Desert Campsite The Pads — Hotel in Pahrump

I see lots of speculation about the origin of this place and I am here to help with some facts.

In 1980, my family lived here. It was owned by the local mine and was filled with mobile homes provided for the workers and their families.

We took the bus to Death Valley High School (Go Scorpions!) in Shoshone. It was a long drive there and back. You could begin, enjoy, and end an adolescent relationship in one round trip.

The pool was functional but not deep and we had a rec center next to it with pool tables, pinball machines, and a jukebox. Water was trucked in and stored in a tower.

There wasn't phone service to each home but the five double wides at the end (management) shared a party line. We couldn't dial out and you couldn't dial us directly. You had to call the San Bernardino toll operator to get connected and each of the five houses had their own unique ring so you knew when to answer. (My family lived in one of the double wides. You might say I was part of the privileged elite.)

It has always been windy there. I recall one night when our metal shed door was left open and the wind got under it and ripped it from its anchors. We watched it fold and roll like a tumbleweed.

Our grocery shopping trips included a very large ice chest and it was still possible that your frozen items would be a bit less frozen by the time you got home.

Enjoy your breathtaking night sky and spectacular views and ponder what it might have been like to be a teenager so far removed from all but a small group of people. Listening to Meatloaf, Supertramp, and the B52's. And playing Rapper's Delight by The Sugarhill Gang on constant repeat until you'd learned all the...

Free place to park your RV or camp! This area is super close to Death Valley. The stars and the sky at night are amazing. We only stayed one night on 9-2-2024.

We arrived in the dark and had no idea what to expect or who might be there. It was still too hot to start a campfire in the fire pit that was next to our RV and we saw a scorpion, so we didn't start a fire. ;-) There are a lot of bugs here, I didn't see anyone mention this before.

When we woke up in the morning it was already hot, but we rode our bikes up to the top of the hill near where we stayed and there's another pad site up there! It's pretty steep though, but amazing views from there, which I show in my photos below.

We appreciated saving money for a night. However, we did run our generator while we slept because we didn't see anyone else there and it was hot AF to try to sleep. It was very quiet there and there's no cell service, so if you have Starlink, you'll probably be fine!

When we woke up there was one truck camper type vehicle way down from us. For reference when looking at the photos, our RV is 31'. You can see that we had plenty of space on the actual pad.

I made a video of the area on my YouTube page....

This place is fantastic in so many ways. Free camping, but you must be self-contained as there are no services here. People who use this site are respectful; pack it in, pack it out. There is NO garbage. It’s dead quiet. Close to Death Valley, which is stunning. Close to Death Valley Junction - there is an operating hotel there!! Close to the Nevada border where there is a casino and gas station featuring “Nevada prices for gas!” And try to be there on a clear, moonless night. The night sky will absolutely blow you away!!

You have to read the review by Aura Mae. She gives a short history lesson about this place and why those concrete pads are there. Very interesting - thanks Aura!! Such a different place for kids to grow up in.

Enjoy - it’s worth...