BLM Water Canyon Recreation Area | Established Campground

April 7th, 2024 by strategicyesterday57

Super muddy after the snow storm - didn’t want to get stuck so ended up staying down the road at Bloody Shins

April 2nd, 2024 by Van

Wonderful free campground, trash, toilet, fire pit and table ! we recommended this amazing place 😍

March 23rd, 2024 by bfeldman63

Had a lovely night. Lee driving up the road, many camp sites. Snowed overnight (March). Woke to winter wonderland.

March 15th, 2024 by koreanmetallurgist25

This place was really nice!
A lot of people checking out the place but campsites are pretty private and away from eachother.
You can’t park your car into the campsite but u can just park next to it
There’s a creek, snow
windy during the night but it calms down during the day & sun comes out !
There’s a dumpster and toilet but no showers

November 10th, 2023 by Randy Charlton

Great BLM property that offers free camping spots for 3 days (with picnic tables and fire pits) that are spaced out very nicely. We stayed in site 4 that was pretty level and very spacious for our Class B Van. We averaged 2 bars of ATT cell service. That might get worse the farther up the road you go. There are several trails to explore, and restrooms are available. It is beautiful, quiet, and so dark at night! We will definitely visit here again.

October 22nd, 2023 by clackamasone

Nice place. Very popular on a Saturday in October

October 13th, 2023 by LivingUnderARock333

This is an awesome spot.
There are actual campsites on the road with picnic tables, garbage cans and bathrooms.
BUT
The best spots are off the dirt trails ontop of the hills.
There is one leading to the left and one to the right. My 2wd E350 had no issues.
Amazing views over the town.
I highly recommend.
@LivingUnderARock333 - YouTube

October 1st, 2023 by knjmcdonald

Did not expect to see aspens. We got a mostly level site (5) that backs up to the creek. Very private and we get 2 bars of TMobile and Starlink. Pit toilet is about 0.3 mile down the hill.

July 24th, 2023 by watt.robin2

Dispersed camping. Larger RVs can get here, but few level places. Bathroom, a few picnic tables, and a restroom.

July 18th, 2023 by paulagk

Great spot! stayed in #4 and has plenty of space for a big trailer. More than enough for our pop-up. We arrived around 7pm on a Tuesday and only a few spots were taken.
Pit toilets were up and down the road from us so about 1/4mile walk. Crickets driving up and in other sites but not one in this site.Nice and shady picnic table and fire pit if you are tent camping. You can hear the creek in this site. T-mobile works fine. Definitely recommend

July 17th, 2023 by wmbove

Quite spot short drive from 80.About a 10 mon drive off exit buy worth the drive sites with table and bbq and fire ring..

July 15th, 2023 by Stephen Duffy

Pretty much as others have reported. Still free. Good campsites with shade, dumpsters, bathrooms, and giant crickets. Did not see a dump station here, but it's possible we missed it. Weekends are busy with off-roaders.

June 30th, 2023 by murray1223

This was a cute little spot. It would have been pretty good except for the Mormon Crickets. They were everywhere. The campground was full, but someone let us put up our tent in their spot so we could sleep. Crickets were jumping on our tent all night long, and it was pretty windy.

June 25th, 2023 by instagram.com/migratory_animals

All sites were taken on a Tuesday, but the sheriff’s were cleaning out a site and having the vehicle towed, so we snuck in there. But then, we were overwhelmed by Mormon crickets. They were everywhere! We decided to leave. I read they come in four year cycles, so good luck!

June 15th, 2023 by Nick Downey

What a great campsite! We stayed at #9. Big Mormon Crickets (that's what the BLM ranger told us). Loved the area. Beautiful sunset and a rushing creek right behind the site .

June 13th, 2023 by nelldld

10 sites with picnic table and fire ring. Pit toilet(clean) and dumpsters. Was busy for a Tuesday. 9 sites full for the night. Cleared out in am. Good, safe and quiet overnight.

March 7th, 2023 by lizards160

Great t mobile service, snowy drive up and a bit slippery on my rwd van.

March 2nd, 2023 by krg281

Paved road turned into nice dirt one heading up hill. Just a little snow but no 4wd needed.
Campsite #1 looked the most level but it was occupied so we stayed at #2.
Had to use a few blocks to get level.
Great snow capped Mountain View’s all around.
Great for a quick night while passing through Winnemucca

December 5th, 2022 by delightfulsenator12

This was the last stop of our trip. Wonderful creek sound to sleep by. The only bad part was the tree dripped sap in our dogs and our car.

October 6th, 2022 by blair.elkins89

Great campground! We arrived around 9pm on a Thursday night, and was fortunate enough to score site 7. We quickly noticed a handful of vehicles pass by all to turn back around. There is a total of 10 free spots, with a maximum stay of 3 days. Pit toilets, fire pit, grill, picnic tables, and dumpsters are available. Very busy on weekends from fellow campers, site seers, and off road vehicles. The Ranger stopped by and gave us some brochures and kids activity books. He also said our site (#7) has the additional hidden campground.

August 22nd, 2022 by thedragonwagon.me

Quiet, scenic free campsite with a 3-day limit every 30 days. We grabbed the first shady site which had a picnic table and fire ring. Lots of biting flies now (August) and the stream is dried up. No mosquitoes.There's a short hiking/disc golf tail. Great place to walk your dog. We heard coyotes far off so be vigilant, especially with small dogs. Saw at least 7 young deer there. Pit toilets. Great dark area for star gazing. The spaces are far apart so you never see your neighbors unless they are passing on the road. Fills up quickly. We saw many campers come around sunset and turn back (presumably due to no space left). Spotty Verizon 1 - 3 bars up 1.9 Mbps in areas.

August 2nd, 2022 by Arius Green

Giant crickets. Other than that, it's a nice place to stop and rest.

July 22nd, 2022 by wongchongwood

What a great find! Arrived around midnight on a Friday hoping for the best and what luck! A nice spot near the creek with a clean pit toilet nearby.

July 17th, 2022 by Nelwyn Adventures

Holy sh*t, those giant crickets! We rolled in around 10.30pm and the gravel road was covered in them! It wasn't just one spot on the road... it was pretty much the entire stretch leading to the camping areas. This is no exaggeration, they were all over the place. Good for you if this doesn't bother you. We respectfully retreated.

May 22nd, 2022 by hosongster

Lovely spots next to a running creek. Spotty Verizon service. Be warned the mid and upper campground are closed May 24-26, 2022.

May 20th, 2022 by rstackon

Real nice, spread out campsites. We stayed at the end of the middle section, which had a nice stand of aspens and a pit toilet. Lots of traffic here during the day, but quiet at night. Arrived on a Thursday evening and found only two spots open. Some sites are pull through and some are back in, and a few tent sites. There were three pit toilets (very clean) scattered along the area. Very peaceful with the stream running by our site also.

May 2nd, 2022 by steveandnoelle.com

What a beautiful place!! Close to town. Dumpster, bathrooms, covered picnic table, BBQ grill and 2 good bars AT&T. A dump right at site1. And views to die for. Highly recommend this awesome campground.

April 30th, 2022 by catkehlani

Very nice spot to stay, beautiful scenery, bathrooms are clean, and no crickets this time of year! Most of the campsites are right along the road and there are cars going by fairly often, but it died down significantly at night.

January 21st, 2022 by jenn

Gate is currently closed due to ice and snow conditions. There are a few parking spots outside the gate for an overnight.

December 14th, 2021 by mcnandez09

This is an excellent spot! I only wish I had visited before a wind storm and then an atmospheric river and a cold front were coming in. That’s what you get when you attempt to travel in December I suppose. But I would 11/10 go back some day because it was really nice when I showed up and I was looking forward to riding my bike around and checking out the creek.

October 1st, 2021 by khettler1

Nice BLM informal campground. Stayed here a night. We arrived just after sunset and all the spots were full. We found a little dispersed spot with a fire pit. The leaves were just changing on the trees in the drainage!

July 3rd, 2021 by dodester89436

Neat area that we will come back too. Got in early enough on a Friday before holiday weekend. Had a nice rain shower to cool down a hot summer day so evening was pleasant. Of course Mormon crickets were plentiful but not too much of a nuisance at camp. Appears to be a hiking/biking trail along creek, not used a lot but again more opportunities to explore.

June 28th, 2021 by alorraine1011

13 free campsites. creek runs along all camps, super nice. 3 night max, pit toilets. stayed 2 nights. awesome little spot !!

June 23rd, 2021 by kyriemulkey

Okay this place is stunning! We almost didn’t camp here because we were a little disturbed by the swarm of Mormon crickets. But walking around and doing stuff deterred them from coming near us. The bathroom is super clean. The bbq pit is huge! Plenty of table space. I woke up to some gentle mooing of the cows about an hour after sunrise at 66° and sunny. The view from this site is spectacular! Overall I’m so happy we stayed here. We had so much privacy here too!

May 31st, 2021 by www.AFewMoreMiles.com

FANTASTIC as others have said. We went all the way up to campsite 10 (others were taken already at 4pm on a Monday night). Great shade and creek at the site. Our toddlers enjoyed watching the Mormon crickets. The gate to the upper section (4x4 trail) is closed November 1 - June 1. Many days visitors in the afternoon, but by nightfall it was completely quiet and peaceful.

May 26th, 2021 by leandermoritz

Nice capm sites. Come earlier than later if posible because there are only 10 sites and they fill up quick.

January 19th, 2021 by intrepidotterfiber

Nice site and decent road. Some hefty speed bumps and ice coating the road at the top. It was worth it though, for a spot near the trickling stream and total privacy.

October 16th, 2020 by cooke.np

Above Winnemucca in the hills. Beautiful view! Free camping along Water Creek. Bathrooms. Some Verizon service.

September 19th, 2020 by The Olive Van

Nice spot for a night or two, the campground does have a 3 day limit. It gets dark and chilly earlier since some of the sites are down in the valley. Restrooms were decent but spaced far apart from some of the sites (i.e. not every site has a toilet). For a free site it was good!

July 28th, 2020 by diana.c.miller

The area is open again! It was crowded so all sites were taken (this on a weeknight in July), but we could pull into a large area by one of the bathrooms just to spend the night.

The Mormon cricket population is absurd rn but they didn’t bother us :)

July 24th, 2020 by instagram.com/willslawrence/

Open and surprisingly treey and shady allong some water.
Seems to be no longer closed because of COVID-19... almost every spot is full today.

July 15th, 2020 by vanlife

This place is open again! It has an abundance of huge black crickets so we decided not to stay here but for anyone who wants to know, it’s open again :)

June 19th, 2020 by l.black4

We tried to stay here but it was still closed

April 16th, 2020 by mesaridge

closed due to the coronaviruse

April 16th, 2020 by mesaridge

closed due to the coronaviruse

March 22nd, 2020 by aevans_xo

What a great campsite! Nice trails, views, running water, and even toilets. For free!! Definitely recommend stopping here

February 13th, 2020 by Marcella Branniff

Great spot, as everyone has mentioned. There’s a nice hike up the canyon (take a right as the fork in the trail) from the furthest campsite in. Beautiful!

November 7th, 2019 by Wilde Weite Welt

Several campsites without fee in Water Canyon Recreation Area near Winnemucca with shaded picnic tables and a pit toilet. Big distance between the sites, few traffic along the gravel road leading further up Water Canyon. We had a quiet night. 4G cell phone reception.

September 4th, 2019 by elodie.fetiveau

nice free campground not far from the town and i-80.
pit restroom, table and BBQ.
good network coverage (Google fi).
some truck traffic in the morning

August 27th, 2019 by catmelone

Awesome spot! They have bbq pits and tables tucked in by the river. Keep picking up your MOOP (aka trash!) folks!

August 21st, 2019 by effrider

Sagebrush country. Nice little valley just outside Winnemucca. Take Hanson St SW to the end.

July 27th, 2019 by zacavero

The place is off the road about 4 miles and it is amazing! It is quiet, clean and private. There were hundreds of oversized crickets everywhere outside on the ground. What a nice place to stay.

June 5th, 2019 by annluhtala

Just beautiful. Located about 4 miles south of downtown Winnemucca off of Hanson Road. There are ten designated camping areas along the dirt road. They get more treed and scenic as you continue up the road. You can stay free for up to three days. Pit toilets, picnic tables and fire pits along with garbage dumpsters.

May 27th, 2019 by OutdoorFamily

Great area close to 80. Nature interp trail AND frisbee golf!

May 13th, 2019 by contact

Beautiful, clean, quiet camping adjacent to stream and trail network.

March 30th, 2019 by youtube.epicfamilyroadtrip.com

This is a gorgeous quiet spot by a babbling brook surrounded it in amazing scenery. It’s free, there’s about 10 spots first come first serve and it’s conveniently just outside of the town of Winnemucca Nevada.

December 20th, 2018 by Daddio

Awesome free camping spot for the night! Full LTE with Verizon. Close to town. Very impressed!

October 18th, 2018 by darrinchristy

beautiful setting and very clean safe feeling area

October 18th, 2018 by darrinchristy

We stayed in the 3rd or 4th spot up from the entrance. Absolutely beautiful free campsite that was level, easy to access, & quiet. Had a nice fire pit and picnic table, alongside a nice creek.

July 13th, 2018 by rshrauner

Great stop not far off I-80. Simple. Basic. Nice campsites. And, FREE! 👍

June 1st, 2018 by candice.moyroud

Nice place but we arrive at 7pm and it was really really busy.
We were Lucky to find a place

April 27th, 2018 by KK

Lovely tent & vehicle campsites maintained by the local Rotary Club. Clean pit toilets. Even grey water dump valves beside several sites. Easy to get to with any vehicle. Views of the city.

September 30th, 2017 by 1950woodie

This place is very nice clean. Keep going up for nice campsites in the trees 🌲.

September 2nd, 2017 by adrift-at-last

Very established campsites along the main road. Lots of fire warnings, though fire pits exist. 3 day maximum. 1-3 bars cell service with Verizon.

June 26th, 2017 by Stoic Adventures

Great

May 23rd, 2017 by facebook.Roadtrip.Steph.Jimmy

perfect place, as describe!

April 10th, 2017 by Live.Travel.Play.

Free. A few sites with picnic tables, fire rings and grill. Pit toilet nearby.