Upper Lehman Creek Campground

Wonderful spot to stay to explore Great Basin NP. The creek splits thru the campground so it’s hard not to hear the creek at night. It seems everything has been reconfigured and newly paved from what you see on google maps. We stayed in site 20 above the day use area and trailhead.

We loved this campground - but bring your leveling blocks...

If you are in a tent I can’t imagine a better spot than #24.

I was apprehensive after reading reviews for this campground about how unlevel the sites were. We travel and sleep in our 17 foot van without leveling blocks so we need a level site. Yes, some were not level (but many of those were tent sites) but we found many that were just fine! Site 1 was very level (and could accommodate a large RV). Probably the cleanest pit toilets I have ever seen! Many sites had lots of privacy between them. We were there at the end of April so many roads and hiking trails were not yet open so we toured Lehman Caves which I highly recommend (reserve ahead of time at Recreation.gov). All tours were booked for a Monday in April (when we booked day before, there were still plenty of openings). Limited or no cell service.

Very few of us in the park as it was early in the season. Besides, it's a little out of the way. You don't get to this park unless you have it as a destination or happen to be driving by on Highway 50. We had snow one day while hiking to higher elevations 8000-9500 ft). Sites were very nice with clean vault toilets. Bought wood in town. Good picnic tables and fire rings. Most sites were fairly well separated, wooded with had level pads for rv/trailers. One of the best sites we found while walking around was a tent site that was located between two creeks (site 24). I could imagine hearing the background water trickle during the night. Definitely do the Lehman cave tour.

This campground has many different sites, and generally the sites were level side to side, but needed some adjusting front to back. There are creeks running on each side that make for a pleasant background noise. The campsites felt pretty private with the vegetation and layout. There is a great trail off the campsite that leads up the mountain (about 3.2 miles in one direction). It’s an easy hike and quite nice. Then you can take more hikes at the top of that hike to the glaciers or around the alpine lakes.

Unlike the Baker campsite, the road to it and road around the campsite is easily maneuvered.

We got very lucky. Arrived on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of July only to be told by the friendly volunteer at the visitor center that there was NO availability at either Lower or Upper Lehman Creek. They were sending people 20 miles back to the BLM campground at Sacramento Pass. Whispering Elms, the only private campground in Baker, was also full. There are volunteers at both campgrounds working walkie-talkies reporting back to the visitor center. The volunteer rangers were plentiful, knowledgable and very friendly. We drove up the hill anyway to check out the campsites and just as we were pulling in someone was unexpectedly pulling out. Who says nothing goes right in 2020? While paved, the sites are not particularly level. There's the perfect amount of foliage between neighbors, and the creek makes a very pleasant and constant noise throughout the campground. A few excellent hikes leave right out of the campground, including the hike to Wheeler Peak and/or the Glacier. We happened to camp here on the night of a new moon and under a cloudless sky. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Absolutely breathtaking views of satellites, meteors, the milky way, and Jupiter and its moons.

Getting a campsite: The process for getting a site was tricky. We arrived on a mid-September Monday at 1:00 and all campgrounds in the park were full. We camped outside of the park for the night. I returned at 7:45 the next morning and the land rush for sites was already on. I ended up asking site-by-site what time were leaving so I could be prepared with gear and a site registration the instant the site was vacated. We stayed five nights and watched the same procedure every morning. The sites seem to turn over fast between 7:30 and 9:30 AM daily and weren't vacant for more than a minute or two at most. There is quite a bit of dispersed camping near the park.

The campsites: Wow. The place is beautiful. Quite a few of the sites are right on Lehman creek. Like within a few feet. The sites are very well spaced with enough foliage between to give a real sense of privacy. Water is available at numerous places in the campground, and is very nice, tasty, mountain water. Restrooms are some of the cleanest we've seen. Roadways and site parking spaces are all paved. Campsites are very well maintained. Ours (#6) was level for parking, but crowded with a 22' trailer and Toyota Tacoma pickup. We had to get pretty creative. There were plenty of sites that were smaller yet. What a bargain at $15 per night, or half that with a senior pass.

Cell service: Verizon was barely adequate for roaming voice or plain text only. I had hoped to work while there, but even with a booster antenna, Verizon was zero. Folks I talked to in the campground said the only reliable data service in the campground was T-Mobile. I checked for a Verizon signal in several other places on that side of the park during the stay and found the same thing. The upside is that I spent more time exploring the park.

Activities: the hiking and biking are great, but be prepared for steep grades. Cycling up the Wheeler Peak road is breathtaking, in views and effort. It is a real quad-buster. Low vehicle traffic makes cycling really pleasurable.

We got lucky and found a site when we drove here. Clean and quiet sites with good separation between. Cell service was spotty but we got coverage. Dry camping here but generators are allowed.

Absolutely a beautiful campground!!!
Warning for RV campers!!
Our camper is 24 feet long and we had to to use a lot of levelers on our site, we barely fit. There are only 2 other sites 1 & 3 are the only other 2 sites for a 19 foot plus camper or RV. The rest of the sites are short and very Un-level!!!
Other than that it is a fabulous campground!!
Sporadic Verizon cell coverage!

We had the best site in the campground as far as size. Site #10 is actually a double site so we had lots of room. But very unlevel - we could not get our rig leveled even with our blocks. So refrigerator didn't work the whole time we were here. Other than that, the campground and bathrooms are clean and ample trash receptacles. Beautiful setting in the forest but we also got good solar exposure. Love this park! And surprisingly good cell service!

Stayed a night at site 20 beside the creek. About 10 steps from parking to the picnic table/fire ring, and a few more to the tent pad. Great white noise from the creek to drown out any outside distractions.