Ely KOA Journey

After boondocking for 2 weeks and then driving Nevada Route 50, aka The Loneliest Road in America , all day, including dealing with a flat tire, I wanted some pampering. There was plenty of space between the rigs as commercial campgrounds go and the view was spectacular. Shade trees were nice. As always, the laundry was welcome. There was very little noise from the highway and the place was very well kept. Although there was a row of full timers it didn't in any way detract. (I imagine housing in that town was limited.) Wifi worked well.

Gravel sites are small, tight, with no privacy between them. The dog areas are super-tiny, but luckily, there are miles of trails directly adjacent to the park where you can hike with your pooch. There's even a small fenced dog cemetery nearby for pondering the inevitable.

The office staff are super-friendly, and the laundry and restrooms are clean (if a little old). Well located for visiting the highly-recommended soda fountain in Ely.

Date of Stay: November 16, 2015

Easy access, just a couple of miles outside of Ely on the 50. Easy in, easy out.

We has a narrow strip with our own tree, picnic table and hookups. Thankfully we had no immediate neighbors, so we had a little bit of space. Otherwise, we would have been packed like sardines.

What we saw of it was neat and tidy.

There was road noise from the 50 about 100 yards from where we parked.

The facilities were typical for a KOA and being "out west" means there is no grass and your site is gravel. The sites are typical size for a private campground and you will not have any privacy from your neighbors. There is no screening between sites. This campground is 100% utilitarian and serves well as an overnight stop when traveling through the area. Don't expect any charm here.

There are a lot of trees on the property which provides a nice break from the sun. The number of trees in some spots can cause issues if you are trying to set up your satellite dish. Accordingly, we took a site along the main road to get an uninterrupted view of the southern sky. I was concerned that we would hear road noise but Highway 50 is known as the Loneliest Road in America with good reason! There was very little traffic and whatever there was very quiet. Accordingly, I would say that this was one of the quietest KOAs we've ever used.

We did not try the park's wifi but found Verison internet to be marginal, good enough for email and light web surfing but not good enough to stream video.

Nice if you need full hookups for a night. Park seemed like a safer alternative to the ones a little closer to the center of Ely... which is looking a little rough around the edges, to say the least. The park is clean and seems well maintained and the staff was extremely helpful and friendly. Views from the perimeter of the park are very nice. Sites are fine, basically just parking slots separated by trees. Place was fairly quiet until the deafening chorus of birds from 4-7am, including the single most annoying pigeon I have ever heard. It's a little expensive, but all KOAs are. Overall, it was fine but I don't think I'll be back, mainly because I came to see Ely and what I saw was enough.

Gravel everywhere. Sites are pull through. Clean place. Quiet. They gave me cute doggie treats when I got here. That's a nice touch. There's a dog run on the property. Bathrooms need updating. Staff is nice. My bank account aches whenever I find a koa out of desperation. It's more than a hotel to stay in my own RV! The water is cold and tasty and the hook ups are all new and cared for unlike most places.

This was a great stop for our road trip. Our site was close enough to the restroom to make it easy grass area was nice. Picnic table was super wobbly.

Tried to stay at Ward Mountain, but couldn’t use the A/C.
This is a quiet KOA, friendly staff, shady!!! And full hookups, so we were able to cool off the 5th wheel after traveling in the desert all day.

We stayed in September 2019. Usually this KOA is a one-nighter for us while passing through. This time, it was our destination as we had plans to take a historic steam train ride at the Northern Nevada Railway Museum. It's quiet and clean and sites are a tad more spacious than most KOAs. Sites are gravel and mostly pull-thru with full hookups. We do have to use levelers each time as they are not quite level as-is. Wi-fi is at a hotspot- probably the office. We did not get a signal at our site so did not use it. They have a couple small dog runs. Staff has been friendly and welcoming each time we've stayed there. It is well staffed and supervised for everyone's enjoyment because no one in the campground wants to listen to someone's outdoor TV system. Check-in was a snap and after hours check-in was very well organized. The office/store closes at 7pm. This place tends to fill up so if you have plans to stop here on a weekend, you should reserve.

Historic Ely is about 3 miles up Hwy 50. There are restaurants, casinos and hotels- and the Northern Nevada Railway Museum which is well worth the visit. Not many train museums offer actual train rides but this one offers lots of themed rides. Check schedules on their website in advance. Great Basin National Park is about an hour away. Cave Lake State Park is about 20 minutes away. There are dirt bike/atv trails that you can access from the campground and ride for miles.

This was the weirdest KOA experience I've had yet. We got here off season (Jan 31 - Feb 2) and tried to reserver on the KOA website only to see every space was "call for availability". Ooookay, Ely isn't exactly a hotbed of activity in February, so we drove to the site.

Office was closed the entire time we were there, and we didn't see anyone running the camp. On the front board at the office door was a "late check-in" board with envelopes and sites. Pick your site, put money in envelope, drop envelope through the door. Map in the envelope had the wifi code and the door code for the restrooms. That's it.

Otherwise, we had the campground almost entirely to ourselves. A bus camper pulled up three spots down from us for the night, a 5th wheel the next day. Some full timers here, but their sites are on the parameter of the campground. Nice place though.