Dispersed camping in nevada

[Gabriel Capuchino]

Hi, my fiancée and a friend of ours want to do some dispersed camping in Nevada along the Colorado River. The thing is we do not really know where to go. Nelson, Nevada seems like the most logical place to go, but it is over crowded during this time of the year. So I was wondering if anyone knows a place that is quiet along this part of the Colorado River, as well as safe, and legal. Thank you.

Note: This is my first post and I would have introduced myself, but did not see a place to do so. Also, sorry if this is not post in the correct place.

-Gabe

[renodesertfox]

Re: Dispersed camping in nevada

Howdy Gabe, welcome to CF! I used to live in Vegas, now Reno and Nelson, NV is never crowded. There are a few people that like the drive down to river in the spring for flower displays. There are also plenty of places to disperse camp south of Nelson before you get to Lake Mojave. The Colorado seems almost like a lake is this section but I assure you it is not.

First off, get a map "Nevada Road & Recreation Atlas" from http://www.benchmarkmaps.com. That will be the easiest way for you to find your way around the dustier and rougher roads in the entire state, and southern NV is represented very well! Without the map it is easy to get lost, there are many intersecting roads. However all the entrances to the coves along the Colorado are well-marked. Some require 4x4 for the rocky terrain and deep sand-like conditions. Once with map in hand it's a good idea to do a day trip and drive through the area getting a feel for the lay of the land. Also mark way-points with a GPS (we didn't have one when we went there. Not even a cell phone!

This last weekend in February 2009 we headed down towards the Eldorado Mountains and primitive camped at a spot called Fire Mountain Cove. I am going to have to purchase a GPS meter of some sort, since that would seem to be the more modern way and telling somebody exactly where we were at. Anyway, there is only room at the cove for one campsite and we were it. We arrived on Friday about 3 PM. On Saturday, there were five other vehicles that came to our spot and asked us how long we were staying and I told them we were staying until we were done. There is a 15 day limit on staying there and only one fellow asked us when did we get here. This was my wife's first trip at primitive camping and she really enjoyed it! And she told me that from here on out we are only going to primitive camp...Yippee! Of course, some will argue concerning Big Gas Grill that this isn't primitive camping, but for us it is. We also had Mr. Heater and used that to take the chill out of our tent when we snuggled in. We kayaked a little and just generally relaxed alot. Thanks for looking.

There are other coves on the Nevada side to camp at with more room! Just gotta get out there and look. There is also plenty of dispersed spots on the Arizona side too, but the drive over the Black Mountains is closer to 50 miles one way in. Good luck, please ask more questions if you want. There are plenty of great dispersed camping areas all over southern NV and AZ, lower CA. It's always nice when someone asks about the areas I'm familiar with.

Once you have gathered all your stuff, then just go and take your chances on finding a spot. We have never, ever had a problem finding a spot to disperse camp in southern Nevada. Once you get a couple of miles off the pavement, chance are slim to none that you'll see anyone planning on camping is such a beautiful wasteland as southern Nevada. If you can get out there on a Monday - Thursday you will not have a problem at all. The closer it gets to a weekend and the weather is good and not windy, chances change. But we have never had a problem camping out over a weekend unless it's just an overnight: Saturday to Sunday. That's like pitching camp and striking camp before you get to settle-in!