Verified
Established Camping
Joshua Tree Ranch Los Angeles
About
Joshua trees 50 miles closer to LA than the Joshua Tree National Park!
This is 2.5 acres of protected Joshua Tree lands in the Antelope Valley north of LA, between the snowy Tehachapi Mountains, and the rolling green foothills of the also-snowy San Gabriel Mountains. My first time out there I saw BOTH ENDS of a rainbow in front of the snowy Tehachapis!! Super dark skies, and a million stars at night. It feels like the wild west out here. Think long dirt roads, tumbleweeds, bones, and maybe some old bullet shells (there's no shooting allowed on the property anymore).
The property itself is along a dirt "road" called Avenue C, but I'd be shocked if you encountered anyone driving along there. Except possibly another group of campers. This land used to be the domain of the Ketanemuk tribe, which I think means People From The East. In the summer they would go up and hunt and get pine nuts in the Tehachapi Mountains, and acorns from the oak trees in the San Gabriels.
It's about a 20 minute drive from the town of Neenach (pronounced Nee-nack), where there's a general store and a cafe. They make a great breakfast burrito. A few minutes from the State Poppy Reserve, which blooms in the spring with miles of California poppies. If you have a larger group or event in mind, get in touch! We can figure out how to accommodate you.
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileGood
Site Types
- Tent Sites
Features
For Campers
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
Great spot for more primitive camping!
There's no facilities here. Heck, there's barely a sign. But it's a great spot to get away from the city for a day or two and hang out with family and friends.
Pros:
Location is great, only a 70-90 minute drive from LA
When it's not windy, it's dead-quiet and fantastic
Joshua trees everywhere
Just enough cell service to feel safe, but not enough bandwidth for your kids to stream YouTube all day
Cons:
- It's hard to find. There is no signs until you randomly pick a dirt road and go a few hundred yards, then you see a Joshua Tree Ranch sign laying on the ground.
- Once you find it, you don't know where you're going. There are no markings on any of the sites, and no markings of where the Ranch ends. Was I camping in the ranch? probably. Who knows? Just drive around until you see a makeshift fire pit someone else left behind.
- Check the weather! We did not and went on a day where the Santa Ana winds were blowing. The day was OK, but the overnight was brutal in a tent. So much noise from the tent and our screen tent outside flapping in 30+mph winds (not the fault of the property, but be aware!)
Joshua tree
Much wild life and plenty of things to see
Not much.
This site is really just a boondocks spot. The Joshua Trees are great but the roads are really just ruts and some of the area was used to dump junk
Location
Joshua Tree Ranch Los Angeles is located in California
Coordinates
34.7901659999973 N
118.3993 W