Baker Creek Campground

We drove all the campgrounds, and even though Baker Creek is technically and "overflow" campground, we liked it the best. The National Park itself is in the middle of nowhere, so come stocked up with groceries and gas.

We hiked from the campground up to the trail head and beyond, and we also drove to the top and hiked to the glacier as well as visiting the caves. Great National Park!

Pretty sure we were able to boost in a couple bars of Verizon as I have Instagram evidence!

Is there a busy season at G.B.? I'm not sure but when we were there it was the most empty N.P. I have ever visited.

Lower Lehman campground was full so we swung up to Baker Creek to find it completely empty. I was in love instantly with the silence and trees after spending a month in busy, dusty, ATV filled Moab.

The space was secluded (even if there had been other campers). The price was good. There are no services at the site. There were shared water spigots but the water was not turned on yet (mid-May).

We first tried to stay at lower lehman as a recommendation from the ranger, it was full though so we decided to explore baker creek, what a great decision. We had this beautiful area to ourselves, complete with aspens, creeks, fantastic beauty and silence in abundance. There are pit toilets and water in the summer, off season rates are $6, summer is $12. Cell was limited, I don't recall exactly what we had though.

Although many sites are extremely unlevel, we finally managed to get into site 34, a long private pull-through. There was hardly anyone else there and rarely any cars going by. Some of the other sites had dense tree cover but this was more open and we got plenty of sun for the solar panels. Site 37 would also be good for a bigger rig. There are close trees which would make it tight for a larger RV but we saw a Class A drive through and he said it was tough getting around the loop.
Baker Creek campground is off a three mile well maintained dirt road so it is dusty getting there. Water spigots are scattered around and there are vault toilets (extremely clean). There is a dump station by the visitor center but we didn't use it. You can hike several trails right from the campground. We were pleasantly surprised to have a usable internet connection. It was a very pleasant campground with deer and turkeys coming through our site daily.

I had no idea that I would like Great Basin NP so much, and this campground proved to be part of that wonderful experience for me. I don't usually pay for camping much at all, and I even had the option of some free camping that is available in the park down some significantly more rough roads than this is down. I was a bit nervous for that, but I ended up really enjoying my stay here, and I definitely consider it worth the stop.

Everything was quiet, clean, and in great shape while I was there. The whole national park is a bit far away from... well, anything at all, really. I tend to think of that as more of a positive than a negative, personally, but it can raise the usual challenges of being so remote: come prepared.

I did get some Verizon 3G on Extended Network here. Enough to post on Instagram and figure out where I wanted to go to next and get directions.

It is a dirt road which may close during the winter. It was open and in excellent condition while I was here.

Certainly worth the $12, and I would certainly consider staying here again if coming through the area!

We just stayed for one night while passing through, but still managed a visit to the fun Lehman Caves as well as a morning hike at 10,000 feet under Wheeler Peak. The Lower Lehman Campground would have been a easier in and out for us, with level paved sites. It also has a much easier approach, but we only found that out afterwards.

Baker Creek is more scenic, nestled in a creek bed against steep dramatic cliffs. Some of the sites here are the stuff of REI commercials with streams running right through them.

The access to the campground is a few miles up a dusty road, so expect to get a bit dirty heading up here. It's tight in this campground. I walked ahead with the Walkie Talkie to make sure no-one came the other way, and a lot of the sites are pretty uneven and tight. But if you can squeeze in and have enough levelers it's a pretty and peaceful spot from which to explore the park.

Larger rigs (Class A's or large Class C's or 5th wheels) should stick to Lower Lehman.

With Wheeler Peak Campground being closed still (early season), we aimed for Baker Creek CG as our first choice. Checking out all the PDF maps of the campgrounds in Great Basin National Park, we figured Baker Creek had the most trailer friendly options for our 17' trailer. [https://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/upload/Baker-Creek-Campground-2014.pdf] No reservations are available for these campground (only Grey Cliffs for groups), but amazingly we found the last spot open in Baker Creek on Friday afternoon on a 3 day weekend. It wasn't the best site (most of the trees were removed), so kind of exposed, but we made it work and luckily it wasn't very hot out. Overall the campground has some elevation change, 38 sites, two seemed very suitable for large RVs, a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees, and Baker Creek going through the campground. Some sites had creek views/access. Even for a 3 day weekend, it was pretty quiet and calm. Clean bathrooms and sites. There is a 0.5 mile trail leaving the campground taking you to Baker Creek trailhead where you can access many more trails and loops, making this an ideal base camp for trail running/hiking. One of our phones had some cell service and internet data. Water from water pumps had to be run for a bit to let the rust exit and also boiled for 5 minutes.

The gravel road into Baker Creek Campground is graded and doable for any size rig. However, don’t bother with the car wash before visiting, your vehicles are guaranteed to be coated in a thick layer of fine white dust. We could barely discern the color of our toad. Lol. The campground roads and all sites are gravel, pay attention to the trees and brush along the road too, some spots are narrow.

The campground itself is lovely. Each site has a picnic table and firepit. Many are large enough to accommodate any size rig and there is a mix of back-ins and pull-throughs. The sites are widely spaced, with lots of vegetation between for privacy. We couldn’t even see our neighbors. The biggest knock is how difficult it is to get level. We abandoned our first site (#19) as too narrow and sloping and moved to #26, a pull through that still proved a challenge for leveling. Bring your blocks and some patience. It’s worth the effort however for the forested setting, views, and access to hiking trails.

There are no hookups or water at the campground. There are pit toilets and garbage cans, which were serviced daily. There is a central dump station close to the visitor’s center with potable water and recycling for aluminum cans and cardboard.

FYI – while we’ve had the occasional mousie hitchhiker, we were under siege at Baker Creek. In under 24 hours we trapped 11 mice in the coach! Not sure what triggered the invasion, but we ended up with a tally of 16 mousie casualties. These were tiny field mice, not large or destructive, but the numbers were unbelievable!

We had 2 bars of Verizon 3G unboosted.

Nice location for visiting Great Basin! Close to dumpsite, Lehman caves visitor center and some nice hikes a half a mile up the road that also has better access to Baker Creek. Rigs longer than 30 ft might have a problem getting around the campground and be prepared to get a few scratches from low tree branches. Water spigots, trash cans and bathrooms nicely spread throughout. If you like turkeys this is the place to see them!

Best campsite we've ever stayed at! I almost want to give Baker Creek CG a bad review so that I can keep this secret to myself, but I just can't say anything bad about this place, other than if you don't like turkeys, then this isn't the campground for you.
I've never had so much privacy in a campground before. We were there in May, during the off season (we pretty much had the park to ourselves!), so there wasn't any water turned on and the dump station was closed. BUT, at the one gas station in Baker, there is a dump station and a water spigot. In the summer the water spigots are turned on, and there is a dump station and water fill station located outside the Lehman Caves Visitor Center.
Not all of the sites at Baker Creek are big enough for an RV, but there are a few pull through sites. Bring your levelers though because the sites are not flat.
Watch out for marmots on the drive in.