Listening to the forecast for our departure from Willow Beach on December 29th, the weather heading west to our next stop, Pahrump, NV didn’t sound great.

Trust me, driving two hours through a mountain pass with the possibility of icy road conditions wasn’t on our bucket list of things we wanted to do in a 45′ 44,000 pound beast! Yikes, with no availability at Willow Beach (it was Christmas/New Year week after all), we were scrambling to find someplace else to stay. But alas, no luck, everything was totally booked everywhere! Oh no, now what?

No worries! Lucky for us the weather forecast changed favorably so off we went! Heading north on US-93, crossing over the Tillman Bridge, Hoover Dam was once again on full display from our coach. Just past Hoover Dam, we would take the Boulder City Bypass (I-11) and then turn onto I-215W.

Turning onto Pahrump Valley Highway (NV-160W), we would travel through the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area near the base of 11,918-foot Mount Charleston.

Remember that forecast we were nervous about before we left Willow Beach? Well, guess there must have been some sort of bad weather at some point as there was snow along the sides of the roads near Mountain Springs, NV! Gulp! A little snow on the side of the road and no ice on the road anywhere – no big deal. Actually, if things had been worse there was a route that avoids the higher elevations, but would have added significant miles to the trip.

Desert cactus in the foreground with snow covered peaks in the background – wow!

Lakeside Casino RV Park was our destination for a two night stay beginning on December 29th. No major plans here. In prep for our upcoming 10 day exciting adventure, this was just a quick stop to take care of some of the necessities of our camping lifestyle – laundry, fill/empty our tanks, etc. We would return again to this resort for a one night stay on January 9th as we headed back eastward towards Las Vegas.

Located 55 miles from Las Vegas and 50 miles from Death Valley National Park, Lakeside Casino RV Park offers 150 full service back-in and pull thru sites with lots of amenities including concrete patios, a swimming pool and hot tub, 3 comfort stations/laundry, catch/release fishing, kayaks, pedal boats, nine hole frisbee golf, horseshoes, cabanas, Lakeside Casino, restaurant, cafe, bar, and amphitheater.

Daily rates range from $55 (weeknights) to $65 (Friday – Sunday) with a 10% discount for AAA, AARP, Military, FMCA and Good Sam. Passport America is available for the first 3 nights but be aware it is only valid once every 30 days. The two night charge for our back-in site #74 with the PA rate was $54.50.

Gaining entrance to the RV park can be a little tricky (see map of campground). From NV-160W, turn onto E. Manse Road, turn left onto Homestead Road. After the gas station, take a right onto Thousandaire Blvd, then turn right into the RV Park entrance. Be forewarned that the driveway and registration area is relatively small and not adequate to handle multiple RV’s at one time. Unfortunately for us, there were two other RV’s parked in the registration line when we arrived. Since our coach was blocking the driveway, Rob stayed in the coach while I checked in.

All the amenities sound nice, don’t they? But for some reason, this park just didn’t jive with us! Not sure why, it was adequate for our two stays but probably it would never be a destination park for us, just a convenient place to stay for a night or two on our way to somewhere else. We checked out other campgrounds in the town of Pahrump but none of the others looked any better.

Pahrump is a small city with a population of approximately 44,000 (2020). It bills itself as “a thrill seeker’s paradise with small town flair and your base camp to adventure” boasting high-speed racing, off-road trails, casinos, geocaching, lush fairways, tasty restaurants, a contemporary wine culture, concerts, bowling centers and firearms training.  Can’t prove it by us since our stay here was pretty short, we didn’t have an opportunity to partake in any of that. Just a decent breakfast at Mom’s Diner where I had a Western Omelet and Rob has his usual Corned Beef Hash (big surprise there). Afterward we took a drive around town just to explore the area.

As mentioned above this was just a two night stay so on December 31st, we headed to our next fun adventure but more about that later. On January 9, 2022, we returned to Lakeside for another one night stay on pull thru site #11 which was close to the office. It was a little tight maneuvering the coach into this site due to some large boulders along the edge but we made it without any problems. We definitely preferred this site to the previous and we didn’t need to unhitch the Jeep. It was an easy drive out in the morning.

When we checked in at the office for our second stay, we became annoyed – this time our rate was $51.00 for the one night (as opposed to our previous stay which was 2 nights for $54.50). When I made our reservation online, the confirming email showed a rate of $47.50 (it was a Sunday night, a weekday night would have been $42.50). When we asked about the rate difference, the office said that the daily rate is based on “supply and demand” and fluctuates daily (really?) and they weren’t sure why the PA rate didn’t apply. We later concluded that even though the PA rate is allowed for three nights within 30 days, it only applies to one stay within 30 days (3 contiguous nights) and this was our second stay. So, caveat emptor.

More photos of our travels to Pahrump and are stay there are available here.