Riverbend Campground

The Riverbend ("primitive") campground is far superior to the hookup one. Quiet, little traffic (except for the loud, obnoxious OHVers staying in the hookup campground who don't think a few thousand acres is enough for them, and they have to come rolling through the Riverbend every now and then).

Even when it's rarely full, such as a holiday weekend, people are generally respectful. You still have the idiots who don't leash their dogs, pretending they have "voice recall" over them (they don't). And occasionally some dude will run a loud, nasty generator.

But overall, it's quite peaceful. I wish they had BBQ grills for charcoal cooking, as the "grill" over the fire ring doesn't do much unless you have a huge, roaring fire. And they don't recycle, nor have any dumpsters--it's all smaller aluminum garbage cans.

Once the flooding receeds, the day use area has some nice hikes.

The only reason I don't give it more stars is because the absolutely abominable rutted, washboard road in. It's a little over four miles, and takes at least 20 minutes (that is, if you want to have an intact RV by the time you arrive). The state clearly spent a lot of money on turning the Pitchfork ranch into this recreational area; a little more money to make an actual road would make this a near-perfect campground.

This will be a very nice campground as the State Parks system will be planting some more trees and will be building a better road. This location currently requires a 4.6 mile drive down a dirt county road that is washborded and not a lot of fun to drive with a travel trailer. The river was flowing fast and had overflowed its banks a couple times over the past couple of weeks so the fishing was poor. There are several trails within the park and the campsites are well spaced. This is a new park and it will be extremely nice once they have a chance to finish the landscaping and the road.

This is Nevada's newest state park. It is still being developed and the facilities are pretty new. The Riverbend CG (marked as primitive) is 1 of 2 campgrounds near the Visitor Center. The sites are widely spaced out and very accessible. The sites are flat. The other CG has hookups and is on the other side. As someone pointed out, the primitive area has a bit of green ground cover so it's not as harsh. We camped in mid April so the trees were not leafy. The walk along the river was nice and a lot of birds. A blue bird landed on a tree near our trailer on the morning we left, as if to say goodbye. The Visitor Center is open and has info on the wildlife. The turn in is easy to miss, as it looks like you're turning into a private ranch, right next to a large structure. Careful with the 2 speed bumps on the way in. It's washboard but not bad at all and is quite wide. It wasn't very busy at all. We look forward to returning in the Fall. This is the first time I've seen a free library box at a campground, what a great idea! Very good cell and LTE coverage (Verizon).

Very nice, newer campground areas. Museum and gift shop were closed during COVID19 but walking trails and river access were awesome. 4miles down a wide dirt road to get to the campground, but easily managed without four-wheel drive for even the largest rig if you are comfortable with a few washboard spots.
Central dump with no portable wash water.

Plenty of primitive (no water nor electric) and developed (potable water and electric) campsites with shaded picnic tables. Giant group picnic/campsite areas built as well.
Mostly desert landscape with a few trees. Wind can whip up fairly quickly. A few farms nearby with cows. Lots of atv/dirt bike trails and folks utilizing them.