Government Wash Area Information

Seasonal Heat Closure

The Government Wash campground will close on May 15^th to vehicle access and overnight camping to assess and manage area improvements and protect visitors and staff from extreme heat risks.

Government Wash will remain open to non-motorized vehicle access for daytime, non-camping activities over the summer.

The campground is anticipated to reopen for overnight use on October 1^st.

To protect visitor safety, avoid a recurrence of dispersed and unmonitored vehicle camping, and mitigate a network of unofficial and unmaintained travel routes created by visitors, it is necessary to enact a closure to ensure area conditions can be managed and assessed by park resource and law enforcement staff.

Government Wash Campground and Day Use Area

The National Park Service conducted a full site restoration at Government Wash from 2023 to 2025. This included creating 47 defined campsites, improving access roads and supporting infrastructure, clarifying boundaries, and establishing a layout that reduces congestion. The project protects natural resources while providing canoe, kayak, and small boat access to the lake.

Government Wash was reopened in early 2026 as a developed campground with two full-time campground hosts overseeing the area. While Government Wash has become a designated campground, it does not currently have electrical hookups, permanent restroom facilities, nor potable water or sewage facilities. As a result, the park cannot safely maintain full-time campground hosts during the hot summer months in southern Nevada.