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Free Camping Collection

Dispersed Camping

Joshua Tree South - BLM Dispersed

56 Reviews

About

Bureau of Land Management

Joshua Tree National Park

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Location

Joshua Tree South - BLM Dispersed is located in California

Coordinates

33.6653454397736 N
115.79984161347056 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Good
Verizon
Good
AT&T
Good
T-Mobile
Available

Site Types

Dispersed

Features

For Campers

Market
ADA Access
Phone Service
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Pull-Through Sites
Big Rig Friendly

Enjoy dispersed camping on government land and leave no trace. Pack in and pack out. No (or limited) services at this camping area. Permit may be required.

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Contact

General Info

amanda R.

Guide

Reviewed Apr. 4, 2024

Great night!

Really convenient if you’re in Joshua Tree. The sunset was a 10/10. Very quiet, but we went in July so it was miserably hot. There are fire circles scattered throughout each site. Cell service for xfinity was great. Very nice quiet night

Month of VisitAugust

(5) View All

T&A Adventures *.

Guide

Reviewed Mar. 23, 2024

Joshua Tree Free

Stayed 1 night in this easy to access free area near entrance to the National Park. No fee required to camp here. Was not busy at all end of March. Fire Rings randomly throughout. Verizon 5G works great here.

SiteEntrance Area

Month of VisitApril

(4) View All

Iris A.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 30, 2023

busy campground

I arrived at 5pm and already almost all spots were taken. I campt on the second site from the road leading to and from the National Park and there was a lot of traffic on it in the evening and well into the night.

No facilities but good cell service.

No shade at daytime, it got hot quickly and at 7am almost everyone was gone already.

Month of VisitSeptember

Evan P.

Scout

Reviewed Mar. 31, 2023

Great BLM Spot

Lots of spaces and possible to find one that is secluded if you go far enough off of the main road. Some freeway noise but good views and great sunsets. Near access to wildflowers in the spring. One of my favorite spots in this area

Sitewe moved from the west side to the east side and spent the last night at the solo space on the west that’s a little south of all the other campers

Month of VisitApril

Matt J.

Traveler

Reviewed Mar. 9, 2023

Beautiful Sunsets & Starry Nights

Stayed here end of February / March. TONS of open spots. Was able to camp as much distance from anyone else as you’d like. Had one day of rain and wind but the rest were perfect! Also only about 30-35 minute drive from civilization. Great stay I would definitely recommend.

Month of VisitMarch

(7) View All

Tanner H.

Guide

Reviewed Jan. 23, 2023

Great for boondocking

Can get pretty windy at times but other than that, can’t complain. Plenty of spots around for everyone. RV’s, travel trailers and some tent campers here while I stayed. Great AT&T. T-Mobile was just good enough to get me by for work. Close to Joshua Tree NP entrance, and a gas station and diner not too far away if you don’t want to drive into Coachella/Indio.

Month of VisitFebruary

Hannah K.

Ranger

Reviewed Jan. 4, 2023

Free camping, easy dog friendly walks.

This site was ideal for my needs. The southern end of the park seems a lot quieter- away from some of the more tourist-visited spots. The location is just prior to the the Joshua Tree Park Entrance sign - you get off 10 at cottonwood springs rd. I got there in the dark so it took me a minute to find it. There are sand road loops to the left and right of main road. Bumpy but fine in my station wagon with low clearance and no awd. Scout sites - some have soft sand or rocks. Heavy rains started as we were leaving after two days and I can imagine that would make navigating parts of this camp into a 4wd affair. The first site I pulled into was really covered with dog poop so kept going and found a cleaner site. There is a ton of space so easy to find your own area that feels close enough to feel not completely isolated but private. No shrubbery. It’s not as picturesque as some areas but for my needs - free, plenty of soft sand road to walk the dog and close to the park - it was great. Another dog note - no dogs on trails in Joshua Tree but they are fine on all dirt roads!

Sitedispersed

Month of VisitFebruary

(4) View All

Aliza N.

Legend

Reviewed Dec. 4, 2022

Dispersed camping near Joshua Tree south

Pros: Super convenient for going to the park. Roads to get out here were very passable. Washboard in places but doable with any vehicle. There’s tons of space. We were here in early December and there were ample sites. It’s also FREE! That’s always a Pro right? Cons: There’s a bit of road noise as you’re pretty close to Interstate 10. And well….you’re pretty close to Interstate 10 so it’s not the most visually appealing place to camp. There’s also big power lines that go thru the area. They aren’t terribly bothersome either but again, not the most picturesque

Month of VisitJanuary

Christine C.

Guide

Reviewed Nov. 21, 2022

Clean. Quiet. Nice scenery!

I was surprised how fabulous this place is because it’s not even 5 mins from the I-10 and 2 mins from the Joshua Tree South Park Gate. I extended my stay here as a Nomader coz it was safe and comfortable.

Pros: Clean, quiet, fire pits, sites are spread out. Unreal sunrise and sunsets. Dog can roam free safely. No through traffic or passerby’s.

Cons: (these aren’t my cons, but it may be for some people so I thought I’d point them out) Slight noise of the I-10. Honestly tho, I slept without earplugs and couldn’t even hear traffic. There’s a slight traffic white noise during the day, but I’d rather hear that than some busy BLM peoplely spaces or dirt bikes etc.. It’s also under and close to hydro towers. But I chose a spot a few hundred feet away and it doesn’t bother me.

SiteXJ33+8H6 Riverside, California, USA

Month of VisitDecember

(4) View All

Laura M.

Legend

Reviewed Nov. 13, 2022

I love it here

Unlike the Joshua Tree north BLM, this BLM area is calm and relaxing. Maybe it's because rather than a wide open lake bed it's individual huge pulloffs where you can sort of feel like you have your own space. There were so many people here when we were here in mid November, including a bunch of atv people, and yet everyone was respectful and quiet (everyone around us anyway).

Be aware of the patchwork of BLM land here, and watch for signs marking borders prohibiting camping.

We stayed here almost two weeks, and most days were pretty windy. Guess that's the norm here.

Good cell reception.

Finding a flat spot is pretty impossible, as the whole area is on a slope from the park down to hwy 10.

Great place, tons of spots. Keep going and people will thin out.

Month of VisitDecember

(7) View All

Kenny W.

Guide

Reviewed Feb. 10, 2022

Great boondocking

We use this on our way to Quartzite. Easy off and on. Traffic noise is fairly bad. Quite a lot of space. Box Canyon across the highway is better

SiteDispersed

Month of VisitFebruary

Alyssa P.

Scout

Reviewed Jan. 26, 2022

Beautiful place close to I-10

This site has plenty of parking but come early and be careful because it’s easy to get stuck out here. It’s pretty quiet but does have a lot of traffic and is a popular place to camp! We loved it.

Month of VisitFebruary

Heather L.

Legend

Reviewed Jan. 18, 2022

One of my FAVES

Absolutely love staying just outside the park. Easy access to some beautiful trails and you can easily fill up with water, dump out, and use the garbage from your vehicle. We met some other really friendly travelers and had a couple nights of campfires together. Sunsets and sunrises were incredible and even though you’re just off the highway you don’t hear any noise. Only 40 min away from Indio to pickup groceries - I recommend WinCo.

SiteBLM

Month of VisitFebruary

(13) View All

Edward K.

Traveler

Reviewed Jan. 15, 2022

Great dispersed camping.

Just outside Joshua Tree NP, and just a mile or so from I-10. I-10 is close enough so you can see the traffic, but far enough that you can hardly hear it. Lots of space. Lots of established camp sites with fire rings. The west side has more sites, closer together, better roads. The sites on the east side are more spread out, but some of the roads have softer sand in areas. The land is mostly flat, but not level. It slopes about 3° towards I-10.

Siten/a no official sites. We stayed on both west and east sides.

Month of VisitFebruary

Michael B.

Guide

Reviewed Jan. 15, 2022

Convenient

Pulled in at dust to find dirt roads out into the desert shrubs. Road at times rough, but manageable. Had a beautiful sunset, evening star gazing, and sunrise undisturbed. Awakened with about 2 dozen other campers spread out over the mile I could see. Just couldn't pass up the price.

Month of VisitFebruary

(4) View All

Savannah M.

Traveler

Reviewed Jan. 9, 2022

Beautiful!

This site had the Best sunset view! Enough privacy in general but not a lot of privacy when it comes to peeing. So I’d bring a pop up privacy tent or something like that! Haha. Our site had a fire ring and was large enough to set up a couple tents!

Month of VisitFebruary

Traveler

Reviewed Jan. 2, 2022

Nothing special, but good lot.

Great place to stay free while exploring Joshua Tree. Southwest facing so you can spend a little more time in the park during winter months since it is a decent haul back down to the Cottonwoods.

Month of VisitJanuary

jeff B.

Guide

Reviewed Dec. 8, 2021

Good for a night

We used this area for a single night getting back to AZ. Worked fine for that. Would also work to access Joshua Tree but would rather stay in the NP. It is quite a distance to get to good hikes in Joshua Tree.

Month of VisitJanuary

Nick A.

Guide

Reviewed Nov. 27, 2021

BLM! Dry Camp

Loved it. Lots of good spots. Got a little Windy in day two… Highly recommend

SiteDispersed

Month of VisitDecember

(8) View All

Pamela A.

Traveler

Reviewed Nov. 26, 2021

One night

This was a good place to stay when Joshua Tree campgrounds were full. Plenty room to space between other campers. At least 30+ other RVs when we stayed. Everyone was quiet by 8pm. Easy access outside park.

Month of VisitDecember

savannah

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 23, 2021

Not a huge fan

It was clean, there are fire rings, you are spaced out from neighbors, but I don’t know something just felt off in my gut.

Month of VisitOctober

Nate P.

Scout

Reviewed Sep. 20, 2021

Sketchy

Pros: free, existing fire rings. Cons: too close to the freeway (feels like people were pulling in here to do shady stuff), sky is polluted with light from Indio/Palm Springs.

Sitethird site on the left...

Month of VisitSeptember

Junior L.

Scout

Reviewed Aug. 29, 2021

Nice place

I would recommend this place to anyone really nice place and lots of space just a lot of trash please take your trash with you!!

Month of VisitSeptember

Thomas F.

Scout

Reviewed Jul. 26, 2021

Great scenery

Great land. Warm, but beautiful scenery.

SiteDisperssed

Month of VisitAugust

Sarah W.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 1, 2021

Easy to miss but great spot

We arrived at night, and the road they say to turn down doesn’t actually exist. There are just a ton of dirt pull off roads to pick from, we were fine with them in our van, except on one steep hill. We got stuck in deep sand on that hill, but with a little work we got it out. The spots are right outside of the southern entrance to the park! Probably best to arrive during the day time to set up!

Siteno numbers

Month of VisitJuly

Haley S.

Guide

Reviewed May. 20, 2021

Beautiful and close to park!

Loved this place! Beautiful views. The highway is visible from a distance but not very loud. Mountains visible from every direction! My 2wd car had no problem getting in and out. No toilets but I did have cell service. Calm, quiet, peaceful, and very close to park entrance. And best of all it's free!

Month of VisitJune

Bryan T.

Scout

Reviewed May. 2, 2021

It’ll do

This BLM area is easy to access. It’s your typical desert with dry, open and spacious areas. Fortunately we arrived late night and was still able to find a spot but got one under an electrical line that was buzzing all night. If you’re not looking for anything fancy the site has a fire pit but no other amenities. It’s also pretty loud. We were able to see and hear the highway and other campers partying. But like the title, it’ll do.

Month of VisitJune

Megan M.

Traveler

Reviewed Apr. 24, 2021

Good campsite

This campsite is on a dry lake bed and is pretty exposed to the elements. It was semi in town but far enough away to be a 15 minute drive. We’ve been there twice and felt pretty exposed and the second nice was more packed than the first night.

Month of VisitMay

Todd G.

Traveler

Reviewed Apr. 12, 2021

Well dispersed and fun boondocking area

Just off I -10 and outside the national forest, sits this gem. On either side of Cottonwood drive are numerous camping sites, most with man made fire pits. It’s a great location that fills quickly as Phoenix and S Cal people come out for weekend free camping. We found a great site and had 2 neighbors that were far enough away to feel like we were on our own. It was quiet and dark, great for star gazing. It got crazy windy in the middle of the night, but no big deal. Would definitely go back again!