Grey Cliffs Campground

Stayed: 5/29/2022
Cost: $10 (Half-off with America The Beautiful Pass)
Site: A6
Vehicle: GMC Terrain
Equipment: Tent
AT&T and T-Mobile: Poor and spotty service

This was a great little campground close to the main attractions of Great Basin National Park. It takes you down a few miles of dirt road before reaching the pay station. There’s not many sites, maybe 10, but we were lucky to snag A6. The neighbors are definitely there, but not TOO close. There are a couple pit toilets, very clean ones at that, available as well.

Sites include picnic tables and fire rings with grill grates. Our site was spacious and had great views of Wheeler Peak!

#DareToEverywhere

This is my very first review. I arrived at this campground on the late afternoon of Monday, June 22, 2020. I was alone on this trip so I couldn't justify dragging the trailer along on a quick 4-day trip, so I tented it. Fortunately, I was able to secure a site that would accommodate my cheapo 33 year old Wenzel 9' X 12' canvas tent which I hadn't used in 17 years. The Visitor Center was closed due to the Covid pandemic. However, I was able to secure the typical National Park Map/Flyer from a box at the Visitor Center. The foliage surrounding the site was such that I was 95% shielded from the view of both neighbors on either side of me. There was also the standard Picnic Table and Fire Grate ring provided. There is NO WATER AVAILABLE at this campground. I had to get water from the spigot at the Lower Lehman Creek campground. Toilet facility is a standard vault toilet. The roads to this campground from the main road are all dirt, portions of which are moderately washboarded. Predictably, driving on these roads can prove to be a VERY dusty experience, so keep the speed down in consideration of other drivers and campers. This campground is NOT very suitable for large trailers and motorhomes as the spaces are generally on the shorter side.

Even at this moderate elevation of approx. 7000 ft., the heat became noticeable by around 9:00 am and continued into the mid-90s for the rest of the day, so plan your activities accordingly. With that said, the last time we were in GBNP back in mid-June of 1987, we woke up to about 6" of wet and HEAVY snow. I did not encounter any mosquitoes but there are other tiny biting insects and flies that can be annoying, so pack the Insect Repellant. Some shade is available but not abundant. There was a smaller stream about 150' from the back of my campsite which provided soothing background noise and added to the ambiance. The Grey Cliffs which are the namesake of the campground are beautiful, especially as the sun rises. The peaks are visible from every site, as far as I could tell, and provide a nice backdrop as the sun sets.

I wasn't able to get more than 1 bar of 3G the whole time (Verizon), and trying to get on the Internet is an exercise in frustration that isn't worth the hassle. The tiny town of Baker is IT out here and the fuel prices were surprisingly reasonable for being the only game in a town that is in the middle of nowhere. This may be one of the least visited National Parks but having the Wheeler Peak Campground closed for the entire 2020 season has put pressure on all other campgrounds in the park. ALL available campsites of EVERY open campground filled each day of my short stay. If you are looking for a low-key camping experience with few distractions, this is the National Park you want to visit.

Grey Cliffs is an overflow campground. You can find it by turning left on a dirt road on your way to the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. There isn't a sign until you reach the actual campground. We saw all sizes of RVs here despite the dirt road and somewhat hilly location.
Great Basin NP is remote and has no reservable single campsites. You can reserve 3 group sites in this campground. Arrive early on fridays in the spring and summer or risk getting shut out. The park is huge but only has 100 or so sites. This site is the lowest elevation and most desert like.
The main visitor center closes at 5pm and there is very little information for those who don't come prepared. Read everything in the NPS website and bring all the water.
There are no entrance fees to the park and cellular service in the park is sporadic at best.
Site 8 on Loop A (there are 3 loops) is right next to one of the vault restrooms. There is no running water in this campground and the spaces are set far apart. This was the quietest campsites we have ever visited.
Our only real concern was the light desert dust that covered everything immediately. There is some shade coverage for the tent but the wood picnic table was pretty exposed. It was very hot during the day even in late September, nights were comfortable.
Perhaps it's the low attendance or remote location but I felt many of the park rangers could use more visitor orientation training. Everyone was professional and kind but very few had detailed information about campground usage. I was particularly surprised Rangers at the main visitor center couldn't answer basic questions about when campgrounds filled up on friday nights. This information is important because you can't exactly mosey on down the road if campgrounds in the park are filled and there is very sporadic cell phone service on the road there.
Over all I highly recommend this park. It's stunning and the nights are crystal clear.