Silver Springs Beach Campground

This was just a one-night travel stop for us. A little disappointed because the lake-reservoir was almost empty. Also, the Nevada State Park website claimed Open All Year, but we found signs posted indicating the improved campground was closed. It was late, we were tired and there were no physical barriers, so we set up and stayed anyway. We saw one Ranger truck, but no one hassled us. There are tons of dispersed camping sites outside the improved campground and these areas ARE probably open all year. Water was available at standpipes, in the improved campground, and at the dump station but restrooms were locked (for the season? or due to COVID-19).
The dump station was a little narrow but doable for us (25’ TT).
The area is well off the highway so completely peaceful. Due to altitude, it did freeze overnight.
We had two bars LTE on both ATT and Verizon.

On our cross country trip, we stopped here to camp.

It was quite a ways off the main road, but that’s a plus in my book. It was quiet, very peaceful.

Bathrooms were clean, the sites were easy to get in and out of, and all in all it was a good stay.

We don’t plan on visiting Nevada again anytime soon, but if we did we’d camp here again.

It is a nice spot to get away and stay on the beach. Be careful where you drive, we saw a guy get stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out. We camped on beach 3 because it was far away from the party goers and loud music. Bathrooms are clean with a pit toilet. They do have one small camping area with paved roads, which was pretty full. I think this would be better in the spring when the lake is full and there is less algae and mud.

So, I'm not 100% sure what part of Lahontan State Park we camped at. What I can say it was magical.

We were on our 6th day of a road trip west from the east coast, and it was a long driving day. We weren't up for another night at a rest stop, and didn't really find any of the RV parks in the area appealing, especially since our kids (9 & 14) needed to run off some energy. So we decided to try a state park. We arrived at Lahontan about an hour before sunset, after park staff had left for the day. We put our overnight fee in the envelope at the park gate, drove into the park, past the day use area, past a turn or two, and eventually turned onto a sand road to the beach.

Our kids immediately piled out and ran to the water. There were just one other group there who had their vehicle on the shoreline where we pulled over. Further down the shore we could see one other RV, and in the other direction in the distance one tent. Not nearly brave enough to pull our RV to the waterline, we parked out nearer the hard sand, about 50 yards from the shore. We chatted with the closest family group, who were a very friendly local ranch family out for an evening; they left about sunset. The dude even gave us a card to call him in case we ran into trouble getting our RV out of the sand, as weather was blowing in. Spoiler: no problem was had, despite a wicked storm.

And then we watched the sunset on almost a private beach, then the lightning as the storm blew in, then huddled in the RV having dinner during the storm, and when it passed we played in the moonlit sand. Magical.

Our site was not developed, just a vault toilet and a dumpster. There may be other developed sites in the park, but we didn't seek them out them. We did see a sign for a bathhouse and also RV dump station as we left, but didn't check either out.

We live in Fallon,NV (about 30 minutes away) and this was a great place to get away for a quick weekend. Our site was on the water and had easy access for our 21 foot travel trailer. No hookups in camp sites, but not a problem for a short visit. Hope to get back but have a bunch of other places to visit. Maybe I will bring the boat next time as well. Could have easily beached it at our campsite.

Lake Lahontan (reservoir) has 69 miles of shoreline and many options for camping. I camped at the developed campground at Silver Springs Beach #7, but there were ten other "coves" along the west shore where dispersed camping is allowed. (Pay attention to the sand which is soft in areas!) But everyone must pay $15 a night, with trash and dump at exit. There are flush toilets and clean bathrooms in the developed campground and several places for big rigs. But some of the smaller sites were deteriorated and covered in beach sand. In the beginning of October there were only 4 or 5 other campers so I opted for the developed campsite. You can fish, but you cant eat them as the mercury levels are too high. Looked like a lot more activity in the summer judging from tire tracks, fire rings and other signs of camping and picnicking onthe beach. Lots of room for dogs to run. Cold and windy at this time of year, but the trade off is the open beaches and plenty of privacy if you seek it out. And very good cell coverage with AT&T. 3-4 bars with booster.