Overview

Las Vegas Bay Campground sits on a flat-topped bluff overlooking Las Vegas Wash. The surrounding landscape is sparsely vegetated with stunted creosote bush, white bursage, and few other shrubs. In contrast, the campground is well vegetated with eucalyptus trees, cottonwood trees, russian olive, california fan palms, and oleander bushes, providing the only green habitat in this dry area.

When the lake level was up, the campground provided a nice, elevated position for looking down on waterbirds in the water. However, the camp now overlooks Las Vegas Wash, and the lake is in the far distance. In the campground, watch for Greater Roadrunner, which hunt among empty campsite and sometimes beg for meat scraps. Gamble's Quail and Coyote are common.

Link to map.

Location

Las Vegas Bay Campground is located in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, just east of Las Vegas. After turning into the marina area, the ranger station (with cottonwood and fan palm trees) is the first building on the right. Just past the ranger station and just before a dry storage yard on the left, a road to the left runs out to the campground. The signs here need a little work.

At the campground, birders should avoid parking in campsites. Instead, park at the entrance, park by a restroom, or drive all the way to the end of the campground road where a parking area overlooks Las Vegas Wash and the lake in the distance.