September was all Nevada, all the time! Camping in the Western United States brings many more opportunities to camp for free (boondock) on Federal Land and we got to take good advantage of that, keeping our monthly cost down to one of our lowest months yet! Nevada surprised us with the diversity of landscape and stunning beauty. You might not have previously considered Nevada as a destination, but we urge you to change your mind as these locations are something special. Read on for our thoughts about our September camping locations.
Water Canyon Recreation Area outside of Winnemucca, NV
This lovely BLM campground has sites well spaced away from each other, and we were delighted to find a spot with a creek running behind it. This is an actual BLM campground, as opposed to dispersed camping on BLM land, and you really can't beat the free nightly cost. It was also perfectly situated near to Winnemucca so we were able to stock up on all our essentials.
We simply love our Boondocker's Welcome stays, and this stay in Spring Creek, Nevada was no exception. These fantastic hosts met us with a basket of goodies and information on things to do in the area. We loved getting to explore the nearby Lamoille Canyon area and would happily return to explore the region more.
We picked this unassuming RV Park for its proximity to Great Basin National Park and the start of our Highway 50 adventure. While the campground itself was nothing to write home about, it was very affordable for a full hookup site, and we adored the owner of the Star Gazer Inn. If you want to camp near Great Basin, but not in the park (without cell service) we highly recommend this park!
Another great example of a BLM campground, though one that was a little bit tougher for us to navigate! We picked this location along Highway 50 to break up our drive and for its proximity to Spencer Hot Springs. These sites were really, really not level, and we had to try four different spots before we were able to find one that worked for us. We would not recommend trying this campground if you are towing anything longer than 25 feet. It would work best for a Class B or Class C RV. But all in all, this was another lovely, free campground and we would return.
Getting in and out of the campground and Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park was one of the more stressful driving experiences we've had. A long, narrow, and steep dirt road through the park was nerve racking to drive, all while we were hoping no one was headed in the opposite direction! The turns in the campground were on the tight side, and there were only a handful of sites that could have worked for us. The location was remote, but gorgeous and we are glad we made the trip to this unique park.
Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge offered us another lovely free campsite on federal land. We felt very fortunate to snag the second to last spot at this first come, first serve location! It's hard to beat opening our back hatch up to the sun setting over a lake. Having miles of walking trails through a peaceful refuge, made us sad to only stay here two nights.
Have we mentioned that Michelle is a bit of a Type-A control freak when it comes to planning out our routes? Nevada state parks only recently switched from 100% first come first served, to a reservation system, and you better believe we were all over getting a reservation at one of the most iconic parks in the state as soon as they were available! We reserved a no-utilities site (though there are electricity/water sites available for an additional $10 per night) planning to utilize our solar power. Our solar is great, but not quite strong enough to power the air conditioning, which made camping here in 93 degree temperatures for three days a challenge! We loved waking up early and hiking the many trails in the park before it got too hot for the day. Cell coverage was challenging, even with our directional antenna, but the park wifi was strong enough to support video calls. If you are able to be off the grid and just explore this park, you will love every minute of your time there!
Nevada absolutely surpassed our expectations this month and we hope you consider exploring the state. There is so much more than the city of Vegas to visit!
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