Ely KOA Journey

Hosts super pleasant! The gift shop actually had kid's T-shirts - yes, a plus if you are a grandparent. First space clean (116), second (120) had plastic debris and for the price, I expect sites to be picked up. Did not use the facilities. Lots to see and do there and in the area. Some semi-permanent residents were NOT quiet, at quiet time, on the first night, so we moved away from them on the trip home = better. We were in the "new" section by the highway, where the spaces are LONG and WIDE. Not one single tree, so summer would be heck - I don't know what future plans are, but it will be a while either way. My husband loved these sites because we could place the back window in our TT to the view and it WAS beautiful - highway or no highway - which surprisingly was not a problem? So, not the best place we stayed, yet we felt OK enough to do them roundtrip.

Park staff was very friendly and helpful throughout our stay.
- Convenient beautiful location just outside Ely.
- Pull through sites were good, with the exception that during rain events our site was a bite muddy since it needed a new layer of rock added.
- Restrooms/showers were clean and well kept.
- Propane was available.
- They are in the process of adding additional sites, but did not impact our stay.
- Fairly quiet location.
- WiFi service was good.

There are limited options if you'd like to camp near Ely, especially if you want a reserved site. Knowing that I was passing through on a busy holiday weekend, I opted to spend the extra money to reserve a spot at the Ely KOA. In the past, I've camped at Cave Lake State Park, which is nice but doesn't have much in the way of amenities. The Ely KOA is conveniently located just outside of town. The location is quiet at night (nice views of the stars), but only 10 minutes from restaurants, gas stations and a large grocery store. It's also a perfect place to stay in order to visit Great Basin National Park. The campground is gravel and very level, but can be a bit dusty. The sites are a little closer than I like, but not excessively close. The KOA has clean bathrooms and the main shower facility is very nice. The camp hosts were friendly and welcoming. There's a small, coin operated laundry facility in the same building as the camp store and main showers. Although this was an expensive night of camping, the place was so well maintained that I didn't mind. I'd certainly stay here again!

Site type: Back-in, full hookup, 50 AMP.

THE GOOD
Staff: Very nice staff.
Location: The area is in peaceful area. Close to gas, restaurants, diners, and groceries.
Location: Great Basin is 1 hour away. Several amazing state parks within minutes.
Really quiet family campground.

WORTH NOTING (not good or bad thing)
Construction: There is a small bit of campground construction going on closest to the main road, but it is not bad.
Sites: All gravel sites without any grass as part of the site itself.
Site: Had a pull-through to start and moved to a back-in. Both were decent gravel spots with shade. The back-in was a bit better with a much wider site and beautiful view of the mountains. The back-in had a healthy grass area behind the site for us to walk our pups.
Store: There is no store on-site for any essentials.
Amenities: Laundry worked fine. The dryers were a bit weaker than expected.

Site type: Back-in, full hookup, 50 AMP.

THE GOOD
Staff: Very nice staff.
Location: The area is in peaceful area. Close to gas, restaurants, diners, and groceries.
Location: Great Basin is 1 hour away. Several amazing state parks within minutes.
Really quiet family campground.

WORTH NOTING (not good or bad thing)
Construction: There is a small bit of campground construction going on closest to the main road, but it is not bad.
Sites: All gravel sites without any grass as part of the site itself.
Site: Had a pull-through to start and moved to a back-in. Both were decent gravel spots with shade. The back-in was a bit better with a much wider site and beautiful view of the mountains. The back-in had a healthy grass area behind the site for us to walk our pups.
Store: There is no store on-site for any essentials.
Amenities: Laundry worked fine. The dryers were a bit weaker than expected.