM land outside the park. We knew there were plenty of spots but a lot were out in the open where everyone can see you. We wanted a bit of privacy and wanted to feel like we were out in nature not just parked in an empty desert. We decided to go searching for a better option and went down a dirt road, crossing our fingers. Lo and behold we found what we feel is a primo campsite! It's just outside the park of a dirt road. The coordinates are 36.413656-114.616805 and there's actually 2-3 spots back there. The first one is the easiest for bigger rigs or regular cars. The other two are up steep, sandy hills that are more suitable for a Jeep or ATV. There are rock fire pits(but be careful about fire restrictions) to designate the camping areas. It's private with hills all around. You can faintly hear the road and if you need better cell reception hike up one of the hills. It's a fantastic private spot that felt remote and special. The ONLY negative we encountered was trash. We did a sweep and picked up a lot of broken glass bottles, some aluminum cans, a bunch of bullet casings, and other trash. And nearby there's an old washer or dryer that someone dumped and used for target practice. We didn't clean that up because obviously, that's just too big. Anyway, the spot is so close to Valley of Fire you can just head on into the park for hiking and day use or head back out to the freeway for more supplies. For us, this spot was absolutely perfect and we had zero troubles, but I can imagine if it rains or shortly after it's been raining that this particular spot might be terrible. DO NOT CAMP HERE IF RAIN IS IN THE FORECAST.

  • Chelsea K.
    Apr. 22, 2018

    Crawdad Cove Dispersed Camping — Lake Mead National Recreation Area

    Crawdad Cove

    April 22, 2018

    This area is one of my favorite spots to go to at Lake Mead. In order to get there, follow road signs to Crawdad Cove, the road is loose gravel and dirt so be weary what vehicle you take, so roads require 4 wheel drive. The dirt road will split into a "Y" so stay left. None of the back roads are marked, so you might have to do some exploring. Just try to follow the water and stay on the larger dirt roads. Once you get to the lake there's a nice gravely Beach area and multiple places to set up camp (there are rock fire rings too). I wouldn't recommend camping there because it is a high traveled area, lots of people launch canoes/kayaks, and other boats there. However there are camping spots the entire way down to the water (you can literally pull off of the road and camp where ever you want, there's no assigned/numbered or reserved spots) and all along the banks of the river. If you get there early enough in the day you will avoid park entry lines and you can get a really good spot by the water!

    There's lots of good fishing spots, and you can always see the fish jumping out of the water! You can also hike anywhere around here. I have two dogs and really enjoy hiking around and swimming. It's about a 45 minute drive from Las Vegas but worth it to let my dogs run around and swim in the water. If you do bring your dogs be cautious of coyotes in the area, I've seen a couple walking around the area during the day looking for food scraps, and packs of them howling at night.

    We set up camp on the left side of the cove on top of a cliff, with a beautiful beach area below all to our selves. There were a couple of other people camping nearby as well. There were multiple places to cliff jump, and fish (bring water shoes because there is some broken glass). The sound is really amplified in this area so please be respectful of the other people around you. All of the sites are primitive, so no toilets or running water. Bring bathroom supplies (I'd recommend bringing baby wipes and hand sanitizer... And a little shovel 😉) and lots of extra water to drink and put out your fire. There is one drop toilet and two large dumpsters along the road but not close to the lake. The sunsets are breath taking and there's lots of different birds, animals, lizards, and flowers if you go at the right time of year. Bring sunscreen and a shade tarp as there is no shade out there.

    If you have a non motorized watercraft you need to get a special sticker for it in order to use it at the lake. If you want more information you can ask the Park Rangers when you enter and they will give you some papers about your boats and where to obtain registration.

  • Charlie C.
    Mar. 9, 2021

    Champion Road Dispersed Campsites

    Get a Breath 

    Beautiful mountain. In the summer months I’d like to camp higher up. This site is about half way up the mountain and the quick difference going from Vegas through the desert and ending up on top of a lush green mountain side nestled below overhanging peaks is amazing. I always seem to arrive during the night which is something I need to correct, don’t do that. Especially if you are a first timer and have zero knowledge of an area. 

When you pull into the empty turn around and onto the dirt road you could be immediately disarmed. The second you pull off the road you notice gang symbols spray painted on the tree’s (sad) and a lot of empty beer cans. It could be alarming but if you continue up the dirt road it clears up. Really beautiful sites all around. I went in February and got some nice slow flurries which was a nice treat. Problem was that is snowed through the night and I woke up to about three inches. When you’re going in its all down hill, exiting with snow reminds me why I need 4 wheel drive. Enjoy the photos, I will be back!

-Chuck 
P.S. Don’t forget, always leave the area better than you found it!
          LEAVE NO TRACE. P.S. Don’t forget, always leave the area better than you found it!
  • Eve E.
    Feb. 28, 2021

    Boxcar Cove Dispersed Camping — Lake Mead National Recreation Area

    Lakeside camping

    Close to Las Vegas remote but fairly popular area to camp and enjoy all the lake has to offer. Parts of this area used to be underwater when the lake was higher. There’s a well-kept vault toilet on the dirt road that leads to the water. The road was well graded and had no trouble taking our Corolla to our campsite. Lots of RVs, tent camping, fishing, kayakers and other small water craft. There seemed to be less coyote activity here than in the pay site campground on the other side of Las Vegas Bay.

Guide to Las Vegas

Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near Las Vegas, Nevada, where you can escape the city hustle and immerse yourself in nature. With a variety of locations offering unique experiences, there's something for every outdoor enthusiast.

Scenic Views for Dispersed Campers

Top Activities While Free Camping Near Las Vegas

Unique Experiences for Dispersed Campers

  • Enjoy shaded private camping at Champion Road Dispersed Campsites, where you can escape the heat and relax in a peaceful environment.
  • For a more adventurous stay, Sloan Canyon - Dispersed Camping offers a chance to see ancient petroglyphs while camping, adding a historical touch to your outdoor experience.
  • If you're looking for a family-friendly spot, Mack's Canyon Dispersed features picnic tables and is close to hiking trails, making it perfect for a day of fun in nature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find dispersed camping areas near Las Vegas?

Las Vegas is surrounded by excellent dispersed camping options. The Spring Mountains area offers Lovell Canyon Dispersed Camping (Spring Mountain) with small, secluded spots along the road surrounded by vegetation. The main concrete road provides easy access for most vehicles. Lake Mead National Recreation Area has multiple dispersed camping areas including Crawdad Cove Dispersed Camping, though some roads require 4WD. For those heading toward Valley of Fire State Park, numerous BLM dispersed sites are available nearby. Many areas are accessible with standard vehicles, though higher clearance is beneficial for reaching more remote spots. Remember that dispersed camping means no amenities - bring everything you need and pack out all trash.

Is free camping allowed on BLM land near Las Vegas?

Yes, free camping is allowed on BLM land near Las Vegas, typically with a 14-day stay limit. BLM Logandale Trails System Primitive Camping offers free off-grid camping surrounded by majestic rock formations. Another popular option is BLM dispersed camping west of Valley of Fire, which provides numerous spots with varying levels of privacy. These areas have no amenities - no water, toilets, or trash service - so come prepared with everything you need and practice Leave No Trace principles. During periods of high fire danger, fire restrictions may be in place, so check current regulations before your trip. While free, some locations may require high-clearance vehicles to access. Always respect posted signs regarding motorized travel restrictions.

What options exist for free RV boondocking near Las Vegas?

RV boondockers near Las Vegas have several free options. Valley of Fire BLM Dispersed Site is accessible via a short but somewhat rough road less than two miles from the park's north entrance. The area accommodates RVs but has no amenities. Kingman Wash — Lake Mead National Recreation Area offers spots scattered along the main road, from areas near the interstate to locations 3 miles away at the lake. While the road is bumpy, many RVs make it down, though high-clearance vehicles are recommended. Throughout the region, many dispersed camping areas can accommodate RVs, but road conditions vary significantly. Always scout areas first if you're concerned about access. Remember these are dry camping situations - bring all supplies including water and pack out all waste.

How close can you find dispersed camping to the Las Vegas Strip?

Champion Road Dispersed Campsites offers one of the closer mountain camping options, providing a stark contrast from Vegas with its lush mountainside setting under overhanging peaks. For those willing to drive a bit further, Boxcar Cove Dispersed Camping at Lake Mead is relatively close to Las Vegas while still feeling remote. Most dispersed camping options require at least 30-45 minutes of driving from the Strip, as the closest options are found at the edges of BLM land surrounding the city. The convenience of proximity comes with increased popularity, so expect more neighbors at closer sites, especially on weekends. Remember that camping directly on the Strip or in city parks is not permitted, and parking lot camping at casinos is generally discouraged without permission.

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