From Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe, the gateway to the great parks of the West
Campervan hire in Nevada usually starts in Las Vegas, the great crossroads of Western road trips: Zion and Bryce in Utah, the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley in Arizona and Death Valley in California all lie a few days' drive away. Our rental partners await you in Las Vegas and Reno, from two-seater vans to Class A motorhomes sleeping six.
Between the two cities stretches a desert of basins and arid ranges crossed by Route 50, nicknamed "the Loneliest Road in America", with Great Basin National Park as a stop. To the north-west, Reno opens onto Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada. Distances here run to hundreds of kilometres without a village: the season and fuel stops need as much planning as the sights.
Avanti Campervans
Rental company category:Economy
Britz
Rental company category:Standard
Public rating of the rental company:
3.1/5
(10 reviews)
Cruise America
Rental company category:Standard
Public rating of the rental company:
4.0/5
(8,016 reviews)
El Monte RV
Rental company category:Standard
Escape Campervans
Rental company category:Low cost
Public rating of the rental company:
4.4/5
(94 reviews)
Mighty
Rental company category:Low cost
Road Bear RV
Rental company category:Premium
Public rating of the rental company:
4.5/5
(130 reviews)
Star RV
Rental company category:Premium
Public rating of the rental company:
3.5/5
(227 reviews)
Travellers Autobarn
Rental company category:Low cost
Public rating of the rental company:
4.0/5
(305 reviews)
Choose your departure city: the map shows where rental companies hand over their vehicles.
The great loop of the Colorado Plateau: the sandstone walls of Zion, the orange hoodoos of Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell and the Horseshoe Bend meander at Page, the buttes of Monument Valley and then the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The return to Las Vegas skirts Lake Mead and passes the Hoover Dam.
Monument Valley is a Navajo tribal park, with an entrance fee separate from the national parks. Watch the clock too: Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, unlike Utah, Nevada and the Navajo Nation.
A short desert loop around Las Vegas: the fiery sandstone and petroglyphs of Valley of Fire, Nevada's oldest state park, the scenic drive of Red Rock Canyon on the edge of the city, then Badwater, Zabriskie Point and the Mesquite Flat dunes in Death Valley, across the California state line.
Several rental companies ban Death Valley in midsummer, when the heat puts engines and air conditioning under severe strain: check the excluded areas in your contract. At Red Rock Canyon, a timed-entry reservation is required for part of the year.
Nevada's wildest crossing: Route 50 strings together empty valleys and arid passes via Fallon, the old mining town of Austin, Eureka and Ely. At the end, Great Basin National Park brings together Lehman Caves, Wheeler Peak and bristlecone pines counted among the oldest trees in the world.
The Wheeler Peak scenic drive is closed to the longest vehicles beyond the first campgrounds: check before heading up. The descent to Las Vegas follows US-93 through equally deserted valleys.
From Reno, a short loop between mining town and mountains: the wooden boardwalks of Virginia City, born of the silver rush, Carson City, the state capital, then the drive around Lake Tahoe via Sand Harbor and Emerald Bay. The way back can take in Pyramid Lake, on Paiute land, and its strange tufa formations.
The road to Virginia City climbs steeply and Lake Tahoe's west shore is narrow and winding: a van or small motorhome feels more at home there.
The ideal seasons to combine desert and mountains: in April as in October, Death Valley and Valley of Fire remain bearable, the Utah parks are pleasant and the northern roads are usually clear of snow from May. In October, the aspens turn gold around Lake Tahoe and on the slopes of Great Basin.
Las Vegas reaches an average high of 41 °C in July and Death Valley becomes the hottest place on the continent. This is the season for the north: Great Basin, the high stretches of Route 50 and Lake Tahoe, which gets very busy. In late summer, monsoon storms can cause flash floods in the canyons.
The mild season in the south: sunny days in Las Vegas, ideal for Death Valley and Valley of Fire, but chilly nights. In the north, Reno sees frost, snow closes the heights of Great Basin and the Sierra passes around Lake Tahoe sometimes require chains. Bryce Canyon is often dusted white.
Las Vegas for the southern desert, Utah and Arizona, with the widest choice of vehicles; Reno for Lake Tahoe, Route 50 and northern California.
Nevada's driving days are long: work out the total distance before comparing. From Las Vegas, just over a third of the offers we surveyed include unlimited mileage; the others are topped up with mileage packages.
Pick-up often takes place in the afternoon, at a depot away from the centre: book a hotel night on arrival and check the pick-up time and any shuttle service.
Do your shopping and fill up on water in Las Vegas or Reno: once in the desert, supermarkets disappear and small towns often have only a petrol station shop.
On Route 50, US-95 or US-93, more than a hundred kilometres sometimes separate two filling stations, which often close in the evening. Fill the tank as soon as it is half empty, keep a reserve of drinking water and note the next settlements: a motorhome is thirsty, especially against the desert wind.
Las Vegas Boulevard is gridlocked and most casino hotels only have multi-storey car parks with height limits, out of reach for a motorhome. Settle into an RV park and reach the Strip by taxi, ride-hailing app or bus: you can enjoy the shows without hunting for a space.
In summer, set off at dawn and stop during the hottest hours: tyres, brakes and cooling systems suffer on long climbs. The generator, when the vehicle has one, powers the living-area air conditioning when parked, but never leave a child or pet alone on board.
Rental contracts generally exclude unpaved roads, which are plentiful in the Nevada desert: a breakdown or puncture on a dirt track is then not covered. Mobile coverage also vanishes over long stretches: download your maps for offline use and leave your itinerary with someone close.
In Las Vegas, most depots are grouped east of the city on Boulder Highway: Britz, El Monte RV, Mighty, Road Bear RV and Star RV. Escape Campervans, Indie Campers, Travellers Autobarn and Avanti Campervans round out the choice, and Cruise America is based in Henderson. In Reno, Cruise America welcomes travellers in Sparks, on the outskirts.
Yes, depending on the rental company: Las Vegas is 368 km as the crow flies from Los Angeles and 412 km from Phoenix, two of our partners' departure cities, and Reno is 299 km from San Francisco. Select a different return city in the search: any one-way fees are then included in the total shown.
In Zion, the Zion–Mount Carmel Tunnel requires a paid escort for tall or wide vehicles, which covers most Class C motorhomes, and turns away the largest. A van such as the Beeva Camper or a four-seat Class B usually passes without an escort; a family in a Class C Medium or Large should check the passage conditions.
Yes, ideally several months ahead: national park campgrounds in the Grand Circle are booked online and are full in spring as well as autumn. In Zion, the canyon scenic drive is also reserved for shuttle buses for much of the year: you leave the motorhome at the campground or in Springdale.
One week is enough for Valley of Fire, Red Rock Canyon and Death Valley. Allow two weeks for the Grand Circle at a relaxed pace, and three to add the Route 50 crossing to Reno and Lake Tahoe, provided you return the vehicle in Reno or come back through California.
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Quick answers to pre-travel questions
An ordinary car licence is generally enough, even for the largest models available for hire. If your licence was issued outside the United States, also bring an International Driving Permit, which some rental companies require, especially when your national licence is not in English. The minimum age and years of driving experience are set by each rental company.
Most of Nevada is federal land, where dispersed camping is often allowed for a few days away from signposted sites. State parks such as Valley of Fire and the Great Basin campgrounds offer beautiful pitches, while the RV parks of Las Vegas and Reno provide hook-ups. Always check local rules before settling in.
Traffic drives on the right, in miles, and you may turn right on a red light after a full stop unless a sign says otherwise. Cannabis is legal for adults in Nevada, but using it remains prohibited at the wheel and inside a vehicle, and driving under the influence is severely punished, as with alcohol. Also check the rules on open alcohol on board.
On rural roads, yes: much of Nevada is "open range", where livestock roam freely without fences, and wild horses, deer and burros often cross the road. With no lighting or hard shoulder, a heavy motorhome struggles to stop for an animal appearing in the headlights. Plan your stages to arrive before dark.
The festival takes place from late August to early September in the Black Rock Desert, north of Reno, and its alkaline dust damages vehicles. Some rental companies forbid it, others accept it with a specific cleaning package. Declare it before booking and read the conditions: returning a dust-covered vehicle without prior agreement can lead to heavy charges.
For spring, summer and autumn, book several months ahead, at the same time as the park campgrounds. Major Las Vegas trade shows and events also fill hotels and RV parks: check their calendar before fixing your dates. From November to March, outside the end-of-year holidays, a few weeks' notice is often enough.
Nevada has two faces: the neon of Las Vegas and the silent vastness of the Great Basin, with its salt lakes, ghost towns and mountain ranges lined up like waves. A campervan lets you move from one to the other without worrying about hotels, sleeping at the foot of the red cliffs of Valley of Fire or under one of the darkest night skies in the country, at Great Basin.
Above all, the state is an ideal gateway to the great parks of the West: from Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon and Death Valley combine into a single trip, while Reno opens onto Lake Tahoe and the Sierra. Two departure cities, rental companies such as Cruise America, El Monte RV and Escape Campervans, and the option of one-way hire let you build a route to suit you.
