Crawdad Cove Dispersed Camping

Stayed: 5/31/2022
Cost: FREE
Site: ~2.7 miles from Highway 167, overlooking Lake Mead
Vehicle: GMC Terrain
Equipment: Tent
AT&T and T-Mobile: Slow but useable

This was a somewhat challenging dirt road. 4x4 maybe not required, but it can be rocky. Stay right when you come to the fork, left is Boxcar Cove. It’s about 2 miles from this point.

You can camp anywhere along this road, but going the 2 additional miles will give you a lake view. There was an open area to the right, where we pitched the tent. You can also continue down a little more and be on the edge of the overlook. You can also continue right to a smaller open area and even farther down (in elevation) if you dare. We went down quite a bit trying to get to the water, but the dirt got too soft at that point. There is also a decently challenging hill to climb and some maneuvering needed to get to that point. Without being able to be on the water, the overlook is the next best spot to be!

#DareToEverywhere

As others have said it is a 4x4 road with sand and loose gravel in spots close to the lake but there are dozens of sites before the drop down to the lakeside. This weekend saw some rowdy partiers come out at midnight and leave around 3am but overall it’s a great secluded spot with 4G LTE Verizon coverage. My spot was about 100 yards to the water because the water level is very low. Too much trash for a beautiful spot, pack it out people!

The two mile wash board road wasn’t difficult to navigate (I’m in a 4x4 Ford Platinum pulling a 24’ RV); but, it was uncomfortable. If it were to rain, a 2x4 would likely have troubles.
Arriving on a Friday, my dogs and I spent the previous two nights at Government Wash and we’re unable to find a spot close to the water due to the large numbers of people. Scoping this location out Sunday evening, the crowds had left and we were able to get a spot right on the water...literally 20’ from the door of the RV.

PROS: Few people even came to the area and great seclusion. Three bar Verizon reception. Water was refreshing. Beautiful view of the lake. My dogs were in heaven with the water right out of their front door.
CONS: Spent thirty minutes picking up trash upon arrival filling two trash bags...Pack it in; Pack it out!!! As said, if it were to rain, access would’ve been difficult in a 2x4. Don’t expect seclusion or a spot near the water if visiting on a weekend/holiday. Had to watch my dogs not to pilfer surrounding trash even after I picked ALL of it up in our immediate area.

Pros: Beautiful lake views, plenty of sites, great AT&T service, and it’s free!

Cons: 2 mile access road is not the best for motor homes so be advised if that applies to you. There were 2 spots where I felt myself sliding on the gravel and I was doing 10 mph. Also, there is a ton of trash. Lots of broken glass and metal which is not very dog friendly

Access to get here is in good shape. I was there just for a daytime scouting trip to see what it would look like to tent camp or bring my 45ft Fifth Wheel. There are maybe 2 spots to bring the 5th wheel and about 15 spots you can tent camp before you start getting about 30ft-50ft near your closest neighbor.

I was disappointed to see a lot of trash out there. I picked up and left with 3 - 15gal size bags of trash mostly beer bottles (broken glass). Beware of nails! tons of nails that look like people are still burning pallets that are not allowed.

I got out there Saturday 2019-10-05 around 12pm and all the prime camping spots were taken up by campers or folks just fishing with a pop-up tent. Temp was 87 degrees F., no wind, plenty of sunshine. Temp of water was a surprising 72degrees (tested with temp gun).

Warning! If you plan to take your vehicle closet to the water make sure you have 4wheel drive or risk getting stuck in the soft sand. otherwise park it about 100 yards from the water and walk.

Actual date of stay was October 2018. These areas are free if you have a National Parks pass, otherwise you will have to pay the entrance fee, or drive in after hours. Crawdad cove is one of many areas you can drive down and find camping. We took a 35’ fifth wheel down and in no problem, but almost got stuck in sand going up and out- had to keep up speed.

This area was very nice to stay in with gorgeous views and 3 bars Verizon LTE. There was some airplane noise, but that was really the only downside. There was plenty of open space for solar and lots of wildlife around.

Dump and water fill station available at Callville Campground.

I was a little unsure after reading some other reviews about this location, but we have found it to be an absolutely lovely spot. We camped right on the lake front at the end of the road. Probably not possible for a larger rig as the road is quite Sandy and steep, but perfect for us. The weather was idealic everyday. Mid 80's during the day and high 50's at night. We saw people daily come down to fish and a few campers, but everyone was quiet and respectful, although some did not pack their trash out which is always sad to see. There are a couple dumpsters on the road coming in, so really no excuse. We enjoyed lots of wildlife while staying here! So many ducks, some herons, storks, hawks and roadrunners. We have also seen and heard coyotes almost every day, but they have kept their distance and seemed wary of us. I would recommend locking up garage overnight however. Verizon and ATT both have great signal. 4 bars at an average of 35 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up.

The dirt road off Northshore Rd is called both Crawdad Cove Rd and Boxcar Cove Rd. My GPS used one name, and Google maps the other. They split after about 1/2 mile, Boxcar being the left fork and Crawdad the right. From Northshore Rd, drive 2.6 miles down the wash, then up the hill to the left. The camping area is over the top of the hill. The road is good, but with a fair amount of loose sand and gravel. I used 4WD, but it should be fine with 2WD. There were some small Class A motorhomes there, so they obviously got in and out OK. You can boondock for 90 days in the Lake Mead NRA, providing you move to a different numbered road every 15 days.

I camped first at Boxcar Cove, but there were rowdy tent campers on the beach, so after one night I moved to Crawdad. I was hoping that the lack of a beach might keep the drunks away. I camped at the closest RV site to the water (coords in site # above), where the view of Las Vegas Bay was spectacular. The site was level. Verizon 4G was good, with 17 - 21 MBps down and 0.6 - 3.4 MBps up.

There are 6 or more tent sites further down, on a narrow spit of land right at the end of the road.

Since the camping area slopes down towards the water, you should get a good view from any site. To get some peace and quiet, I strongly recommend camping on the sites on the side road to the left. They are on a different spit of land, and there were never more than 2 RVs, and no tents, over there during my 2 weeks stay.

There were always quite a few campers there, but it was reasonably quiet midweek. The weekends were a different story. The behavior of many of the weekenders was disgraceful. There was loud music at all hours, noisy open-frame generators, dirt bikes, drunks yelling in the night, flashing colored lights, dogs running loose, people driving right through my campsite within 10 feet of my RV. I am a full-time boondocker, and I have never seen such behavior. I can only put it down to being right outside Las Vegas, and the city folks bringing their city habits to the lake. If it were not for the view, I would have left the first weekend. I will never set foot in the Lake Mead NRA again.

My site was clean, but there was trash strewn everywhere at the tent sites at the end of the road.

There is free water, and dump stations, at Callville campground and Las Vegas Bay campground. You don't have to be staying at the pay-campgounds to use the dump stations. The Circle-K on East Lake Mead Pkwy (the road into town) at Boulder Hwy has gas about 15 cents cheaper than anywhere else. I got a propane fill at the Shell station on Boulder Hwy (turn left off the Pkwy, then it's on the left). The Henderson U-Haul does not sell propane.

We stayed here for 14 days at the end of November and loved it. The 2+ mile road into the good sites is definitely rough. We have a 2WD truck and pull a 29ft camper and we didn't have any problem. Some of the more gravelly places made me a little nervous, but we never spun out or anything. There was 1 other camper in the area pretty much the whole time we were there. Tent campers would come and go on the weekends, but they stayed down closer to the water and we didn't see or hear them. The trash out there is pretty bad, but nothing that a few mins of work can't fix. It took us about 40 mins to get into the main part of Henderson, mostly due to the 15 mins it took to get down the 2+ miles of crawdad cove road. We will definitely be staying here again!