RV Parks In Ely, Nevada

Ely's standout RV park is the Ely KOA Journey, with full-hookup 30/50-amp sites, extra-long pull-throughs that handle triple rigs, a dump station, and propane, all a comfortable hour from Great Basin National Park. Valley View RV Park is the simpler budget choice in town with hookups, showers, and laundry. On the public side, Cave Lake State Park offers scenic mountain-reservoir camping at 7,300 feet, Ward Mountain Campground has shaded USFS forest sites minutes from town, and Lower Lehman Creek sits inside the national park for smaller rigs. Between them you can pick full-hookup convenience or low-cost mountain scenery.

The private parks in Ely do. The Ely KOA Journey offers full hookups with water, sewer, and 30/50-amp electric right at the site, along with long pull-throughs sized for big rigs, and Valley View RV Park provides hookups plus showers and laundry. The public campgrounds are a different story: Cave Lake State Park, Ward Mountain, and the Great Basin National Park sites are hookup-free, offering vault toilets and, in some cases, a nearby dump station rather than sewer at the pad. If full hookups are a must, book one of the in-town private parks; if you are self-contained, the public sites open up cheaper, more scenic options.

Camping in Ely spans a wide range by type. The public campgrounds are the bargain, with Cave Lake State Park, Ward Mountain, and Great Basin National Park sites generally running in the $15 to $25 band, though they offer no hookups and a short season. The private town parks land higher, roughly $35 to $60 a night depending on season and hookups, with the Ely KOA at typical KOA rates and Valley View as the budget option. For a full-hookup, big-rig-friendly stay you pay the private-park rate; for cheap and scenic you take the public sites. Reserving summer weekends ahead is smart in a town this size.

For summer weekends, June through August, book the Ely KOA and any Great Basin National Park sites a few weeks to a couple of months ahead, because this is peak travel season on US-50 and the town does not have unlimited inventory. Cave Lake State Park and the reservable forest sites also fill on nice-weather weekends, so reserve through Nevada State Parks or Recreation.gov once you know your dates. Midweek and shoulder-season stays in late spring or early fall are far easier and often walk-up friendly. Winter narrows your options to the year-round town parks, which rarely require much notice.

The sweet spot is late May through early October, when the mountain and forest campgrounds are open and the high-desert weather is at its best. Summer brings warm days and cool 6,400-foot nights that make camping comfortable, though July and August weekends are the busiest with Great Basin traffic. September and early October are our favorite: crisp, clear, quiet, and still open before the first snows. Spring is variable with late snow possible into May, and winter is cold and slow with most campgrounds closed. Aim for the shoulder months if you want good weather without crowds.

Yes, and the Ely KOA Journey is the place to do it. It has extra-long pull-throughs sized for triple rigs and setups over 65 feet, with full 30/50-amp hookups, so large motorhomes and fifth-wheels are well handled. The approach is easy too, since the highways through Ely carry no low bridges or weight limits. Where big rigs run into trouble is the public campgrounds: Cave Lake, Ward Mountain, and especially the Great Basin National Park sites tilt small, with Lower Lehman Creek suited to rigs under about 24 feet. For a big rig, stick with the private town parks and day-trip to the scenic spots.

Yes, plenty. The BLM public land around Ely offers wide-open dispersed camping that is free for self-contained rigs, with boondockers using areas like Success Loop and the Egan Range roads. Ward Mountain Campground is largely first-come, and off-season sites at Great Basin can be first-come as well. The catch with free BLM camping is that you must carry your own water and pack out your waste, because there is no dump or hookup on that open ground. If you want the savings and the solitude and your rig is self-sufficient, the boondocking around Ely is some of the easiest in Nevada.

Great Basin is one of the least-crowded national parks, and camping there is quiet and scenic but limited for RVers. Lower Lehman Creek is the campground reliably open to RVs, and its small, hookup-free sites suit rigs under about 24 feet. The higher campgrounds climb toward Wheeler Peak on a road that is not big-rig friendly. That is why we recommend basing in Ely with hookups and day-tripping the roughly hour-long drive east to tour Lehman Caves, drive the Wheeler Peak scenic road, and see the bristlecone pines and dark skies. Check the National Park Service site for current campground status.

Yes, and it is one of the best reasons to camp here. Cave Lake State Park sits at 7,300 feet with a trout-stocked mountain reservoir, cool summer air, and hiking right from camp, making it a favorite escape from the desert heat. Ward Mountain Campground puts you in shaded pinyon-juniper forest just minutes from town. Great Basin National Park to the east climbs into alpine country with Wheeler Peak and glacial lakes. If your rig is mid-size and you want mountain scenery over hookups, these public campgrounds deliver, though remember they close for snow and the nights get cold even in midsummer.

Some are, but your choices narrow sharply. The mountain and forest campgrounds at Cave Lake, Ward Mountain, and Great Basin close for the season, typically running only from late May into October. A couple of the in-town private parks stay open year-round for winter travelers crossing on US-50 and US-93, usually with heated bathhouses. If you are RVing through Ely in the cold months, call ahead to confirm a park is open and its water is winterized, because overnight lows drop into the teens at 6,400 feet and freezing pipes are a real concern. Bring cold-weather gear and expect a quiet town.

Generally yes. The private parks like the Ely KOA welcome pets, which suits the many road-trippers crossing US-50 with dogs, and the public campgrounds at Cave Lake, Ward Mountain, and Great Basin allow leashed pets under standard state, forest, and national-park rules. Great Basin does restrict pets on most trails, as national parks typically do, so plan to keep the dog at camp or on the paved and campground areas when you tour the park. Policies on number and designated areas vary, so confirm the specifics when you book, but overall Ely and its surrounding camping are comfortable for traveling with pets.

Ely packs a lot into a remote town. The Nevada Northern Railway, a National Historic Landmark right in town, runs preserved steam-train excursions from the old depot. Great Basin National Park, about an hour east, offers Lehman Caves tours, the Wheeler Peak scenic drive, ancient bristlecone pines, and famously dark night skies. Cave Lake State Park has trout fishing and hiking in cool mountain air, and the Ward Charcoal Ovens south of town are a striking bit of 1870s mining history. Add in the Egan and Schell Creek ranges for hiking and wildlife, and a camping stay here easily fills several days.

It is the practical base for the park. Great Basin sits about 60 miles east of Ely, and because the in-park campgrounds are small and hookup-free, most RVers with any size rig do far better staying in Ely and day-tripping out. From a full-hookup site at the Ely KOA you can drive over, tour Lehman Caves, run the Wheeler Peak scenic road, and be back to a comfortable pad with power and water the same evening. Ely also gives you fuel, propane, groceries, and dump stations that the park area lacks, so it solves the logistics that make visiting this remote park easy.

Ely's standout RV park is the Ely KOA Journey, with full-hookup 30/50-amp sites, extra-long pull-throughs that handle triple rigs, a dump station, and propane, all a comfortable hour from Great Basin National Park. Valley View RV Park is the simpler budget choice in town with hookups, showers, and laundry. On the public side, Cave Lake State Park offers scenic mountain-reservoir camping at 7,300 feet, Ward Mountain Campground has shaded USFS forest sites minutes from town, and Lower Lehman Creek sits inside the national park for smaller rigs. Between them you can pick full-hookup convenience or low-cost mountain scenery.

The private parks in Ely do. The Ely KOA Journey offers full hookups with water, sewer, and 30/50-amp electric right at the site, along with long pull-throughs sized for big rigs, and Valley View RV Park provides hookups plus showers and laundry. The public campgrounds are a different story: Cave Lake State Park, Ward Mountain, and the Great Basin National Park sites are hookup-free, offering vault toilets and, in some cases, a nearby dump station rather than sewer at the pad. If full hookups are a must, book one of the in-town private parks; if you are self-contained, the public sites open up cheaper, more scenic options.

Camping in Ely spans a wide range by type. The public campgrounds are the bargain, with Cave Lake State Park, Ward Mountain, and Great Basin National Park sites generally running in the $15 to $25 band, though they offer no hookups and a short season. The private town parks land higher, roughly $35 to $60 a night depending on season and hookups, with the Ely KOA at typical KOA rates and Valley View as the budget option. For a full-hookup, big-rig-friendly stay you pay the private-park rate; for cheap and scenic you take the public sites. Reserving summer weekends ahead is smart in a town this size.

For summer weekends, June through August, book the Ely KOA and any Great Basin National Park sites a few weeks to a couple of months ahead, because this is peak travel season on US-50 and the town does not have unlimited inventory. Cave Lake State Park and the reservable forest sites also fill on nice-weather weekends, so reserve through Nevada State Parks or Recreation.gov once you know your dates. Midweek and shoulder-season stays in late spring or early fall are far easier and often walk-up friendly. Winter narrows your options to the year-round town parks, which rarely require much notice.

The sweet spot is late May through early October, when the mountain and forest campgrounds are open and the high-desert weather is at its best. Summer brings warm days and cool 6,400-foot nights that make camping comfortable, though July and August weekends are the busiest with Great Basin traffic. September and early October are our favorite: crisp, clear, quiet, and still open before the first snows. Spring is variable with late snow possible into May, and winter is cold and slow with most campgrounds closed. Aim for the shoulder months if you want good weather without crowds.

Yes, and the Ely KOA Journey is the place to do it. It has extra-long pull-throughs sized for triple rigs and setups over 65 feet, with full 30/50-amp hookups, so large motorhomes and fifth-wheels are well handled. The approach is easy too, since the highways through Ely carry no low bridges or weight limits. Where big rigs run into trouble is the public campgrounds: Cave Lake, Ward Mountain, and especially the Great Basin National Park sites tilt small, with Lower Lehman Creek suited to rigs under about 24 feet. For a big rig, stick with the private town parks and day-trip to the scenic spots.

Yes, plenty. The BLM public land around Ely offers wide-open dispersed camping that is free for self-contained rigs, with boondockers using areas like Success Loop and the Egan Range roads. Ward Mountain Campground is largely first-come, and off-season sites at Great Basin can be first-come as well. The catch with free BLM camping is that you must carry your own water and pack out your waste, because there is no dump or hookup on that open ground. If you want the savings and the solitude and your rig is self-sufficient, the boondocking around Ely is some of the easiest in Nevada.

Great Basin is one of the least-crowded national parks, and camping there is quiet and scenic but limited for RVers. Lower Lehman Creek is the campground reliably open to RVs, and its small, hookup-free sites suit rigs under about 24 feet. The higher campgrounds climb toward Wheeler Peak on a road that is not big-rig friendly. That is why we recommend basing in Ely with hookups and day-tripping the roughly hour-long drive east to tour Lehman Caves, drive the Wheeler Peak scenic road, and see the bristlecone pines and dark skies. Check the National Park Service site for current campground status.

Yes, and it is one of the best reasons to camp here. Cave Lake State Park sits at 7,300 feet with a trout-stocked mountain reservoir, cool summer air, and hiking right from camp, making it a favorite escape from the desert heat. Ward Mountain Campground puts you in shaded pinyon-juniper forest just minutes from town. Great Basin National Park to the east climbs into alpine country with Wheeler Peak and glacial lakes. If your rig is mid-size and you want mountain scenery over hookups, these public campgrounds deliver, though remember they close for snow and the nights get cold even in midsummer.

Some are, but your choices narrow sharply. The mountain and forest campgrounds at Cave Lake, Ward Mountain, and Great Basin close for the season, typically running only from late May into October. A couple of the in-town private parks stay open year-round for winter travelers crossing on US-50 and US-93, usually with heated bathhouses. If you are RVing through Ely in the cold months, call ahead to confirm a park is open and its water is winterized, because overnight lows drop into the teens at 6,400 feet and freezing pipes are a real concern. Bring cold-weather gear and expect a quiet town.

Generally yes. The private parks like the Ely KOA welcome pets, which suits the many road-trippers crossing US-50 with dogs, and the public campgrounds at Cave Lake, Ward Mountain, and Great Basin allow leashed pets under standard state, forest, and national-park rules. Great Basin does restrict pets on most trails, as national parks typically do, so plan to keep the dog at camp or on the paved and campground areas when you tour the park. Policies on number and designated areas vary, so confirm the specifics when you book, but overall Ely and its surrounding camping are comfortable for traveling with pets.

Ely packs a lot into a remote town. The Nevada Northern Railway, a National Historic Landmark right in town, runs preserved steam-train excursions from the old depot. Great Basin National Park, about an hour east, offers Lehman Caves tours, the Wheeler Peak scenic drive, ancient bristlecone pines, and famously dark night skies. Cave Lake State Park has trout fishing and hiking in cool mountain air, and the Ward Charcoal Ovens south of town are a striking bit of 1870s mining history. Add in the Egan and Schell Creek ranges for hiking and wildlife, and a camping stay here easily fills several days.

It is the practical base for the park. Great Basin sits about 60 miles east of Ely, and because the in-park campgrounds are small and hookup-free, most RVers with any size rig do far better staying in Ely and day-tripping out. From a full-hookup site at the Ely KOA you can drive over, tour Lehman Caves, run the Wheeler Peak scenic road, and be back to a comfortable pad with power and water the same evening. Ely also gives you fuel, propane, groceries, and dump stations that the park area lacks, so it solves the logistics that make visiting this remote park easy.

Yes — there are free RV waste disposal options available near Ely.