Government Wash Dispersed Camping

Oh Lake Mead I love you for boondocking. You get a little busy on the weekends, but during the week it's glorious.

We drove down Government Wash Road and then over the bumpy terrain to the edge of the water. The drive was a little hairy with the trailer, but totally worth it. The view is glorious from all angles.

There's a dumpster in the parking lot, and down the road there are regular campgrounds where you can dump for free.

Cell and HDTV are fantastic.

UPDATED 11/20/2017:

Verizon: DOWNLOAD - 50.96 Mbps, UPLOAD - 9.66 Mbps
AT&T: DOWNLOAD - 47.64 Mbps, UPLOAD - 23.06 Mbps
T-Mobile: DOWNLOAD - 26.70 Mbps, UPLOAD - 6.43 Mbps

A primitive boondocking area just outside of Henderson, Nevada along the shores of Lake Mead. A bit of a bumpy road going in but nothing even a big rig can't handle. You can choose from a variety of areas to park your rig and enjoy the marvelous sunrises and sunsets. There are trash dumpsters and restrooms at the entrance and even a large parking area to unhook any toad you might have before proceeding to select a site.

Like many boondocking areas it can be quite empty or it can be quite full, the ebb and flow of life. Nights were very quiet and peaceful, the way we like it.

Our T-Mobile cell phone had 4 bars and E (EDGE) which meant we could make phone calls but email and surfing were practically non-existent.

It is only a 10 or 15 minute drive to Henderson for any of your shopping and/or dining needs but yet at Government Wash you feel miles away from civilization.

As the other reviewers have pointed out, Government Wash is good, in terms of cell reception, location, access, views and silence at night. I'll add a few other features to round out the experience.

1. This isn't just recreationalists and boondockers

We parked our rig far away from other rigs, down a stunningly bumpy non-road close to the lake. It was a relatively uninterrupted location that only one man was brave enough to settle near—a newly homeless guy who was just figuring out how to live out of his truck.

That's the thing about Vegas, and Government Wash's role within the greater human ecosystem there. Vegas is a make-or-break kind of place, and not just for tourists. A lot of people come for the types of jobs that only pay when you're young and hot, or lucky, or quick on your feet. Lose the job and it's easy to fall through the cracks--literally. A huge homeless population lives beneath the city, in empty sewer tunnels: http://www.vice.com/read/inside-the-tunnels-las-vegass-homeless-population-calls-home.

Those who don't feel like being underground end up in other places, and Government Wash is one of them. The admission booths close soon after sunset, so you can drive in and find an uninterrupted place to dwell without paying. I even saw a couple with a shopping cart rolling in late one night, which is astounding, given the distance of Lake Mead from anywhere with shopping carts.

I don't want to ascribe judgment to the situation, and honestly I'm glad that people have a safe place to go when they lose everything, be it the tunnels (rumored to be quite safe!) or BLM land. But I do want to point out that I found collapsed tents on strolls around Government Wash, and an empty syringe, and about 10 pairs of women's shoes that someone dumped, and an old Polaroid camera, and a lot of broken glass.

If you're looking for clean and safe, this place applies, but with an edge. Like all public land, it's an uncontrolled environment, and its proximity to Vegas adds an element of the unexpected, or maybe you could call it a meshing of situations, that is worth being aware of.

2. It's a launchpad for exploring beyond the Strip

This part of Lake Mead borders a couple of noteworthy areas. One is North Las Vegas. This town was gerrymandered around by politicians, so it's not actually part of Las Vegas, and that purportedly happened because of the income status of NLV's inhabitants. Whatever the backstory, it's a diverse section of town with amazing food. Adobada tacos- or fries at Tacos El Gordo, Poke Express (yep, a Hawaiian poke deli!) and M&M Soul Food Cafe are just a few examples of the incredible eats here.

The other city near(ish) to Government Wash is Henderson: upscale, fancy, well-endowed. More good restaurants here (Tokyo Boys provided excellent sushi), but what I really dug into were their rec centers. In what might be a prime example of productive municipal use of gambling proceeds, the city has built a handful of stunning rec centers and dog parks. For $5/session, I swam laps in the Henderson Multigenerational Center's massive outdoor saltwater pool, which happened to be next to a library with a delicious cafe and a regular farmer's market. Other rec centers held equal promise, if you're the type to leave Boondock Central and get your workout on.

Exhaustive story short, Government Wash is a good place to stay if you need to park for a while and don't mind being 30 minutes from anything. On the other hand, if we were just going to stay for a couple days, I'd front for the Oasis RV Park and be near things.

We have been here for a week and have enjoyed our stay. We arrived the first night at sundown and did not venture too far down the gravel road. In the morning we moved to a great spot with a nice view and no one nearby. The road we are on has a bit of traffic with people hauling boats down to the lake. By a lot it might be about 10 or 15 vehicles in a day.

The big pluses are the great views, dispersed sites and great cell coverage. It is also nice having dumpsters and no fees. The minuses are the road can be really rough so a slow go if you don't want to beat your rig to hell and there are a lot of broken bottles and some other trash around the area.

We stayed here during January. The weather cool mid 50s - 60s. The location is wonderful with lots of space between sites. There was hardly anyone there when we visited. This is a state park so if you don't have an annual pass it'll cost you $20 for a week pass.

As best I can tell your 15 days basically starts from when a Park Ranger comes by and takes your license plate. Once they do that they will come by at the end of the 15 days to check and see if you're still there. So it's best not to overstay.

Easy access (dirt road, but easy to drive), dump stations are close (at the paid camps in the park), great signal... If you have a National Parks pass, you can't beat the price (free)!

Quiet location with easy access to the lake. It's busy, but clean. Lake and mountain views are wonderful.

Not much for shade, but if you are solar powered like I am, there is plenty of exposure.

Gravel road and sites at Government Wash but there are tons of sites with huge areas for the biggest of rigs. It is a bit dusty at times due to all of the gravel but otherwise it's a nice area. Beautiful views all around and easy access to get on Lake Mead or get into Vegas.

Really enjoyed this spot. Was worried at first due to the report of being crowded and maybe scary characters but this was not my experience. I had a great spot that overlooked the water with mountains in the distance. I had good cellular for work (AT&T was more dependable than Verizon which worked but seemed to go in and out). Real close to lake put in to cool off or Kayak. About 20 minutes to Henderson for access to shopping.

Plenty of space between my neighbors. I did notice people who drove in and slept nightly then left each morning but had no issues.

Lots of dumpsters everywhere. Free access to filtered water through the water fountain at Las Vegas Bay ranger station. Free dump and water for RV at campground at Las Vegas Bay.

I have an annual pass so didn't have to pay an entry fee to come in and out. Nearby is Valley of Fire Park (very beautiful), great hikes around the lake, hikes to Hot springs.. so many activities in this area.

End of October and very busy on a Monday. We like some privacy and that doesn't exist here. There are a few nice sites, but most are right on the access roads and dusty. Its probably the closest free spot to Vegas, Hoover Dam, etc. NPS entrance fee or pass is required.

So as our summary suggests we did get stuck with our Ford e350 with the airstream in tow. We ended up meeting Brian (founder of this app) and he offered us a tow (destiny or coincidence you decide) We ventured down the gravel road which was fine, but towards the bottom it turns to deep sand with a deceiving rocky surface. Within a few minutes of being stuck Brian offered a lending hand and had us out it no time. I read other reviews saying that it’s crowded - we can definitely see other campers, but we have plenty of space. Also because there are others around our problem was quickly solved. Many other places we have stayed recently would have led to tears and probable death... joking but it would have been a much different story elsewhere. With another few nights planned here we are excited to explore the beautiful lake and seemingly endless amount trails