roadtripper8006182

I came here because it looked like a great place to car camp with my tent. Cabins, RVs and tents all in one location. Pictures looked nice. And honestly, if I were there for the cabins I probably would have been content.

There are 14 listed tent sites spread throughout the park. Half of them are in the Pine Basin area. I'd considering that entire area 4x4 country. Honestly, I was stupid to take my Kona into that area looking for a spot and it was probably dumb luck I didn't get stuck. I don't think there was a level spot in that entire section.

In the rest of the park the tent spots do have some gorgeous views. Provided you don't want shade. Or if you want shade, you don't mind camping in what looked to be a wash 1 good drizzle away from giving you a rafting adventure. I was able to find 2 spots with shade that looked decent, that were level, and didn't look like I'd float away. One was occupied with what turned out to be a wedding party (congrats!) that later returned for a night of camping.

The ground was hard enough that I wasn't able to properly stake out. Not only that, of the stakes I did get to an acceptable depth 1/3rd were bent in doing so. Not unusable, but certainly not my primary choice going forward. On top of that there was an odd slab of concrete near the level area I was placing my tent. Turns out it is where the fire ring used to be. I know this because on one of my short hikes around the park I found a fire ring + concrete slab at the base of the hill that the wedding party had camped at.

Finally, Campendium lists toilets as being flush. If you rent a cabin, I'm sure they have flush toilets. If you rent the day-use, group recreation areas they have flush toilets. Tent camp areas get a port-a-potty at about 1/2 mile intervals.

I know, this is roughing it. And, honestly, I agree. However, I am purposely heading out for developed campgrounds w/certain amenities as that is where my comfort level as a neophyte camper is. Based on the Campendium entry & the web site for the location itself what I expected, and what I found were at severe odds with one another. If there had been reviews or indications that the tent area was more on the undeveloped side I would have given it a pass for another location.

If I had to hazard a guess, I wonder if the Flag Fire in April'21 which came close to the campground has much to do with this? The roads on the map handed out to campers and the roads in GPS don't match. I can see where the GPS roads were, but they're not there now. There were a lot of burnt and felled trees. Maybe they have worked on getting the RV/Cabin areas up to acceptable levels and the tent areas have been left for last? I don't know.

I'd like to come back and rent a cabin at some point. But I'm not going to camp here again.

Goes without saying, it's the North Rim of the Grand Canyon so the sites are there, without question. Plenty of local hiking and trails.

The campground itself is packed and reservations months in advance are a requirement. But it is worth it. Spaces are generous and can accommodate 2-3 tents easily enough. The trees are tall and offer plenty of shade, though this does cause issues if you're hoping for solar to keep your devices topped off. Other campers were friendly and quiet hours were respected.

Toilets were clean and well maintained. Did not interact with the host, but the local general store's staff were friendly.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great location. If you're in an RV. The RV-focused portion is across the dam and up on a hill. But the campground is also very RV-centric. I showed up with a tent and there were maybe 2 spots which would have offered shade for less than half the day, if i was lucky. Not something I am looking for late-August in Nevada!

If I had a camper or an RV I would have stayed. But with my tent I went to my backup site.

After passing on my primary choice this weekend (little shade) I came here as my backup. A little bit of a drive, but worth it. Very quiet, plenty of shaded spots for tents (which I appreciated), afternoon rain to cool things down. The park itself is clean with modern facilities. No Verizon cell service but they do offer WiFi for a fee. Free for 10m if you just want to give family a quick check-in.

I arrived on Sunday and the park was mostly empty, maybe 1/4th of the spots were taken. When I left Tuesday morning it still had more than 1/2 the spots free and it was only then I found the upper loop. I plan to return and stay in the upper loop in the future.

First experience camping since I was a kid, picked a spot just outside of Vegas to test the gear and get away from the heat. Nice campground, clean, nestled in a valley up near Mt. Charleston. Plan on making it an annual excursion.

Tip for tent owners - if you can avoid the spots numbered high-40s, low-50s. While they do have tent pads they are spaced out more for RVs with the tent area quite a bit from the parking spot. The spots in the 60s seem to be more tent-sized and where I plan to go next time.

Nice little site just over a ridge from Vegas. Excellent tent pad, clean facilities and a friendly host.

If you're tent camping, be wary of the winds. First day had a wind advisory of 25-35MPH winds, gusts to 50. Second day was only slightly calmer.

While recreation.gov lists most sites as large-tent capable I when I arrived to my site, #62, outside of the concrete RV pad the available space was covered in rocks and mostly on a slope. I was eventually able to get a large enough space clear of sharp stones to accommodate my 8x7 tent, but even then it was rough to stake out. Another tent camper nearby simply set up on the RV pad and did not stake out at all.

RV camping here seems to be the norm; and as a result promptly at 6pm the RVs sing the song of their people - that low generator groan from all around. Only ending promptly at 10pm when quiet hours start. Days are not any quieter as the campground is under the flight path to the Grand Canyon for several helicopter tour companies. They start up promptly at the butt crack of dawn and pass overheard on the hour, every hour, until dusk.

On the plus side, bathrooms were clean and well-lit.