Lookout Campground
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest - Carson Ranger District
Longitude -120.07480, Latitude 39.58960

Lookout Campground is located in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest just west of Peavine Mountain in Dog Valley, near the summit into Long Valley. Access is from Verdi or Cold Springs on Dog Valley Road which is a fair dirt road (Sierra County Road 570) with a few sizable rocks to watch out for. 4WD is not necessary in dry conditions, but a low clearance vehicle is not recommended.

Old maps refer to this camp as Crystal Peak Campground. Perhaps this is it's old name, but it has been called Lookout for the 14 years I've lived in Nevada.

Lookout Campground was completely renovated in 2002 and is extremely nice for a Forest Service campground. However, Lookout is not very busy, which is quite amazing given it's proximity to the Reno Metro Area. Maybe the 10 mile drive on dirt roads is a little too much for the average Urbanite? I guess people just don't know it's here. Maybe this site will help to that end.

This campground is set right alongside Dog Valley Road. The campground is laid out in one simple loop on the side of a well forested hill with limited filtered views of Dog Valley below. The loop road in the campground is paved with loose gravel, and it's in great condition. The campground really looks well since it was recently renovated and is not very busy. Everything is in excellent, tip-top shape.

Each camp site has a nice gravel pad with solid wooden picnic tables, fire pits with flip-over BBQ grills (for cooking right on the fire) and camp stove stands. These camp stove stands are quite nifty, and a rarity in forest service campgrounds. Some sites even have upgraded fire pits that are cool for socializing around the evening fire (these types don't have the flip-over grill assembly).

Immediately inside the front entrance is a large group site that looks like it could accommodate about 50 people. Additionally there are a half-dozen small group sites throughout the campground. These have two or three picnic tables in the site and a separate stand-alone BBQ grill. There was a sign in each of these saying that you must see the Campground Host in order to occupy these sites. However, there was no Campground Host on site at review time. In fact, I was there midweek and there was absolutely no one in the campground at all. Quite nice actually.

Four-Wheelin' is the most popular activity around these parts. Otherwise you can do some hiking and fishing. Stampede and Boca Reservoirs are about 20 minutes away to the west down fair dirt roads. Hunting is very popular in the fall. Reviewed 08/2005.