Joshua Tree National Park Camping: Complete Trip Guide

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Our Jumbo Rocks Campsite

Where we stayed the first night: Jumbo Rocks Campground, site #89

Jumbo Rocks is a prime location within the park boundaries. It’s a great place to launch from to see the three main areas of the park.

Access

Prices & Reservations

Stay limits: There is a 30-day camping limit each year. Only 14 of these nights may take place from October-May.

Location/Directions

You can enter the park from the north via Route 62 using the West Entrance Station (from Yucca Valley and the town of Joshua Tree) or the North Entrance Station (from the Twentynine Palms area).

You can enter the park from the south via Interstate 10 using the South Entrance (from Blythe to the east, from Palm Springs to the west and from the Coachella Valley including Rancho Mirage and Indio areas).

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Our BLM Boondocking Campsite

Where we stayed the rest of our visit: BLM land south of the park along Cottonwood Springs Road

We’re from Arizona and are used to camping in the wide open desert where the wind blows frequently. This was a good place to camp because it was near the park, but, during our visit it was really windy so we cut our trip short and moved to the next destination on our itinerary. On the bright side, the ground is hard-packed so the wind did not pick up as much dust as it does compared to camping in our typical Arizona desert boondocking locations.

NOTE: We visited two BLM Dispersed camping areas, we stayed at the one on the south side of Joshua Tree National Park (located off of Cottonwood Springs Road.) We would not recommend the BLM Dispersed location north of the park (located off of Cascade Road) because it looked unsafe to us. There were abandoned vehicles, make-shift tents, scattered trash and RVs in disrepair. It seemed like many of the people were living in the area. We had a very uneasy feeling so we left. Our assessment of the area was very negative, we do not know the current condition of the location.

Access

Prices & Reservations

Price To Camp: FREE (Last Price Paid: $0 on 9/9/23)

Stay limits: 14 day limits. Area is open year-round

Location/Directions

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Joshua Tree National Park Campgrounds

If you don’t do much camping in desert locations, you need to be prepared because the National Park Service may activate fire restrictions. Check out my post on camping during fire bans for more information.

Reservation Camping

Black Rock Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 99
• This campground is located in the northwest corner of the park along Black Rock Canyon Road. Unless you’re backpacking, you must use highway 62 to access other areas in the park
• Open year round
• This location actually has campground amenities the other locations don’t, if you need cell service phone reception and internet connectivity, this is a great choice
• Dump Station is available here
• RV Max Length 35 Feet
• Picnic tables and fire rings are available at each site
• Potable water and flush toilets are available here
• No showers
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here
• No hookups, RV-accessible potable water and dump stations

Cottonwood Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 62
• This campground is located in the southeast area of the park along Pinto Basin Road near the Cottonwood Visitor Center
• Open year round
• Potable water sources and flush toilets are available here
• No showers
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here
• Dump Station is available here
• RV Max Length 35 Feet
• No hookups, RV-accessible potable water and dump stations

Indian Cove Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 101 (39 reservable, remaining are first-come first-served basis)
• This campground is located on the north side of the Wonderland of Rocks in a secluded area off of Highway 62. It is 13 miles east of Joshua Tree Village and 10 miles west of Twentynine Palms
• Open year round
• RV Max Length 35 Feet
• Vault toilets are available here
• No showers, no potable water, no dump station
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here
• Water is available at the ranger station located approximately 2 miles north of the campground

Jumbo Rocks Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 124
• This campground is located in the center of the park, along Park Boulevard
• Reservations can be made up to six months in advance, they are required year-round
• Open year round
• No showers, no potable water, no dump station
• Vault toilets are available here
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here
• RV Max Length 35 Feet

Ryan Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 32 (4 are designated equestrian sites with reservations required, 3 are bicycle sites)
• This campground is located in the center of the park along Park Boulevard, adjacent to the California Riding and Hiking Trail. This route is popular with multi-day backpackers for backcountry camping as well as horseback riders
• Open year round
• No showers, no potable water, no dump station
• RV Max Length 35 Feet
• Pit toilets are available here
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here

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First-Served Campgrounds

The best bet for finding a walk-up camp spot during the peak season is to drive through the campground in the early morning hours and watch for people who are packing up. If you wait to look for sites later in the day, the transition of campers moving in or out will have already taken place. Check out what are “walk-up only campsites” to learn how they work and tips for finding the best sites.

Belle Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 18 (all are first-served sites)
• This campground is located in the center of the park along Pinto Basin Road
• Open year round
• No showers, no potable water, no dump station
• Pit toilets are available here
• RV Max Length 35 Feet
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here

Hidden Valley Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 44 (all are first-served campsites, none can be reserved in advance)
• This campground is centrally located along Park Boulevard
• Open year round
• No showers, no potable water, no dump station
• Pit toilets are available here
• RV Max Length 24 Feet
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here

Indian Cove Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 101 (This is one of the largest campgrounds but only 39 sites are reservable, the remaining are first-come first-served basis)
• This campground is located on the north side of the Wonderland of Rocks in a secluded area off of Highway 62. It is 13 miles east of Joshua Tree Village and 10 miles west of Twentynine Palms
• Open year round
• RV Max Length 35 Feet
• Vault toilets are available here
• No showers, no potable water, no dump station
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here
• Water is available at the ranger station located approximately 2 miles north of the campground

White Tank Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 15
• This campground is centrally located in the park along Pinto Basin Road
• Open year round
• No showers, no potable water, no dump station
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here
• RV Max Length 24 Feet

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Group Campgrounds

Indian Cove and the Sheep Pass Group Campground are the best for large groups.

Cottonwood Group Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 3 (Reservation is required)
• Maximum number of people per site ranges from 15-25 depending on the site
• This campground is located in the southeast area of the park along Pinto Basin Road near the Cottonwood Visitor Center
• Open year round
• Potable water and flush toilets are available here
• No showers
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here
• Dump Station is available here
• RV Max Length 35 Feet
• No RV hookups, RV-accessible potable water and dump stations

Indian Cove Group Campground

• TOTAL SITES: 13
• Maximum number of people per site ranges from 15-60 depending on the site
• This campground is located on the north side of the Wonderland of Rocks in a secluded area off of Highway 62. It is 13 miles east of Joshua Tree Village and 10 miles west of Twentynine Palms
• Open year round
• RV Max Length 24 Feet
• Vault toilets are available here
• No showers, no potable water, no dump station
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here
• Water is available at the ranger station located approximately 2 miles north of the campground

Sheep Pass Campground

This location only offers group campsites, there are no individual sites here.

• TOTAL SITES: 6
• Maximum number of people per site ranges from 20-50 depending on the site
• This campground is centrally located in the park along Park Boulevard
• Open year round
• This is a tent camping only site, recreational vehicles and habitable trailers are NOT allowed
• Picnic tables and fire pits are available at each site
• Vault toilets are available here
• Trash/Recycling Collection is available here
• Potable water is available at the Oasis Visitor Center or West Entrance, 13 miles away
• There is a dedicated parking area but no overflow parking is available
• Vehicle entrance fees are charged on top of the camping fee

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Backcountry Camping

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Joshua Tree Boondocking

When you don’t have advanced reservations, one of the best ways to visit Joshua Tree National Park during the busy season is to use the BLM free camping areas. You can pull up on a Friday afternoon and just find a spot to set up camp in the desert. It’s also great when you can’t get group sites (as long as you are willing to dry camp). The BLM California Desert District Office is the agency that manages this area.

As we said earlier, we felt comfortable camping in the BLM area to the south of the park, but, we were uneasy about the area to the north of the park so we recommend avoiding the northern BLM area.

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Activities

Joshua Tree is great for land-based activities. Here’s a list our favorite things to do in the park.

Skull Rock Nature Trail: We loved staying at the Jumbo Rocks Campground because it was amazing to be nestled between huge granite boulders, and, because so many cool things are within walking distance of the campground. We took the Discovery Trail to the Skull Rock Nature Trail for a nice easy morning hike. The easy Skull Rock loop trail is just over 1.5 miles and meanders around boulder piles and desert washes. The rock that looks like a skull draws lots of visitors so the parking area is usually full. The parking area is located along the main east-west park road directly across from the Skull Rock.

Cholla Cactus Garden: Living in the desert area near Phoenix, I’ve seen my share of cholla cacti but I’ve never seen as many in one location as I saw in this place. This 1/4 mile loop is a flat easy walk among thousands of cholla cactus plants that cover the landscape. I loved the little bridges and groomed paths. It’s important to stay on the path because even though they look fuzzy and soft, these cacti are prickly. You don’t want to be pulling painful thorns out of your shoes, clothes or body!

Lost Palms Oasis: This was one of the best hikes to experience a fan palm oasis in the southern part of the park. This out-and-back 7.5 mile trail is strenuous but worth it. The trail begins with sandy washes and rolling terrain and eventually takes you down into a canyon to explore the fan palms. The climb out of the canyon is the toughest part of the hike. Use the Cottonwood Spring parking area to access this trail.

Keys View: It takes about 20 minutes to drive from Park Boulevard up Keys View Road. The destination sits on the Little San Bernardino Mountains where you’ll experience 360 degree views of the surrounding area. There is a lookout that is ADA accessible. There is also a .2-mile loop hiking trail with a gradual incline. The path extends up the ridge for even better panoramic views. This is the best short hike in the park to see the landscape from a lofty perspective. The distant view of the San Gorgonio Mountain is stunning with a snow-covered peak reaching over 11,000 feet into the clear blue sky. You’ll also appreciate views of the Santa Rosa Mountains, Salton Sea, Coachella Valley and San Andreas Fault. On a clear day you can see the Signal Mountain in Mexico. This is a great place for sunrise and sunset views and photography as well as stargazing at night.

Arch Rock Nature Trail: This easy hike wanders through sandy and rocky terrain. It is described as a “lollipop trail” because you start in a straight line that leads to a circle at the end. You round the circle and return on the “lollipop stick” (the straight line) back to the parking lot. It’s best to do the “lollipop” section in a counterclockwise direction because it’s easier to spot the arch, look for it at the halfway point. Experience this almost 1.5 mile loop by parking in the Twin Tanks Parking lot.

Overall Landscape: The diversity of plant and animal life is amazing because this park is where the Mojave desert and Colorado deserts meet offering views of Joshua tree woodlands, native palm oases and large open areas of creosote scrub. We were excited to be visiting when the wildflowers were exploding in color. The prettiest scenes were in view on our drive into the park from our boondocking location south of the park.

Wildlife Viewing: Because we live in a similar climate at home, the wildlife was not super exciting to us because we see it on a regular basis in the Arizona desert. But, it is still worth keeping you eyes open to see the antelope, ground squirrels, coyotes, bighorn sheep, mule deer, lizards, ravens, quail, hawks and road runners.

What we missed, but, have on our list for our next visit: Wonderland of Rocks. We are not rock climbers but we love watching people who decide to crawl over magnificent boulders and scale rock walls. This is the area where most of the rock climbing occurs within Joshua Tree National Park. We ran out of time but will make this a stop on our next visit.

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Elevations, Weather & Safety

The elevation (and temperature) varies greatly within the park. It’s lowest elevation is 536 feet at the southeast corner. It’s highest elevation is 5,814 feet at the top of Quail Mountain. The Jumbo Rocks Campground elevation is 4,380 feet above sea level. The average temperatures for Joshua Tree National Park throughout the year are:

JAN 60°F High / 37°F Low
FEB 63°F High / 38°F Low
MAR 71°F High / 42°F Low
APR 78°F High / 47°F Low
MAY 85°F High / 53°F Low
JUN 96°F High / 52°F Low
JUL 100°F High / 71°F Low
AUG 99°F High / 69°F Low
SEP 93°F High / 64°F Low
OCT 81°F High / 52°F Low
NOV 69°F High / 43°F Low
DEC 58°F High / 35°F Low

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Best Time Of Year For Joshua Tree Camping

By early June the weather is getting really warm, during the summer months it is hot.

Be cautious during ALL SEASONS because high winds and flash floods are not uncommon.

The park is busiest in the spring season, plus, holidays are crowded too.

Joshua Tree campgrounds are booked well in advance during the busy season, consider boondocking on BLM land just outside of the park boundaries or staying in private RV parks.

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