RV CAMP AND CABINS, GLENNS FERRY, ID

Our Opinion: Neutral.  A comfortable, mellow “mom and pop” stopover between Twin Falls and Boise.

Date of Stay: May 12 and 13, 2012.

Weather During Stay: Warm and sunny with pleasantly cool nights.

Sites: 14 pull-through sites, half of which are FHU (2 of these have both 30 and 50 amp, the remainder 30 amps) and half of which are W and E only (two of which have 50 amps).  Our site, number 6, had a new cable TV connection; I’m not sure how many others had cable TV.

Sites are level gravel, separated by grass lawns.  No picnic tables.  A dump station is available, as are bathrooms and showers.  The laundry room has one washer and one dryer and a small exchange library. Trees are scattered here and there in the campground, with tall trees on the perimeter.

Rate: We paid the Passport America rate, $15/night for 30 or 50 amps FHU.  Excellent price.

Phone/radio/TV: Verizon worked for phone and aircard.  No obstacles for TV satellite in our site, but others - with trees - might have an issue.  Some channels were available on the air antenna, four of them excellent Idaho PBS.  No local NPR.  Cable TV available at site 6 and possibly others, for an extra fee of $1.50/day.

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain: Located at around 2,500 ft., this small park is sandwiched between the main route to the nearby Three Islands Crossing State Park and a railroad track.  Flat and green, with views of neighboring homes and passing trains. 

Lighting/Noise: No obtrusive lighting at night.  This park is very near to a railroad track and train noise is noticeable.  During our two night stay, all horn blowing was done at a distance.  We both were surprised by how little the trains bothered us and how well we slept.  Surprisingly, we found the traffic on the nearby road more disturbing - but still not bad at night.

Favorite Sites: The biggest difference in sites is proximity to either the railroad or the road, and whether you need 50 amps or not.  If so, choose sites 5 or 6 (FHU) or 8 or 9 (W/E).

Hiking/Walking: You can wander off down the gravel road by the railroad, or drive to the nearby state park. 

Comments:  During our stay, Craig, the owner, was in residence and frequently working on his small, tidy campground.  Several sites were occupied by what appeared to be long-term rigs, but with none of the junk that often accumulates.  We found our stay relaxed and enjoyable.  Small Glenns Ferry, located at a strategic crossing of the Snake River, played an important role on the Oregon Trail; we enjoyed our visit to the state park‘s Oregon Trail interpretive center.

SACRAMENTO PASS RECREATION AREA SCENIC PULLOUT, NEAR BAKER, NV

Our Opinion: Rave, if you don’t want/need services.  Free, convenient, quiet spot to overnight or visit Great Basin National Park.

Date of Stay: October 15, 2010.

Weather During Stay:  In the 70’s when we arrived as the sun set, dropping to 40 for an overnight low.

Site Description:  This very large, scenic BLM pullout does triple duty as a picnic area, informal campground, and the trailhead for the Sacramento Pass trail, open to hikers, bikers, and horses.  It is located around 8 miles west of Hwy 487, the road that heads south to Baker and to Great Basin National Park from Hwy 50.  Our GPS shows the coordinates as N 39.12105, W 114.30559.  The pullout is on the south side of the highway, at Osceola Road (CR-35, gravel).

The pullout and loop roads are dirt/gravel.  A pit toilet and trash cans are located near the entrance, along with a couple of picnic tables and shade trees.  From there, a loop road climbs uphill, with large pullouts equipped with heavy, old picnic tables and sloped shade/wind shelters - 5 in all - against the very scenic backdrop of Wheeler Peak in an area of sage and evergreens. 

Roads are wide, well-graded, and easily negotiated with a big rig. Besides the sites with picnic tables, there is additional space available for parking that could be used if the shelter areas were all occupied.   In addition, a slightly more primitive road continues uphill from the back of the upper level, with another set of pit toilets and additional parking around 1/2 mile farther (better for smaller rigs).

Rate:   Free.  No hookups.  No potable water.  No dump station.

Phone/radio/TV:  No Verizon service for phone or aircard.  No obstacles for satellite TV dish.  No NPR stations, or any other radio stations!

Elevation/landscape/terrain: This scenic pullout is located along Hwy 50, “The Loneliest Highway in America”, at 6,720 feet - a few miles east of the summit of Sacramento Pass.  As I write this, looking south towards Wheeler Peak (in Great Basin National Park) in mid-October, there is a blanket of snow on the mountaintop (13,000+ feet).  We are in rocky, rolling foothills, with a fairly thick covering of short, chubby pines, junipers and sagebrush.  Very, very appealing.

Lighting/noise:  VERY dark once the half-moon set.  The extreme quiet was broken very infrequently by a passing vehicle on Hwy 50.

Favorite Sites:  They’re all good!  We’d pick whichever open site was most level.

Hiking/Walking:  The Sacramento Pass trail made a wonderful walk in the morning.  Easy to moderate.  Several loops provide hikes of varying lengths; we hiked 4 miles.

Comments:  We’ve visited remote Great Basin National Park twice before and have found that sites suitable for big motor homes are very limited.  After we almost torqued our windshield out on our last visit, we decided this Scenic Pullout looked like a better alternative (it is a 15 mile drive to the national park from here).  It looks like the other campers have the same idea – 3 sites were occupied when we arrived.  Though we are moving on after an overnight, this would be a fine place for longer stay while exploring the park.

BEVERLY HILLS RV RANCH, WELLS, NEVADA

This RV Park is now closed.  Too bad.

RYE PATCH RECREATION AREA, RYE PATCH, NEVADA

Our Opinion: Rave. What an unexpected oasis. Tall trees, river, and lots of space. An excellent overnight for us. This photo shows the view from our campsite of a bend in the Humboldt River.

Date of Stay: June 12th, 2008; updated to reflect increased fees during our stay on 5/7/2012.

Weather During Stay: Blue skies, sunny, high 80 degrees, low 36. Warmed up quickly when the sun came up.

Sites: A total of 46 sites divided between two campgrounds. No hookups. Several water spigots in each campground, but not at each site. Deluxe dump station to service both campgrounds.

The campground on the west side at the boat ramp is flat, graveled, with short, side-by-side sites, very level. Comfort station with private bathrooms and private shower rooms (coin operated). Big rigs would extend into the very wide loop road, which would not be a problem, but privacy is limited. Very limited shade in this campground, as you can see from this photo.

We stayed in the Riverside campground (next photo), down a steep, paved road just west of the dam. Lots of big trees and river frontage. Plenty of trash receptacles. Pit toilets and a separate comfort station with private bathrooms (flush toilet and a sink) and a coin operated shower.

Sites vary in size, many are long enough for a 40’ rig. Sites are fairly level; each site has a picnic table. Tall trees may interfere with roof-mounted satellites in many of the sites. Roads and spurs are paved; this photo shows the loop road through the campground.

Rate: $14/night.

Phone/radio/TV: No Verizon signal in lower Riverside Campground. Faint Verizon signal in some parts of the upper areas of the park. Didn‘t check TV antenna and didn‘t turn on the TV satellite. No local NPR station - in fact, only one (religious) radio station at all!

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain: Rye Patch Dam was built on the Humboldt River in 1935 to create Rye Patch Reservoir. The reservoir is situated at 4,100’ in a landscape of dry scrub and badlands, with arid mountains in the near distance. Views are of the lake or river, tall trees in the lower campground, and the surrounding dry mountains.

Lighting/Noise: No lighting in the lower campground at night; didn’t check the upper one. The only noise will come from other campers, and the occasional distance wail of a train. Very, very nice.

Favorite Sites: We preferred the lower, Riverside Campground because of the tall cottonwoods and privacy in the sites. We had a nicely shaded site on the riverbank, site 10 (this photo); we also liked site 22. Many of the sites here are suitable for us. All sites are first-come, first-served.

Hiking/Walking: Walk the loops of the campground, a short trail from a picnic area to the boat launch ramp, or just stroll the road.

Comments: Just a few miles off of I-80, between Lovelock and Winnemucca, Nevada, this pretty campground was a nice surprise for us. Besides the two distinct campground areas, camping is allowed in several very large, flat gravel “overflow” areas with picnic tables that would make good rally sites. At least one of these, in the lower Riverside campground with river frontage, can be reserved. Lots of birds - we saw pelicans, herons, kildeer, swallows and all sorts of water birds - and welcome shade in the campground. This made an excellent overnight stop. 

Update: During our visit of May 7, 2012, we camped in the large, gravel overflow lot on the right side of the west end of the dam so we wouldn't have to unhook the Jeep for a back-in site.  Very quiet (few other campers were in the park) with a great view.