Black Rock Campground, near Yucca Valley, California, is a solid choice for those looking to immerse themselves in the beauty of Joshua Tree National Park. With its spacious sites surrounded by iconic Joshua Trees, it offers a unique desert experience that many campers rave about.

The campground features clean restrooms and accessible drinking water, making it convenient for your stay. Visitors have noted the well-maintained facilities, with one camper highlighting, “The bathrooms were SO CLEAN! Really impressed.” While there are no showers or electric hookups, the atmosphere is relaxed, and campfires are allowed, perfect for cozy evenings under the stars.

For adventure seekers, the nearby hiking trails provide plenty of opportunities to explore the stunning desert landscape. Many campers enjoyed the scenic views and the chance to watch meteor showers, with one reviewer mentioning, “The skies were awesome!” Just keep in mind that the roads can be a bit tricky, so arriving during daylight is recommended.

Whether you're pitching a tent or parking your RV, Black Rock Campground offers a peaceful retreat with a friendly vibe. It's a great spot to unwind and soak in the natural beauty of the area.

## Overview

 Download the [NPS app][1] prior to visiting the park trail maps and more! Black Rock Campground lies among one of the thickest Joshua tree forests in Joshua Tree National Park. Its location on the park's northern perimeter makes it a popular rest stop for hikers, birders, horseback riders and RV campers. Black Rock is one of four campgrounds in the national park that requires reservations year-round. To get the most out of your visit, [Plan Like a Park Ranger][2] Travelers who enjoy warm, dry winters flock to Joshua Tree from October through May, when temperatures hover between 70 to 90 degrees during the day and drop anywhere between 40 to 60 degrees at night. Summer is the park's off-season due to uncomfortably high desert heat. Black Rock is at an elevation of 4,000 feet and has a mix of both sun and shade. 
## Recreation

 There are many great hiking trails around Black Rock, including some with spectacular views of the low desert and high peaks around Palm Springs. Popular rock climbing sites are within a half-hour drive from the campground.
## Natural Features

 The unique shape of Joshua trees and the huge rocks that surround them draw tourists and scientists alike to the national park. Within the Black Rock facility, the surrounding trees form silhouettes against the landscape during sunrise and sunset and display bunches of blooming white flowers in early spring. Campers staying at Black Rock may have the chance to view the elusive desert tortoise, found only in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Visitors may also want to keep their eyes out for more typical desert inhabitants such as lizards, rattlesnakes, scorpions, coyotes, ravens and desert tarantulas during the cooler months of the year. Bobcats and mountain lions do live in the park, however they are rarely seen near humans. Birders may also be pleasantly surprised at the variety of species found around the campground. 
## Contact Info

 This location is staffed. Please call (760) 367-3001 to speak with local staff.
## Charges & Cancellations

 Reservation Cancellations & Changes Cancelling a Reservation: Customers may cancel their reservation prior to arrival both on-line and through the call center. A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refund for a cancellation. Depending on when you cancel in relation to your arrival day, it may be considered a late cancellation (see below). Changing an Existing Reservation: When changes are made prior to the cut-off window: If a customer wants to switch dates that are entirely outside of the original reservation dates, there is a $10 change fee. There is no change fee if a customer extends or shortens a reservation, as long as the change includes dates from the original reservation. If they choose to depart early, they may forfeit the recreation fee for the day of departure. There is no change fee if the customer wants to switch sites that are the same price with the same reservation dates in the same facility. If a reservation is made that includes dates beyond the maximum booking window, that reservation cannot be changed until 18 days have passed from the original booking date. Late Cancellations or Cancellations within the Cut-off Window Individual Campsites: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. Changes or Cancellations within the Cut-off Window: Once a reservation date has begun, customers cannot change a reservation using the online system or through the Call Center (see below for early departures). If the location is staffed, on-site personnel may or may not be able to assist with changes or cancellations (check with local staff). No-Shows Overnight Facilities: A no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out (noon) time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time (noon) on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first nights recreation fee for a campsite. \*Note: the entire reservation will be cancelled for no-shows. 

[1]: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/digital/nps-apps.htm
[2]: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/jotrtop10.htm

Black Rock Campground — Joshua Tree National Park

Yucca Valley is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Yucca Valley is filled with the activities, sights, and experiences to make everyone in your crew a happy camper. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your California camping adventure.

Yucca Valley

The Best Camping Near Yucca Valley, California

Quails running around everywhere, cool little spot at JTree, a little different than Jumbo and the other climber sites.  

Quails!

This campsite has alot of bird and would come during the cooler months

Black rock

Nice sites, each with a fire ring and picnic table however these are very open sites (which is just like most of the climber sites). This location is nice in that it does have full restrooms and water (which aren't present at the interior sites). 
Not too far from some decent easy treks into the national park (try the High View Loop for some great views of the surrounding area).
While the campground is technically in that National park you can not get to any of the other scenic sites directly and have to drive back through the city and back in through one of the main entrances.
Which means if you need anything you're closer to civilization than you are anywhere else in the park, but this also detracts a little from the remoteness of the park.
That being said, you will want to try and either initially find your site or get a map of the campground before you arrive as there is no lights in the campground and the markers are difficult to distinguish in the dark.
Overall a good campground. 

Open sites, but easy and convenient to start your journey into Joshua Tree

To kick off a week-long road trip through 6 states, Black Rock Campground was the first stop. As a native Californian seeing Joshua Tree for the first time, under a crisp Spring sunset, the undulating Yucca Valley did not disappoint! Arriving merely two hours before sunset allowed for enough time to set up "camp" in the Element & hike a mile or so up a nearby mini-mountain for sunset. It's all we had; sunset & the desert moon. Knowing an impending departure time of 0700 for Zion crept closer and closer, time stood still atop our solely inhabited mountain.

Sweeping views of the valley, elder Joshua Trees scattered about, and the sporadic desert cactus flower offered a surreal landscape painting. The trees by moonlight's veil presented Black Rock as a different world than that gilded by glow of the setting sun. A chilly desert wind softly rattled the spindly agave family trees overnight, with intermittent embers flashing about. Black Rock hummed its overnighter's to sleep with a Shamen-esque protection and pristine desert air.

Joshua Tree; Sunset & Dawn

We visited in January, and should have been better prepared! :) I know better, but we didn't check the conditions well enough, and froze our butts the first night! The campground was beautiful, and the desert at Joshua Tree and around is really special. The campsites are kinda open to the wind, but the star cover was amazing, and surroundings were beautiful. If only we had more clothing that night.... 

Make sure to check the low and high temps to plan accordingly. The dessert has been know to test adventurers, so travel safely. There are some amazing features in this park, including Skull Rock. We like weird stuff, so this was really cool. The cactus all around are spectacular also. 

Beware of the Chollo! The "jumping cactus" have been know to cause sever pain to those who don't pay attention to their surroundings! 

Cactus, Sandstone, Cold Nights!

20 bucks a night isnt too bad! The park staff is all friendly and helpful. Restrooms (very clean!) and pottable water are not very far from any of the 99 campsites in Black Rock. Fire rings with grates and picnic benches are provided in every camp, but no firewood is available. You're not allowed to use ANY surrounding vegetation for campfires (even kindling) so be prepared to cart in your own wood and kindling. Pets are allowed but they aren't allowed on trails and also not allowed to be left unattended-- so maybe leave Fido home this go round. Tent camping is HOT so be prepared for a 5am scorching hot wakeup.

Overall a very nice campground, and due to bathrooms and pottable water sources its a good campsite for the beginner or casual campers.

Clean, easy, good for beginner/casual campers

Thought it would be a bit higher up. No pines, just scrub oaks. Limited water access for lake. The wind blew all the time. 

So much wind

great place to relax-went solo last January and was able to read and listen to music and disconnect from things back home. facilities were clean and nice and the hiking next day was great 

great desert camp

Stayed here one night when the park was full. Short drive to the park and easy to get to the main grocery stores. The sites are not very shady and there is not too much privacy but overall it's a nice place and the bathrooms are very clean. It also has an equestrian campground attached.

Close to Joshua Tree

Four of us stayed at 060 Loop A, which was near a bathroom, but not close enough to be a bother. It was very spacious compared to some of the other spots- we weren't on top of other camp sites, and we had beautiful views. Best of all, it was only 5-10 min drive into Joshua Tree. We stayed here instead of in the national park so we were free to have a few drinks. Would stay at this spot, and this location again.

Comfortable and Close to Joshua Tree National Park

first time camping and will not be the last.

camp ground is nice and clean!

view of the night sky is also wonderful!

can't wait to cone back.

first but not the last

Stayed here when we went to Joshua tree. All campsite in the park were full so we luckily snagged one of these the sites are nice and clean with a fire pit. Only gripe is that has little wind protection which wind can get crazy out there sometimes. We just put our car in front to block and we’re fine

Alternate to staying in JTree

To get to Black Rock Campground in Joshua Tree, you have to take a separate road into it from Yucca Valley. So if you are planning on spending a lot of time in the park and don't want to drive back and forth, this probably isn't a good choice for you. There's running water and flushing toilets in the bathroom. Views overlook the valley below, which is nice at night. Not a lot of shade. After all, this is a desert campground, with desert plants. Picnic tables and a fire pit. Flat places to lay a tent. Some trails go off from the campground. We chose to drive into the park. This was a good place to introduce my friend to his first camping experience. We ended up going into town (pretty close) for dinner. (Cheaters, I know!) The other plus about this campground is it's one of few that take reservations in Joshua Tree. So if you don't like knowing whether you have a site or not, you can be certain you'll have one when you arrive here if you make a reservation.

Decent Campground, But Not in Heart of Park

I've never considered Joshua Tree one of the "crown-jewel" national parks, and yet people are now flocking here as if it is. Black Rock is the first campground I have ever stayed in at Joshua Tree, and here are my thoughts. 

  

I'll start with the good:

If you're looking for Joshua Trees, this is a good place to camp because they are plenty throughout the campground. Many of the other campgrounds in the park actually don't have the trees; This campground has running water and clean bathrooms with flush toilets. This is actually a luxury when camping in Joshua Tree because most of the campgrounds have no water and just vault toilets; This campground has a lot of hiking opportunities without having to drive. There are actually tons of trails that lead directly out of the main camping area, so if you're not in the mood to even leave the campground, you can still experience a lot of nature; There is actually a small visitor/nature center located in the campground. Again without even leaving the campground you can get a lot of information about the park; This campground takes reservations(for peak season), which is also a luxury here because only a few campgrounds take them. And be sure to reserve because this campground fills up fast!! For these reasons, I think that Black Rock makes for a really good overnight/short stay, as you can see a lot in a such a small area. 

  

Now onto the not so good: 

A lot of the campsites are pretty close together. There were some spots that seem more ideal and secluded, but be prepared for close proximity to neighbors in most sites; Neighbors/clientele can be very noisy, and I mean noisy in a number of different ways. There was loud music that was audible far beyond campsites, but that was not the most annoying part. Over all it seemed like this campground was actually pretty quiet, that is until it was actually quiet hours! . An entire boy scout troop decided to roll in and set up an entire base camp right next to us after 10pm. Needless to say, it was very loud and bright until at least midnight. Good thing we had ear plugs; The campground is very close to the town of Yucca Valley, which some might consider a good thing, but there are neighborhoods literally built right up against the campground, so it doesn't really feel secluded at all here. When you hike up the trails and look back you can see the cityscape/city lights in the not so far distance; The wind can get really crazy. I don't know if it was just a freak weather event, but the wind was crazy both days I camped here, and it got so bad that we tore down our camp in the dark and went home early because there was no way we could have slept with that much noise and freezing wind blowing; It's kind of hard to find your way through the campground because there's no signage indicating which loop is which; The firepits were extremely full of ash and needed to be cleaned out; Lastly while the campground is technically inside the national park, it is not connected to the rest of the main part of the park, so you have to drive out of the campground about 20 minutes through the town to access the main park; Also firewood is not sold on site, so you must bring your own from outside. 

  

Overall, the campground is fairly decent with nice bathrooms and plenty of trail access. If you are looking for a quick and easy trip to experience nature and a national park, this is a good place to go. But if it's desert solitude you're looking for, you may be disappointed by the dgaf clientele and the proximity to civilization.

Convenient desert camping, but very loud and little privacy

Spent 4days there  it was windy we went hiking trails are marked and there fire pits campgrounds get packed . Loved the views my wife and I really enjoyed our stay there even though we had to put large rocks inside the tent. Restrooms were clean 

Good choice

Get ready to sleep outside because the stars are insane! Tons of hiking trails leaving directly from the campground. Had some privacy at camp and didn't feel too close to others. Clean bathrooms and sites included a table. Lots of parking.

Spacious and starry camp 

Black Rock is a wonderful national parks campground in Joshua National Park. It's the easiest park to get to so it can get crowded on the weekend. The camp spots have about 15 years between each one. There's a bench but no hook ups. There're water spigets throughout the campground and an RV dumpsite ($5). The store is open from 8am to 4pm. 

Hiking: There are a few hikes that leave from the campground. Take the West Loop Trail to explore the area and hike up to the High View Peak to see the surrounding area. 2-3 hours. 

Cell Service: Roaming (3bars)

Surrounded by Joshua Trees 

Important note: It’s not actually inside the National Park, so great news - you don’t pay National Park entry fees (usually $30) 

Beautiful area. We camped at site 68, right by the entrance. Lots of space in this site, my 7 year old son and I played baseball, football and loved the campfire. 
Rangers here are friendly and super helpful, very welcoming. They have a “Junior Ranger Program” for kids, they give a little booklet for. We saw a lot of jackrabbits. 
Heard the coyotes but didn’t see them. 
Loved it. 

Gorgeous

They weren’t huge sites and the only one available right before Thanksgiving was a small tent only site (due to cancellation). 

Reserve in advance!!

Popular even in November 

This was the first time I was camping in this type of terrain, I normally am near large bodies of water and or National Forest(s). But arriving at Joshua tree was unbelievable! A huge factor when it comes to camping is always the time of year and I made sure to make reservations during spring to see the wild flowers and get good weather. I arrived the second week of March in 2019. During the day it was in the low 70s and by sunset we got low 40s. The sunsets were nothing I had ever seen before, and the night sky was lit with stars. You can see so much of the sky here because it’s so open, which was a huge change for me always being surrounded by trees. The campsites were nicely spaced apart and we had a good amount of room at our site. The bathrooms were super clean and well maintained. Although there isn’t a camp store in the campground, stores were right outside the area (7 minutes away). There’s service here also because it is pretty close to neighborhoods. 

Beautiful campground in every direction you 

The campground offers 99 individual sites with drinking water, flush toilets and a dump station.  The campsites are clean, well maintained and provide plenty of space.  There are great hiking trails around Black Rock which provide great views of the low and high peaks around Palm Springs.  

One thing to note is that this campground is not located in the National Park and takes about 20-30 mins to arrive at the park entrance.  

Great campground amidst the Joshua Trees

This is always our first stop when we go to Joshua Tree.  It has all services as well as a little Visitor Center.  There is water here so we use it to stage going into the main park for the first come fist served sites the next day and to make sure we have enough water for those campgrounds which have no water.

  

I am a tent camper. Beware, the wind can roar through here so stake out your tent.  For tent sites there are some sites that are open without shade or cover. So choose your site well. ALso try to get there at least once when the Joshua Trees are in bloom.  

  

There is a nice hiking trail at the rear of the campground and a mountain/hill to climb.  Nice views from the top.

  

Also a nice place to watch the sunset or even the sunrise.  Star gazing is a plus as well.

First Stop - Joshua Tree

This campground is a little outside the main Joshua Tree area.  It used to be the only campground you could reserve ahead.  So we usually spend the first night here and then head into the main park in the morning.  It has full facilites and water on sight. It has a small visitor center/ranger station as well.

  

You drive through a residential area and then you are at the campground.  You are on a knoll or incline so you are looking down over the valley.  There is horse site as well but I do not know the details of that.  

  

We are tent campers. There are  good tent sites as well RV sites.  A great place to watch the star, the sunset and the sunrise.  Trail right fromt= the campground up to a hill/mountain behind the campground.

  

Be prepared.  We have been snowed on here and wind whipped. Always go in February.

  

Sites have tables, fire rings and water. Modern bathrooms.

  

You are surrounded by Joshua Trees and if you catch them in the right time they are blooming.

Black Rock Campground - Joshua Tree - Place to Start Your Trek

 Although it's technically in the park, you'll need to drive over to one of the main entrances for park access. Still, this is a great option. The horse stalls are on the north end of the camp, and there are a few loops. It's desert camping so bring your own shade and lots of water. The weather was great in October, and there is a short trail on the west end of camp (plus lots of other in the area to explore). 

We had an RV so I can't speak to the bathrooms. 

Great option for J Tree

While technically in Joshua Tree National Park, this campground sits on the Northwest edge of J.T., requires no park entrance fee, and does not connect with the main road through the park. It's a fine campground for those who can't get a site at one of the other campgrounds, or those who don't want to make the long, slow drive into the park. If you want to actually visit Joshua Tree, I'd find a different campground further into the park.  

  

PROS: Easy access, Lots of sites with nice views overlooking the town, Several hiking trails starting at the edge of campground, separate campground for people with horses.  

CONS: No shade, lot of the sites are uneven and hard-packed ground  (You can't get spikes in deep enough at some sites, I wouldn't trust my tent being secure in high winds), Not really "in" the park, long drive to park entrance, you don't get that isolated feeling, campsites feel a bit too close to each other.  

  

Each site has a fire pit and a concrete picnic table. Size of campsites seem to vary greatly. Facilities are clean, with flush toilets/urinals.

  

After being unable to get a site at our preferred campground in Joshua Tree we grabbed two spots at Black Rock Campground. While not bad, it wasn't that normal Joshua Tree feel, the lights from the nearby town wash out some of the night sky, and the camp just felt packed, even when it was at ~60% capacity.

Acceptable campground on the edge of Joshua Tree...

It was a very nice camping location however there is virtually no signage to direct folks to a campsite number- very poor . The roads are paved, but are in horrible condition.

  

Sites vary in size. Make reservations on recreation.gov and make sure the site you pick is adequate in size for your vehicle. Many sites are pull through, although mine was a bit tight to pull in due to a Joshua tree and vegetation on one side. The site was fairly large and nice picnic table.  

  

Public restrooms' are available and Wi-Fi is available near the main building. 

  

This is a nice location if you want to be close to shopping and also close to the main entrance to the National Park.

Nice Location just outside the main part of Joshua Tree National Park

We spent 5 nights at this national park campground hopping from site to site (this is all we could do with reservations really hard to get). At this time the campground is only by online reservations. Best site was the last #29.
Campground has flushing toilets, no showers as usual for national parks. Dump station is also available. Good AT&amp;T cell reception. 

Camping among the Joshua Trees outside of Yucca Valley

Solid campsites with clean bathrooms and sites. The scenery around the area is nice and there are some decent, easy to medium hikes in the area. 

At one site (54), had some trouble finding a flat place to stake in my tent. Happened to be really windy, so it was tough to get a fire going with one placement of the fire pit, but shouldn’t be an issue on most weekends.

Don’t have to pay park entrance fee for these sites, which is nice. Drive to the park is about 10-15 minutes. 

Overall, nice experience.

Definitely gets the job done

Joshua tree is beautiful! This campsite is close to Yucca Valley so it’s close to stores and shops. It was super hot! I would prefer to camp further into the dessert so that there is less light pollution and bigger rocks to climb on. 

Nice campsite close to major stores

Amazing views. Great stargazing. Nice clean bathrooms and drinking water. Gets windy so secure your belongings. 

Sleeping under the Joshua Trees

Sweltering hot and the campsites are just too close together. Probably delightful in the fall or spring. 

Too loud, too hot and too close together.

Great quiet spot nestled beneath the Joshua Trees. Nice bathrooms, no shower. Pretty sunset and sunrise views.

Great camp beneath the Joshuas

This was our favorite campsite on our road trip! The campground was quiet, clean, and beautiful! 

Great camp with a pretty view 

The bathrooms were SO CLEAN! Really impressed.

  

The site itself was fine, nothing too fancy. The Joshua Trees around the site were really great and the kids had a good time climbing the nearby hills and hiking the trails. We had a camper van and our site (24) was relatively level. Nice picnic table and fire ring, although ours was a little older and seemed like it had low walls.

  

Pretty close to the entrance to the national park and we spent two days driving through it climbing on boulders and hiking to the dam. Great time.

Clean and quiet

Mostly level spots. Since tricky to back into. Clean bathrooms, sites are right next to each other. 

Nice, close together

Nice campground for a night or two

I have stayed at this campground 2 times over the past few years. The last time was for a  fun 1 night weekend visit to watch meteor showers with a group. The skies were awesome! 

  

The bathroom wasn't amazing but was usable. The campground while on the edge of joshua tree is not really inside the park. You don't pay park fees, but you can't go directly into the rest of the part from the campsite. 

  

The plus here is that you can get reservations fairly easily. The campsite was pretty busy for both trips. The hills around the campsite are fun to hike around on, but don't compare to the rest of the park. 

  

We also came here in January a few years ago and it was very cold and windy. We even got rain while we were there. Just remember to tie down your tent well!

Good sites easy to get to

Large campground with nice leveled spots. Clean toilets. Lots of hiking trails close by


Clean and spacious 

This campground is very nice. The roads could use some work and if you have a RV/Trailer/Van you may want some block to help get you level. The sites are nicely spread out. Bathrooms are extremely clean. Overall I had a very nice stay aside from the weather being not so great. 

Great experience 

I guess it depends on what you like. Tent campers or class b campers might be alright but I didn't like it. The roads in are narrow and absolutely terrible. I was in site 97 and it was way out of level. I suggest not getting there at night because the roads are not well marked. 

Not my cup of tea

Stayed for one night and we totally enjoyed our stay there. Beautiful place. Cell service was very good.

Very nice campground

This place is reservation only, through recreation.gov. The rangers at the visitor center do not handle anything with reservations whatsoever. We managed to get two nights fairly last minute, only to arrive and find the campground mostly empty. That’s pretty aggravating, probably due to people making reservations and not showing up. 

  

Sites are $25/night, and rec.gov does not charge a processing fee, which is so nice. 

  

The roads throughout the campground are in terrible shape, but we managed in our 26ft class C. The roads and many of the sites are washed out and crumbling. Most sites are not level. Our site,#90, was ok with leveling blocks. 

  

There’s recycling here (no glass accepted), trash dumpsters, flush toilets, and a free dump station with potable water fill. No showers here. There are many hiking trails directly from the campground, which is nice, but dogs are not allowed on the trails. 

  

ATT had good service and Verizon was usable but very weak.

Beautiful

Reservations are required but the park is easily accessible. We picked an easy location for our maiden voyage and the need for cell service for my spouse. Cell service was just adequate. Facilities are clean and well kept. Visitors center staff was friendly and helpful. Sites are decently spaced but there will be sharing with RV’s and generators. I would stay here again but if time permits the sites within Joshua Tree NP would be my preference. 

Easy access

The CG was very well maintained in that the bathrooms were clean, not much trash and very nice camp hosts.  However, the sites were close together, narrow roads and the sites were not level. We found a rock to level our van which helped, but flat spots were expected. The price per night increased on 1/1/25 which was the night we arrived. 

  

NOTE: after visiting JTNP I learned that many campgrounds in the main part of the park had no water so extra props to this CG for water.

Close to Joshua Tree NP but not a stellar CG for $35/night

This is a great example of a park that should get the 1/2 star. If an option, I'd give it 4.5 stars, and nick it only because of the minimal bathroom maintenance done after a weekend. I'd note, I think that is more due to staffing than care.

  

The campground was lightly populated during our February visit, which was a bit surprising considering the other JTree camps inside the park were full. I chose our site online only knowing that it was on the outer ring of sites. It turned out to be a huge site with great views of the CA hiking and riding trail (out the back of the site).

  

Other pros:

*   There is a small gift store in the DOI building that is accompanied by an excellent little art gallery. The featured artist was Diane Best. It was clearly inspired by the park. The ranger and host at the store were very helpful with information about the surrounding area.
*   Trails run right out of camp...lots of them...of all different difficulty levels. Something for everyone, and each of the trails we hiked, or came across were very well signed, which in the desert is appreciated.
*   Big oversized sites. Big oversized tables.
*   Ash dumping stations with shovels and buckets.
*   The campground is on the outside border of the park. Meaning you don't have to go wait in line at the entrance to access it in and out, and it is much easier to get into Yucca Valley or Joshua Tree if you're both camping and want to visit a restaurant or shop. Very convenient location.
*   5g cell service at camp...if you're into that sort of thing.
*   Separate parking for hiking trailheads keeps the park traffic down.
*   Potable water around the park.
*   Bathrooms with flush toilets (no showers).

Not so good notes: 

*   The sites are close to each other. If it were a full camp, it would be a lot less peaceful.
*   The park roads are rough...like falling apart rough. Not an issue for most unless you were in a small or low vehicle.
*   The camp host was not seen during our visit, and the bathrooms were not cleaned well. We arrived on a Monday. They weren't overly dirty but were not serviced during our stay.
*   Some sites have nice new campfire rings. Ours had a very old, barely above ground one. I dug it out to feel a little safer having a nice fire.

This has nothing to do with campground operations, but remember this is the high desert! There is wind—gusty wind. There is sun. Nights get cold. Be aware of the weather and the surroundings.

  

We had a lovely campfire on night one. The second night was windier at about 15mph with gusts and we chose not to light one, but there wasn't a red flag warning or restriction. Another site nearby (upwind) had a big campfire and were definitely not safe about it. It was a bit nerve-wracking being down the hill from them. 

  

In the morning, asked the park ranger what would cause them to institute a warning, and he said the call wasn't made by the rangers on-site, but rather someone in admin elsewhere. That was surprising, and he commented that it is a challenge they've been working to change because all the rangers were up all night waiting for the call that a fire had started. I relay that to say, that when starting a fire please use common sense and caution. That completes my after school special.

  

I would definitely recommend this campground if you're looking for access to hiking, Joshua Tree NP but away from the core tourist areas, and also wanting to dip into town. It is conveniently located with lovely scenery.

Photos of Black Rock Campground — Joshua Tree National Park

Real photos from real campers