Temple Bar Campground

Very nice clean and quiet CG. Only 7 sites taken out of 71. Host onsite. CG has water, dumpsters, and toilets are flush.

However, the NPS no longer accepts cash or checks and all sites have to be reserved or paid for ONLINE, also there are no normal FCFS sites. However, there is no cell signal or free wifi at the CG to do this! There is a weak contract pvt fee wifi signal but I could not sign in or connect. Agencies should not convert a CG to ONLINE reserve/pay unless there is a strong cell signal for the potential campers to use in that area.

When the lake was high this was a hopping place. Now it is a quiet, secluded spot. The spots are small. We have a 28 foot bumper to ball trailer and it fit fine. There was a large class A - it was tight. We were one of about 9 in the campground. Marina and store still open. Numerous birds. Quiet. There are burros in the area. Worth the 28 mile trip. No services at the sites but the water spigots seem to be in reach of a long hose refill. Dump station. Definitely will come back. The Verizon access was better in the lower sites.

We were here over New Years weekend 2022. 9 sites were filled out of 71 available. 28 mile road in from Hwy 93 was narrow but two lane, paved, and in good shape. The campground is paved and graveled. Fire grates and concrete tables at each site. No one was in our line of site. We agree with most what Lynda said in 2018.
Noise was not a problem for us. There was a group of 4 class A coaches who ran their generators almost constantly (not during quiet hours) but far enough away as to be unnoticed. Most noticeable noise came from Lake Mead tour helicopters. The host was charming. He told us the coaches were planning Karaoke after quiet hours for New Years Eve and asked if that was OK with us. We said let er rip but we heard nothing. A little disappointed.
The campground is well watered and good foliage for privacy and wind break but the Oleander is poisonous. Don't burn the wood, don't touch the wood or leaves. The eucalyptus and palm trees are thick enough to impact solar panels, but a dozen or so sites get pretty good solar. Water spigots are spread across the campground. Dumpsters around the perimeter. Dump station functions.
Bathrooms were clean with flush toilets, but old and only cold water with no functioning electrical outlets in bathrooms. The place felt safe. The Marina showers and laundry were closed, as was the restaurant and store. The lake is 154 feet below full pool. We had a few nights below freezing. Very little rain. The cost is now $20/night and $10 with senior pass. Local wifi is usually available, but not working during our stay. At $5/day we would have not used it anyway.
The surrounding country has no trails for hiking save for a 3/4 mile nature trail at the visitor center. But there is a dirt road heading north for biking and some other other shorter dirt roads. Deep sand is frequent on dirt roads. The surrounding countryside is gravel, no cryptobiotic, with sparse creosote, rabbit sage, and many cactus varieties. Walking cross country is easy following ridges and washes. Elevation is about 1500 ft. We went 2 miles east to some higher volcanic ridges, saw burros, jackrabbits, and had a great hike. Very interesting geology. Such a wide variety of rock types in surrounding country. The campground makes a great bocce court. We did no boating.
This place looks like it would be very different when boating was in peak season, but we like it empty like this. Some may call countryside empty and boring, but bring binocs and magnifying glasses and look for clues across the large and small. It will get under your skin, just like the cactus if you don't pay attention to where you sit down. We are just starting a 3 month winter tour of AZ and NM and would love to happen across more places like this.

Love camping at Temple Bar. It is very remote, about 28 miles from Interstate 93. There are showers available at the marina as well as laundry facilities. There is actually a lower campground which we stayed in. And an upper Campground that is closed due to non-use. The Forrest service or whoever is in charge, has stopped watering the upper Campground and all the beautiful planted trees and shrubs are dying. It’s very sad to see.

It’s a quiet campground with never very many campers in it. Spots are very private with ghost gum trees, olive trees and oleander bushes surrounding the sites. Short walks to the bathrooms.

We road our bikes around sunset every night just to end the day on a high note. The marina is very close, so we kayaked our hearts out.

There is a store with not many groceries for sale. You can get ice, gas, and propane.

All-in-all, a wonderful place.