Sand Mine Road Dispersed Camping

Sand Mine Road is on the other side of a hill from popular Snowbird Mesa. Because the sites are smaller and the road a bit rougher, it doesn’t have nearly the crowding of Snowbird Mesa and has an equally beautiful view.

The area is close to Route 169 which makes for a quick and easy trip into Overton for supplies, though it does mean you’ll hear some road noise.

There is some trash and broken glass around. Our dog, taking his morning walk, found a pile of what looked like dog food and snagged a few pieces before we caught him. It turned out to be human grade potassium supplements, which quickly had us rushing toward Las Vegas for a vet. This isn’t to suggest that Sand Mine Road is covered in pills - it’s not - but a reminder to watch out for what people have left behind.

We camped here due to the amazing location just minutes outside of Valley of Fire State Park. There is plenty of room with lots of spots (some with fire rings) along this road. We chose a spot on the edge of a bluff/cliff which had great views. There were other RVers around which made us feel safe, but far enough away that we had privacy. Great spot!

The major negative was that we were there during a wind advisory with gusts of wind up to 60mph. This made our last 2 days and night pretty miserable as there is little protection from the wind and the dust/sand was sandblasting the Airstream. We had sand everywhere! We ended up leaving a couple of days early because of the wind but we'd definitely camp there again (next time we'll check the wind forecast).

We were here: 36.4726, -114.4404

We live in Vegas so this is on our favorite weekend getaway spots because we can get there in 90 minutes from our house, it's free, the cell service is strong, and we're never close to another camper. Last fall (October 2016) we even held a rally here for our Las Vegas Airstream Club - there was plenty of room for 7 trailers at one of the spots near the power line.

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is that you do get a bit of road noise (not bad, but it reminds you you're not completely alone) and you often see planes overhead. On the plus side, you're less than 10 minutes from Overton if you need to get any supplies, including propane and a dump station.

There's nice hiking in the canyon below the camping area and you're only minutes from Valley of Fire State Park for more great hiking.

This Boondocking area holds a very special place in my heart. During a much needed getaway time back in April 2010 I boonddocked there overnight in my Nissan Sentra car right next to the bluff. Since then, I have revisited the area several times. And, most recently I drove there in my jeep with two of my granddaughters and we did a little off-road Jeeping.

There are many places along Sand Mine Road to Boondock and still have lots of privacy. Whereas these are unmarked sites, some have fire rings which may or may not be permissible. It is also likely that previous visitors will have left some of their debris. This always is unfortunate but a sad reality in our country's fabulous Boondocking areas.

Cell service with Verizon was iffy. Access off the main road, which is paved, is the rocky dirt road which is bumpy.

A delightful small town called Overton, Nevada, is north of this area about 7 to 10 miles. There's a really nice little ice cream shop that we have visited several times over the years. Overton has a grocery store, a couple of service stations, a hardware store, family dollar store and a few other eating establishments that are dotted along the Main Street. There is an established RV campground and a mobile home/Good Sam park. Just south of Overton is the Lost City Museum and is well worth a visit.

in addition to our usual ice cream stop, we also stop in front of the old army tank that sets out near the street just north of town. This is one of our fun photo ops!!

Traveling south of Sand Mine Road Boondocking area is the east entrance to the beautiful Valley of Fire which is Nevada's most famous State Park. Apparently so beautiful and famous that movies have been filmed there! There are two established campgrounds within Valley of Fire. I have tent camped in one of those.

Continuing south past the East gate entrance to the Valley of Fire is Lake Mead which part of the National Park Service. There are numerous Boondocking areas there as well as established campgrounds. Eventually the road leads to either Boulder City, Hoover Dam, Henderson or Las Vegas, Nevada.

In conclusion, Sand Mine Road boondocking area is one of my all-time favorite places. It is beautiful, quiet and situated close to so many other interesting areas. I will continue sharing this ruggedly beautiful and peaceful area with friends and family. And, now that I have a motorhome and can travel, I will do extended stays in one of these sites - most likely again near the bluff!

The proximity to one of the most beautiful and unique state parks in the country, Valley of Fire, make this a great spot. Overton sucks, there is nothing there really except a small, expensive grocery, a McDonalds and a laundromat that is closed, but there is a fantastic amount of free camping. Skip past the overly crowded Snowbird Messa (Poverty Flats) another 1/4 mile to find Sand Mine Road. This is a much better option than there, I'm really surprised it has 5 star reviews. There's tons more space and privacy here. Most importantly its less than 5 minutes to get into Valley of Fire. Beautiful sunsets and LTE are a plus as well.

Hoped to stay at Valley of Fire but the park's campgrounds were full and they directed us this way. Easy access off the highway - well graded dirt road. Quickly found a large site and parked because we didn't know what was further up the road. Our site had some trash strewn about and some road noise, but it was pretty far from any neighbors. We walked the road a bit after setting up and the other sites were cleaner. Easy access to Valley of Fire, private sites, and beautiful views! Would definitely stay again!

This is the kind of boondocking we like. No neighbors and nice views. And a good graded dirt road for the first few miles off the highway.
There are an unlimited number of level areas to park but most people seem to gravitate to Snowbird Mesa, across the canyon from Sand Mine Road. We've stayed here twice now and have only seen a few other RVs a good distance away. This is a convenient location for day trips to Valley of Fire State Park and Lake Mead, and it's about 7 miles to Overton for a dump station or propane. It can be windy here, but there isn't a lot of blowing dust due to it being rocky, so it isn't too bad.