After leaving the Yuma area, we traveled north to Laughlin, NV (Bullhead City, AZ) to meet Kevin’s brother for a late lunch. Then we made our way to Nevada Telephone Cove Dispersed Camping area, which is on the banks of the Mohave Lake. It is only about ten miles northwest of Laughlin and camping is free. It is my understanding that if you go to the Arizona side of Mohave Lake, you have to pay for camping, but please do your own research to make sure. I found it, once again, on FreeRoam.
While the site is only about 10 miles from Laughlin, be advised that 4.5 miles of that distance is on a sandy, gravel, washboard road with some twists and some steep grades (short though they are). So be prepared to have your gizzard jiggled out for 4.5 miles. We have a 27’ Class-C (who gets a bit cranky on washboard roads) with a toad, so had an issue with one steep hill. Gordito began to spin down into the sand. We did make it, though. On the way out the next day, we unloaded the car and I drove it out ahead of Gordito, and he made it just fine.
We are discovering that most BLM lands are accessible by gravel (usually washboard) roads, so if that is the price we have to pay for peace and quiet and privacy, then so be it. It is worth it.
We arrived there late Friday evening, knowing it would probably be busy/crowed with weekenders. And we were correct. Telephone Cove (TC) is simply a stretch of beach on the shore of Mohave Lake where you can stop anywhere and camp. There wasn’t a place on the shore, so we circled around and got a primo spot on the opposite side among some shrubberies (you are required to say that with a British accent, ala Monty Python style – LOL). We put our door facing the mountains and not the lake, and so got privacy that way. The ground was level enough to not have to use levelers – for just one night, anyway.
We noticed rigs bigger than ours when we got there, so don’t worry about getting in. If we did it, and they did it, you are bound to succeed. There was one site right on the shore that was obviously un-manned but “saved.” Not sure of the rules on BLM land for that sort of thing, but we thought it was really bad form. We could have camped on the shore were it not for that.
The area offers a vault (bathroom), a huge dumpster for trash, a few trees and shrubs, and a boat launch. There were plenty of toys present: side-by-sides, jet skis, boats. Due to it being the weekend, we expected this. The sign there stated that you can stay up to seven days in a row.
The lake was cold, and the breeze was hot – nice combo. However, it was so hot that we had difficulty getting to sleep later, even with all the windows open and a (hot) breeze. It finally did cool down sometime later in the night. This is when we decided to invest in some smaller, rechargeable (maybe solar), clamp-on fans. We ran the generator for a bit so we could use the air conditioner to cool us down before going to bed, but we are hesitant to run it too much, because we know peeps want peace and quiet. However, we noticed several other rigs running theirs, and from our camp, we could not hear them. I think we just need to get used to running it more when we need to.
I would highly recommend TC BLM area for introverted boondocking – especially during the week, not on holidays, and not in summer (kids are out of school and on vaca with the fam). Please note that we were there in mid-May. On our way out the next morning, we saw LOTS more folks coming in with more toys for weekend fun, so introverts beware. LOL
What’s your fave rechargeable (maybe solar?), smaller, clamp-on fan for camping?
a wilder grace 