Alkali Hot Springs, Goldfield, NV
August 20. 2016
After 5 nights at the Main Street Station in Las Vegas we were finally back on the road and headed for Burning Man. While searching online for free camping we stumbled across some posts about the Car Forest in Goldfield, Nevada.
This was one of the coolest free art exhibits we have seen on our travels. Made to be a track for ATV’s when not in use, it is a sight to behold. Old beater cars that artists and grafiti artisits have decked out in vibrant paint. Some cars almost entirely in tact others in disrepair. Just go, you won’t be disappointed.
If your looking for some amazing free camping look no further than the Alkali Hot Spring. Just 10 miles up the road from Goldfield the spring offers seclusion and duh, a hot spring! We headed west on Silver Peak road just off the 95 and traveled 4 miles down a dirt road to get there. There was quite a bit of construction going on so but the time you go, there might be pavement. Travel accordingly because the road was pretty rough on the RV and pitch black at night. We parked under an awesome tree with a no trespassing sign stapled to it. The sign was riddled with bullet holes showing just how many F’s the locals give about that sign. We checked at the ranger station and technically it is private property but as long as you clean up after yourself the owners are fine with campers and hot spring dippers.
The spot it self offers many level places to park or pitch a tent. There isn’t much in the way of shade or restrooms so plan accordingly and bring plenty of water. It is dry and arid but the landscape is beautiful, open and secluded. We had a couple other people stop by to see and use the spring so don’t be surprised if your not the only one out there, however we were the only campers on a Saturday in August. The spring is small and was about 98 degrees when we went in. There are two pipes that contain different temperature water coming from the stream to aid in temperature control (pretty cool). Just up the hill from the spring there is an abandoned building that would be cool to hang out in if you left the RV at home. By far the coolest thing about this campground was the presence of wild life. We were woken up by a heard of grazing burros. The wild burro gave way to some deer and the deer to a pack of wild horses. It was our first time seeing horses in the wild and it was unbelievable. By far the coolest thing we have seen on the road yet. Throughout the day different groups of animals passed through using a watering hole nearby to drink and bathe. All in all a pretty sick spot to crash, we will be back for sure!