Overview

The undeveloped Little Finland Camp area is a quiet place way out in the desert in the middle of Gold Butte National Monument. The campsites sit among red sand dunes below the strikingly dark-red sandstone crags of Little Finland, an area known worldwide for fanciful eroded shapes.

There is no water, and there are no toilets, no trash cans, and no picnic tables. Bring what you need and take it home when you leave. There is truck parking a couple of miles west on Interstate-15 where campers can dump trash without taking it back to Las Vegas.

This camp area, suitable for a number of pickup-camper parties, is located on sandy backroads that offer plenty of privacy, but it is best for 4WD vehicles because of the sand and one rock shelf to drive up and over. This is a scenic place to visit and commune with the scenery of this wild and rugged region.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ... this is a wild and remote area without services of any kind (no restrooms, no water, no gas, no food). Bring what you need to survive. Be prepared and be self-reliant. Someone will find you eventually if you stay on a main road, but be prepared to survive alone for a day or two. Cell phones don't work in this area.

A 4WD vehicle is useful on the sandy Little Finland Road, especially for one rocky step, but 2WD and AWD SUVs make it up without too much trouble.

While visiting Gold Butte National Monument, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this is a remote area, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials, even if you leave them in the car.

Be sure to bring trash bags to clean up after people who care less about wild places than you do.

Getting to Little Finland Campsite

The Little Finland camp area is located out in Gold Butte National Monument at the northeast end of Lake Mead, about of 3 hours northeast of Las Vegas in a wild, remote, and scenic area.

From Las Vegas, drive out the paved Gold Butte Road 21 miles to Whitney Pocket. Continue south on the unpaved Gold Butte Road for 3.9 miles to a signed intersection with Mud Wash North Road.

Turn right onto Mud Wash North Road and continue 3.2 miles southwest to Mud Wash Road. Stay right onto Mud Wash Road and continue generally west for another 4.0 miles to Little Finland Road (Table 1, Site 1680), on the right.

Turn right onto Little Finland Road and drive east 1.7 miles to the sandy flats below the Little Finland cliffs.

Little Finland Campsites

The Little Finland camp area is a quiet place out on the north side of Mud Wash. The camp area is nestled up against the red sandstone crags of Little Finland. This area is big enough for several parties, but please be respectful of your neighbors as there is nothing to block the view or noise. There are also some springs at the base of the cliffs, and we should always camp at least 100 feet from water to allow nocturnal creatures the chance to sneak in and get a drink.

This campsite is a good kick-off point for hikers. From camp, hikers can climb up into Little Finland or hike overland to Red Rock Spring and Hartman Tank.

There is some petroglyphs in the area, so be sure to keep an eye out while hiking.