Big Bend of the Colorado State Recreation Area

I'll admit, I didn't know what I was walking into when I got to Laughlin, NV. Thank goodness I booked here. The town is definitely a party vibe and casinos line the streets. This campground is quiet and away from the noise. It's not super conveniently located to things, but The Market at Laughlin is a gem. Actually one of the better grocery stores I've found in a smaller town.

Campground is good though. Level, quiet, great staff, close to the water by short drive or long walk. VERY spacious sites.

We like to come here yearly and have never been disappointed. A fire a few years ago blackened the area, but it is now greening up. Many new trees have been planted and promises to offer more shade in years to come. Quite a windstorm came thru late afternoon and during the night and did give our interior quite a layer of sand, but this is a desert area. Cell service is excellent and there is Viasat wifi available in some areas. Sites are spacious, level and spaced quite far apart. Reliable water and electric 30 and 50 amp. Several coyotes visited early in the evening and provided quite a chorus! Since we have a yearly Nevada camp pass, fee is only $10 for hookups. Ranger was at our site near immediate to collect fee, saving us a return to the entrance to pay, very convenient!

We stayed here for just one night and it was a very pleasant high desert campground with large lots clean bathrooms and shelters over picnic tables. If you take primitive lot you do not get the shelter and you have no full hook up hook ups but it's still nice. Showers cost $.25 for five minutes and we're well worth it. The park attendant said they had two beaches as well as a boat launch but we did not check them out.

We paid $35 at the kiosk with a real attendant for one night. The grounds were spacious and clean. Showers were 25 cents for five minutes. Wifi was extra.

However in the morning one of the campground hosts came around saying I owed them another $25. Considering we were only two people and two small vans I thought that was outrageous. She said "The sign clearly states a second vehicle was extra." Well if that was the case why did the guy who checked us through did not charge us for the second vehicle?

Irritated,
Vivian

On a road trip with uncertainty as to the exact day we would be able to leave, so I planned on this place (BBOC) for a first stop in the Sun Belt (terrible weather back home in WA) as it is First Come/First Served.

Previous reviews said to get here early to improve chances of getting a spot. We didn't and the sign said Campground Full. Talked to the Ranger and he said they actually have one site (#21) if we wanted to look at it first. I took it sight unseen. It is the only site with the utilities on "the wrong side" for most RVs, but a Class A might love it. We made it work, couldn't hook up to the sewer because of the configuration, but they have an excellent dump-station set up on the way out, and only here for two nights anyway.

Rangers were very nice and are ever-present. This place is a ways out from town, there are no "permanent campers" etc, so this is a very secure place.

The campsites are excellent. One ding for not being perfectly level, but knowing desert rains, I can forgive this as a necessary evil. You have a ton of room between you and the other sites. Each site has it's own concrete pic-nic table and benches under a permanent sun-shelter, and it's own BBQ grill. Everything here seems to be new.

Have not checked out the showers etc. Haven't been down to the beach. (I'll leave that for later, or for others.) But I am blown away by the RV facility, and will be back for the maximum stay. First Come/First Served has both advantages and disadvantages, you need a Plan B, but this could also BE your plan B. We shall return.

FCFS state campground. No one was at the ranger station when we checked in, they did have pay envelopes. Camp hosts on site. Some FHU sites and some dry camping sites. Potable water and dump station available near the campground entrance. Some water spigots available within the campground. 2 bathrooms and 2 showers available. Showers are 25 cents for 5 minutes. Loop with FHU sites is paved and sites are fairly large, have a covered patio, picnic table and fire ring. Some are pull through and some are back in. They do have a couple of ADA sites. Dry camping sites are on a dirt road. They have 2 “RV ONLY” sites that are more like parallel parking off the main road with a decent amount of space with a picnic table and fire ring. There are and several other back in sites. Dry camping is $20/night. FHU is $30/night. Nevada State Park Annual All Access Permit holders get free dry camping and $10 for FHU. Current post of permit is $250/year. Good Verizon signal. Able to text, search the internet, and stream videos. Some highway noise.

We were camping in our 5x8 cargo trailer camper so we didn’t need full hook ups, which is a blessing because there was only one site left with hook ups. The dry area had a few open spots, so we picked the closest one to the water. (Still a couple hundred yard walk) it is a flat walk to the beach, but a rocky climb down to the beach. Once you are on the beach, it’s beautiful! It’s only for paid visitors ( day and campers) so it’s practically empty. Especially in the winter months. The weather was amazing until our last night when the wind picked up. Everything was covered in sand. Overall, this is a very nice and quiet campground, the only negative is there is only one set of restrooms (with paid shower) for the whole campground. Depending on your site location, it can be quite a walk. Cell service was strong.

Pulled in on a Friday afternoon, worried there might not be any sites left, but there were many empty sites! The park ranger said it was a bit unusual, usually filled with snowbirds by now.

This campground is beautiful desert camping! The remains of a past fire are evident all around, but replanting has resulted in nice greenery. Sites are spaced far apart, full hookups, most have shade pavilions over a concrete picnic table.

The Colorado River isn't visible from the Campground but is about 3/4 of a mile down a flat, paved road. There are two beaches and a dock. The water is 55 degrees year round, and flows fast. North Beach has a small cove for swimming.

We really liked this campground!

Nightly fee just $10 with a Nevada Parks pass. FCFS only but the campground very rarely fills up even on weekends. The sites on the paved loop are all roomy pullthroughs with full hookup (elec, water & sewer, plus a picnic table and sunshelter). Another half-dozen sites along a gravel road south of the main loop that offer only picnic table. All sites have BBQ grills and fire rings, but ground fires and charcoal are prohibited most of the year. The campground is new and some construction still going on. A brushfire swept the area two years ago, so surrounding terrain is pretty bleak. Short walk to the river and along a wetland to the south is more scenic. Very hot April-Oct and windy the rest of the year.