We camped at Dayton-Virginia City BLM Nevada at the end of April 2020 for three nights.
Our Previous Stop: Twenty Mile Beach Walker Lake Nevada – Camping Review & Info
Our Next Stop: Welcome Station RV Park Wells Nevada Camping Review & Info
Campground Info
Location: 39.222665, -119.638591
Cost: Free
Camping Limit: 14 Day
Amenities: None
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Essentials Nearby
Town: Mound House, NV – 2 miles
Gas Station: Maverik – 5.6 miles
Dump Station & Potable Water: Maverik – 5.6 miles (Free Dump Station & Potable Water)
Grocery Store: General Store– 2 miles
Cell Phone Service
Verizon – Good
AT&T– Good
Nearby Attractions
Dayton, NV – 3 miles
Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory – 1 mile
Carson City, NV – 8.5 miles
Virginia City, NV – 7.6 miles
Lake Tahoe – 25 miles
Walker Lake Nevada – 96 miles
Yosemite National Park – 128 miles
Camping At Dayton-Virginia City BLM Near Carson City Nevada
The great thing about Dayton-Virginia City BLM is it’s a large area with lots of campsites that are easy to pull or back into.
It’s also a bonus that you aren’t far from some cool places like Virginia City, Carson City, and Lake Tahoe.
Unfortunately, like many BLM camping areas near towns and cities there’s lots of broken glass and people driving around most of the day and late into the night.
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Google Maps took us down the wrong road at first to make sure you turn off at the exact coordinates listed above.
We ended up following a dirt road about 300 feet which ended with a large gate that said private property.
There was nowhere to turn around so we had to back out which wasn’t fun with our 32-foot travel trailer.
The correct entrance has a few signs that say free camping and you can see trailers and RVs from the highway.
There are lots of small spots near the highway but if you keep driving down the main dirt road you will find campsites that are big rid friendly.
The main dirt road and free camping end at a large gated area that is private property.
If you get to this point you may as well turn around because there’s no more camping past this point even though the dirt road continues around it and eventually connects with the road that leads to Virginia City.
We took this road with our truck for fun and it gets rough so I wouldn’t suggest trying it with an RV or car.
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About a mile from the highway there is a road that turns to the left.
When we were camped there in April 2020 two abandoned RVs were taking an amazing pull-through site.
We ended up backing into a small spot just past the power lines.
People were camping under the power lines so if you can’t find an open spot you can always camp anywhere under the power lines.
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There’s a small pond you can see in the picture above.
We camped to the south of the pond, but we noticed some nice pull-through sites to the north of it.
If we were to camp there again we would take one of those spots.
What It’s Like To Camp At Dayton-Virginia City BLM
When we first pulled in, we planned to camp at Dayton-Virginia City BLM for a week but we ended up spending only three nights.
The biggest reason was mostly due to the noise.
Every single night people were speeding around right next to our trailer keeping us up.
This is common for BLM area’s near towns and we knew it wouldn’t be peaceful, but it didn’t seem worth it to stay there any longer.
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It was nice and warm in April 2020, but the wind blew pretty hard at night and pretty much all day as well.
My Camping Review Of Dayton-Virginia City BLM
If you want a free place to stay for a few nights near Carson City, Virginia City, and Lake Tahoe then this area is perfect.
The roads aren’t too bad getting in there and there are lots of places to camp.
If you are looking for a peaceful area to get away from it all for a few weeks, then this may not be the best place for that.
Aside from the nearby towns and Lake Tahoe, there isn’t much to do in the area and there are a ton of people driving around all of the time.
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If we ever want to visit Carson City Nevada again, we will probably stay at Dayton-Virginia City BLM again but only for a few nights.
What can I say, it was pretty ok for a place so close to a city but it’s not somewhere I would go to enjoy nature.
Have any questions about Dayton-Virginia City BLM Nevada? Leave a comment below.
