Kershaw-Ryan State Park — Attraction in Caliente

Long before Kershaw-Ryan State Park became a quiet haven for hikers and campers, the canyon walls whispered a warning, carried by the desert winds: “Don’t linger after sunset… or the Buzzard Man will find you.”

The story begins over a century ago, when the canyon was still wild and untouched, known only to a few brave settlers and the Paiute people who respected the land—and feared what lived in the high rocks.

According to legend, a miner named Silas Reed wandered into the canyon one fall looking for silver. Greedy and desperate, he ignored the warnings scratched into an old wooden sign: “No man climbs Vulture Ridge and returns whole.” Silas was too hungry for riches to listen. He set up camp beneath a jagged cliff shaped like a talon and began digging into the rocks.

For days, nothing happened. But one evening, as the sun dipped low and the shadows stretched long, he struck something not metal—but bone. A long, blackened claw, curled and dry like a crow’s foot. Before he could react, a gust of wind blasted down the canyon with a scream that wasn’t quite human and not quite bird.

They say that night, Silas was taken—not killed, but changed. Twisted by some ancient spirit tied to the canyon, cursed for disturbing what should have stayed buried. His arms grew long and feathered, fingers tipped with claws. His eyes sank and turned yellow. A beak split his face, and his voice became a rasping screech that echoed for miles.

Now, the Buzzard Man lives high on the canyon ledges, where few dare climb. He only comes down when the moon is full or the scent of blood is in the air. Campers who stay too late sometimes find their fires scattered and their tents torn. Hikers have spotted enormous wings folded into the rocks, vanishing the second you blink.

Some say if you stand near the old rusted water spigot just after dusk, you might hear his talons scrape across the stone above. Others swear they’ve seen a man-shaped shadow with a vulture’s head watching from the cliffs.

They say he’s still hungry—not for gold, but for company. For someone else foolish enough to trespass where the canyon spirits sleep.

So if you visit Kershaw-Ryan, take your photos, breathe the desert air, but be gone before dark.

Because the Buzzard Man doesn’t like sharing his canyon.

And he never...

My family of six stayed overnight at KERSHAW-RYAN STATE PARK in Caliente, Nevada on Friday, 4 May 2018. We were in sites 8 and 13 in our Class A Motorhomes. As we have the Nevada Senior Park Passes, our stay was free. The general overnight rate is $15.

This is a beautiful park that sits in a canyon just outside of the small town of Caliente, Nevada. The paved road into the park ends at a beautiful day Park area with a shallow wading pool, hiking trails and picnic tables. It appears that special occasions / events, even weddings, take place in the day Park area.

The small campground is located just inside the check in gate prior to the mile ride up to the day park area. The loop around the campground is loose gravel. It does lend itself to a bit of dust.

The campground has paid showers and toilets. They appeared to be very clean when we looked into them during our early evening walk around the campground loop.

The campsites are graveled and fairly level and well long enough for my 33 foot motorhome and Grand Vitara tow car. Each site has a covered picnic table and a fire ring. Firewood is available in the campground for about three dollars a bundle.

There is a variety of beautiful trees throughout the park some of which offer a bit of shade. One such beautiful blooming tree near our sites was host to quite a swarm of buzzing bees. Gladly, we were not disturbed.

Unfortunately, the afternoon temperature in this area was a bit high for our stay at KERSHAW-RYAN STATE PARK, thus, we had to run our generator for three hours to get the 100° temperature down from inside our motorhome. I am certain fall and spring would be fantastic here. When night time came, we were delighted that the canyon temperature dropped to a very pleasant mid 50° and it was wonderful sleeping weather.

Water is available throughout the park. And, there is a dumpsite near the exit located near the check-in point.

I will definitely return to KERSHAW-RYAN STATE PARK...

So, we haven't been here in 10 yrs, everything I am stating is from then.

The park is clean and kept up. The camp grounds also. We camped for 3 days 2 nights. we explored about a third of the park, and we went up to the very cool n shady picnic area up top. We went on a 5 mile hike to the mtn top, which hiking can turn into an all-day event. It's kind of a plateue up there. We got to see the train go by, which runs on the opposite side of the river, and we also got to see all the cattle from the nearby ranch(s).

I took a full camp setup for car camping, and our spot was perfect; we had a table, BBQ grill, and water nearby. Also, we found out that the showers ran on quarters, so we hit the grocery store and exchanged $20 for $20 in quarters. My wife absolutely loves this! She took a $10 shower on day 2.

We used Kershaw-Ryan as our launch point to explore Caliente, NV, and the surrounding area, We loved it all.

We drove South to visit the Elgin school house. It's one of the oldest in Southern NV and part of the states historic points. It was closed but we took pictures. Additionally, the drive to and from was epic! I'm not saying anything else. You gotta go.

We had a cow jump over the fence several times, kinda crazy, I didn't know female cows had horns or at least some breeds do. She didn't have anything hanging between her legs, haa, and the Ranger verified my suspension. She also came to our camp site in the middle of the night, kinda cool, kinda not. We also had a little lizard entertain it's self by running and jumping onto the tent and bouncing off it. It did this multiple times during the night. When I went to prep coffee in the morning, I saw this with my own eyes, which was very cool n funny.

So, research Kershaw-Ryan and the town of Caliente (it has things to see and do). Pack your gear or trailer, Motorhome, and head to central-east Nevada, make it a...