Camp at Tamarack Bay on Pyramid Lake

Pyramid Lake is the last remnant of the vast Pleistocene Lake Lahontan which reached its peak at the end of the last ice-age, being the terminus of many of the glaciers and ice sheets which covered much of California, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada.

Today it is an oasis in the heart of the Basis and Range desert and the terminus of the Truckee River flowing from Lake Tahoe 60 miles to the Southwest. It is an endorheic lake, having no outflow and roughly a salinity of 1/6 that of sea water. It is also home to the Lahontan Cutthroat trout, the largest Cutthroat trout species in the world with regular catches of 20 lbs.

The lake and Tamarack Bay on its southwestern shore is barren, desolate, and fiercely windswept year-round (secure your tent!). There is a small, first-come first-serve drive-in campground off State Highway 446 south of Sutcliffe and Mullen Pass, though there is additional camping all along the west shore. There are no facilities, but a portable toilet is often present.

The campsite itself looks directly across an Anaho Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to one of the two largest American White Pelican colonies.

The lake itself is on Paiute tribal lands and an overnight camping permit is required which can be purchased in any of the stores and gas stations in Sutcliffe, Nixon, Wadsworth (just off I-80), and Fernley.