7 Off-the-Beaten-Path Camping Spots in Nevada

July 14, 2026

Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state, over 300 of them, and more public land than almost anywhere in the country. Roughly 80% of the state is open to the public, most of it managed by the BLM. And yet when people picture camping in Nevada, they typically picture the same short list of spots.

If you’re willing to drive just a little bit further, the Silver State turns into one of the emptiest, darkest, and flat-out strangest places to camp in America. Glacial lakes tucked into hidden ranges, interesting little ghost towns, natural hot springs in the middle of a wide-open valley, and a volcanic crater where Apollo astronauts trained for the moon. Most are free or close to it, nearly all sit on public land, and at least one of them is easy enough for anyone to reach on a first trip.

Here's where to go, and what to know beforehand.

1. Cathedral Gorge State Park

If you only do one of these, start here. Just off US-93 near the tiny town of Panaca in southeastern Nevada, Cathedral Gorge is a maze of soft bentonite clay spires and cliffs that erosion has carved into shapes that really do look like cathedral walls. The best part is the slot "caves," narrow slits you can squeeze into and follow back until the walls close over your head. It photographs like a national park and stays really quiet more often than not.

This is the one that works for basically anyone. The 22-site campground is fully developed, with shade over the tables, showers, drinking water, and a paved road right to it.

Best For: First-timers, families, and anyone who wants dramatic scenery without a rough drive to reach it.

✅ Tip: The clay glows in late afternoon and early evening light, so plan your walk into the slots for the last hour before sunset. The trails are fully exposed with no shade, so carry more water than feels necessary, even in spring.

2. Angel Lake

Nobody expects an alpine lake in Nevada, which is exactly why Angel Lake is worth the detour. Twelve miles of paved scenic byway (State Route 231) climb about 3,000 feet out of Wells, right off I-80, and dead-end at an 8,378-foot glacial cirque lake ringed by 10,000-foot peaks in the East Humboldt Range. It feels like the Sierra without the traffic, and the drive up is half the fun.

The 26-site Forest Service campground sits among shoulder-high dwarf aspens that give you real privacy between sites. The lake holds rainbow, brook, and tiger trout, non-motorized boats are welcome, and trails from the campground climb into the East Humboldt Wilderness. Keep an eye on the cliffs for bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

Best For: Cool alpine air, trout fishing, and a big-mountain payoff at the end of the road.

✅ Tip: The last few miles are steep, winding, and guardrail-free, so leave the big travel trailer down in Wells. Water at the campground is seasonal and not guaranteed, so bring your own. Snow keeps this one closed until roughly June.

3. Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park

About 20 miles south of Ely, six enormous beehive-shaped stone ovens stand in a quiet high-desert basin, looking like something left behind by a lost civilization. They were built in the late 1870s to make charcoal for the local silver smelters, later did time as shelters for travelers and, the story goes, a hideout for stagecoach bandits. They're 30 feet tall, remarkably well preserved, and you can walk right inside them.

The small Willow Creek Campground gives you 14 first-come sites with fire rings, fire grills, and vault toilets, and the park stays open around the clock. Because you're in the middle of eastern Nevada with almost nothing around, the night sky here is some of the darkest in the state.

Best For: History you can walk through, serious stargazing, and quiet nights.

✅ Tip: Set up so you can see the ovens from camp, because they look genuinely eerie at dawn and dusk. Willow Creek is stocked with rainbow trout if you want to fish, but you'll need a Nevada license. Pack a good light source.

4. Spencer Hot Springs

A few miles of graded dirt off US-50 near Austin, out in the wide-open Big Smoky Valley, you'll find a scattering of natural hot springs with a couple of soaking pools and a 360-degree view of nothing but mountains and sky. It's free BLM land, wild horses wander through regularly, and soaking in warm water while the Milky Way comes up over an empty valley is some kind of camping experience.

It's a known stop on the overlanding circuit. There's no gate, no host, and no reservation, and on a random weeknight you can easily have the whole valley to yourself. What draws people is the free natural water, so on summer weekends and holidays you'll sometimes share the pools with a few other rigs. Midweek or in the shoulder season, it's often just you, the wild horses, and the steam coming off the water at first light. The road in is washboard but manageable for most vehicles in dry conditions.

Best For: Soaking under the stars and dispersed camping with a great view.

✅ Tip: If you want it quiet, go midweek or off-season. When others are around, the courtesy (and the BLM rule) is to camp well back from the pools rather than parking on top of them, so everyone gets a turn to soak. There are zero amenities, so pack everything in and pack everything out.

5. Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park

This is the one you genuinely cannot stumble onto. Out on the slopes of the Shoshone Mountains in central Nevada, Berlin-Ichthyosaur pairs an 1890s mining ghost town, preserved in what the state calls "arrested decay," with a fossil house holding the largest known remains of ichthyosaurs, 50-foot marine reptiles that swam here 225 million years ago. You can self-tour the old town and cemetery, then walk a short trail up to see the fossils in the ground where they were found.

The 14-site campground is first-come only, spread across a hillside with big valley views, clean and quiet. It's one of the most remote state parks in the country, which is exactly the point.

Best For: Something completely different, ghost-town solitude, and curious kids who like dinosaurs and mining relics.

✅ Tip: Fill your tank before you go since services are far away.

6. Lunar Crater Backcountry Byway

Halfway between Tonopah and Ely on lonely US-6, a signed dirt road turns off toward one of the weirdest landscapes in Nevada. Lunar Crater is a 430-foot-deep volcanic maar sitting in a 100-square-mile field of cinder cones, lava flows, and around 20 extinct volcanoes. It looks so much like the moon that NASA sent Apollo astronauts here in 1972 to train. It's a National Natural Landmark, it's free BLM land, and you can pitch camp on the rim with almost no chance of company.

Best For: Otherworldly scenery, geology nerds, and campers who want to feel like the last people on Earth.

✅ Tip: It is windy and completely exposed up there, so stake everything down and pick a sheltered pull-off if you can. There's no cell service and no fuel for 75-plus miles, so gas up in Tonopah or Ely and download your maps before you leave the highway.

7. Jarbidge

Way up in the northeast corner, nearly on the Idaho line, sits Jarbidge, one of the most remote towns in the Lower 48 and the gateway to the Jarbidge Wilderness. This is the payoff for anyone who wants to get genuinely out there: a tiny historic mining town, a trout stream running through it, and alpine peaks and hiking trails that see a fraction of the traffic of better-known ranges. Dispersed sites and small campgrounds sit in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest all around town.

Getting here is part of the deal. The last stretch in is unpaved but drivable for a careful standard vehicle in dry weather; push past the town toward Pine Creek, and you're into 4x4 country.

Best For: True remoteness, alpine hiking, and a river-in-your-backyard.

✅ Tip: Treat this like real backcountry. Carry a spare tire, extra fuel, food, and water, and don't count on cell service. The roads are typically only open from around June through October, so time your trip to the snow-free window and check conditions before you commit.

What to Know Before You Go

The trade-off for empty campsites is that the conveniences disappear. Most of these spots have no stores nearby, no water to rely on, and no signal. That puts more weight on the gear you bring, especially what you cook and clean with, because a good meal at the end of a long drive can make a long day a whole lot better.

That's the exact kind of camping we built the Chuk Kitchen Box for. It sets up in under 30 seconds on any surface, keeps your stove, cookware, and cleanup gear in one organized place instead of three totes or bins, and packs back down fast so you can move on to the next spot in the morning. Less digging around in the dark, more time watching a Nevada sky do things you'll never see from a city.

If you're still dialing in your setup, our Ultimate Car Camping Checklist covers the full packing list, and you can find the rest of this series in our state-by-state guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is dispersed camping free in Nevada?

Mostly, yes. Nevada has over 48 million acres of BLM land, and dispersed camping on most of it is free and legal for up to 14 days at a time, as long as you follow Leave No Trace and any current fire restrictions. State parks like Cathedral Gorge, Ward Charcoal Ovens, and Berlin-Ichthyosaur charge a modest nightly fee, usually around $15.

Do I need a 4WD vehicle to camp in Nevada?

Not for most of these. Cathedral Gorge, Angel Lake, Ward Charcoal Ovens, and Berlin-Ichthyosaur are all reachable in a standard car or SUV under normal conditions. Spencer Hot Springs is graded dirt that most vehicles handle when dry. The full Lunar Crater loop and the roads past Jarbidge are where high clearance really helps. Rain, snow, or recent storms can change things and make the drive more difficult.

When is the best time of year to camp in Nevada?

It depends on elevation. Spring and fall are ideal for the lower desert spots like Cathedral Gorge and Lunar Crater, since summer regularly pushes past 100°F. The high-country spots, Angel Lake and Jarbidge, are the opposite, only reliably open and pleasant in summer once the snow clears.

Which Nevada spot is best for families or first-time campers?

Cathedral Gorge State Park. It has a developed campground with showers, water, and shade, an easy paved approach, and slot-canyon formations that keep kids busy for hours.

Do I need reservations for these campsites?

Several are first-come, first-served, including Berlin-Ichthyosaur, Ward Charcoal Ovens, and the dispersed spots. Angel Lake's campground can be reserved on Recreation.gov during peak season. Show up early on summer weekends for the first-come sites, since a few of these have no backup campground nearby.

How do I find dispersed campsites that aren't on Google Maps?

Start with public-land maps. Free apps like Avenza Maps, plus OnX Backcountry and the Forest Service's Motor Vehicle Use Maps, show dispersed areas and legal roads that don't appear on standard navigation. Download them before you lose signal, which out here happens fast.

🔗 Related Reads

Back to blog