Eureka Dunes Campground (Primitive)

Lovely place. Simply an amazing and unique. About 40 miles of gravel road to get there. Deflated my tires to run it comfortably and not beat up on my suspension to drive at 30mph. The campsites are dispersed, so if you want to be alone (on a weekday at least), chances are you can be. Only taking off a star due to the fact that the Google maps trail going up the Dunes is non existent. You must fin... Lovely place. Simply an amazing and unique. About 40 miles of gravel road to get there. Deflated my tires to run it comfortably and not beat up on my suspension to drive at 30mph. The campsites are dispersed, so if you want to be alone (on a weekday at least), chances are you can be. Only taking off a star due to the fact that the Google maps trail going up the Dunes is non existent. You must find your own way, or follow tracks from previous hikers. Did not feel good leaving my own tracks in the perfectly smooth surface, I thought there was a set way to follow, but I guess not. Gets to be freezing after around midnight, so pack plenty of blankets! And your own TP of course! The last campsite towards the end had a small pond about half a mile away or so. Also, road is closed past that as of March 2024.

This area is stunning, like a landscape off an alien planet. Sometimes it doesn't feel real, it's that beautiful. For full effect, listen to the Dune soundtrack on the summit of the highest dune as you look at the landscape. My experience may have been affected by the fact that we went on a weekend of the full moon, but we did not find the privacy and solitude we expected here. The dunes and vall... This area is stunning, like a landscape off an alien planet. Sometimes it doesn't feel real, it's that beautiful. For full effect, listen to the Dune soundtrack on the summit of the highest dune as you look at the landscape. My experience may have been affected by the fact that we went on a weekend of the full moon, but we did not find the privacy and solitude we expected here. The dunes and valley themselves are spectacular, it's the amount of people that made me knock off a star. There were around 30 cars when we arrived Friday afternoon, with all the picnic table area camping spots completely full with large groups. Further down the road there's flat areas off the road but these began to fill up as well. Our "secluded" spot quickly became buzzing with people. ⁹ A lot of people were doing activities prohibited in such a delicate area. Sand boarding, RC cars, dogs, drones, we saw it all. There is no NPS station at this end of the park to collect fees and no notices posted educating people to respect the dunes. But honestly if you do any research to come out here, you probably know that. The 3 endemic plant species found here are delicate and threatened. especially eureka dune grass found higher on the slopes and in the path of sand boarders. You can sand board elsewhere in DV there's literally no need to do it at Eureka. For camping, keep going down the dirt road until you see no more cars and you're more at the side of them, and closer to the mountains. The view from that side is more dramatic anyways. My plan for next time is drive much further down the road and skip the weekend crowd. Also the wind can be brutal. Check the wind forecast, gusts 20mph or higher will fill your tent with sand, etc. Hopefully this will help someone plan their trip. Please don't sand board here, the plants are found nowhere else on Earth.