Headquarters Campground, near Mecca, California, is a unique spot that offers a blend of natural beauty and essential amenities for a comfortable stay. With sites that come equipped with picnic tables and fire pits, it’s perfect for gathering around the fire and soaking in the stunning sunsets over the Salton Sea.

The campground is known for its clean facilities, including well-maintained bathrooms and showers, which visitors appreciate after a day of outdoor activities. One camper noted, “Bathrooms and showers are very clean,” highlighting the attention to upkeep here. Plus, the availability of electric and water hookups makes it RV-friendly, accommodating rigs up to 35 feet.

For those looking to stretch their legs, there’s a nature loop nearby that’s ideal for a morning stroll, and the views of the mountains and the sea are simply breathtaking. The area is also a haven for birdwatchers, with over 400 species documented, making it a great spot for nature lovers. Just keep in mind that the nearby train tracks can be active, but many campers find it adds to the unique charm of the location.

If you’re seeking a quiet retreat away from the hustle and bustle, this campground is a solid choice. With its refreshing breezes and serene atmosphere, it’s a place where you can unwind and enjoy the beauty of the California desert landscape.

Headquarters Campground — Salton Sea State Recreation Area

Mecca is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Mecca, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Mecca. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.

Mecca

The Best Camping Near Mecca, California

We come camping here every year and I love it! We're always able to get a spot, even in the busy season. It's busier than it used to be (used to be a ghost town), last time we were here, a lot of the spots were filled, but people are never obnoxious and I would never call this place crowded. The primitive sites are a 3 min walk to the beach. The hook-up sites are basically right on the Salton Sea Beach. There is a cute little Visitor's Center, as well as a cactus garden, and beach access for fishing and GORGEOUS SUNSET viewing. This is the favorite part of visiting. I believe it's $30/night for a primitive spot. Bathrooms are SUPER CLEAN and they have showers. 

Beautiful Campground On the Sea, Never Crowded

Every time I have been here it has been pretty empty and quiet without a ton of people around. It is close enough to town that if you forgot anything you could drive in and grab it but it is far enough away that you can enjoy quiet. The sites are extremely close to the water and have all the basics that you would need. There are fire rings and bathrooms for visitors to use that are kept pretty clean. There is however limited shade and it can get quite hot in the summer so I would keep that in mind when visiting the Salton Sea!

Primitative

The weather was perfect, the stars were amazing and the place was empty! Seriously, I think we were one of five campers on a Friday night. Cute little visitor center. There’s a kayak rental, but we weren’t that brave! 

Quiet retreat

The Salton Sea is a odd place, and definitely worth a visit. These campgrounds place you a short walk from the water, where the shores are made of fish bones.  

  

PROS: Inexpensive - Sites almost always available - Clean - Unique experience  

CONS: A major train line is right near the campsite, so you'll hear a train going by almost every hour of the day. They don't use there horns near the camp though, so It didn't bother us at all, but light sleepers may want ear plugs.  

  

The campground is well maintained, with decent size campsites, clean bathrooms, and even showers ($0.50) available. Each site has a shade structure, fire pit, picnic bench, and enough room for several tents. There are great day use picnic areas near the water, with shade structures, picnic benches, and grills.  

  

This is our second time staying here and it was just as nice as the first time. The camp hosts are always friendly and helpful. They keep the campgrounds in great shape, and patrol the area often.   

  

There are amazing photo opportunities here, along with all the abandoned buildings in the nearby towns, Over 400 bird species have been documented at the Salton Sea, and Salvation Mountain/Slab City are only about 40 mins away.

Great campground at a unique location...

If you haven’t been, Salton Sea is a really interesting destination. I want to describe it as a little bit spooky. If you’re looking for a campsite off the beaten path with gorgeous views and some unique exploring nearby, this is it.

I stayed here in a 22 foot RV at one of the hookup sites. It was essentially the back of the massive parking lot to the visitors center, which is currently closed due to COVID. You can tell this place was wonderful hopping but has now slowed down in traffic quite a bit.

The lake is so still, it’s beautiful. Lots of waterfowl right on the beach. Gorgeous sunsets over the mountains across the lake as well. Occasionally the lake gave off a bit of a sulfur-y smell, but that wasn’t a deal breaker by any means.

If you’ve got time for it, stay here. It’s cool and weird. Take some time to walk around the visitor area to read the info panels or do a little research to learn some more about this cool and weird place.

Unique Location You Won’t Find Elsewhere

I don’t know why people don’t camp here more often. It wasn’t busy at all. Extremely well maintained, bathrooms/showers were always so clean. Beautiful views. Incredible drive through vineyards, citrus tree farms just to get to the Salton Sea. Such a cool place to stay and see. 

Nice, paved short trail to the beach. Plenty of picnic tables everywhere for day use. Every camp site had their own pergola over the tables. Large fire rings. Water was always close by. 

No complaints, only downfall I could see is if the train tracks bother you. Didn’t bother us at all but the tracks stay busy. Sometimes you’d catch a whiff of sulfur scent from the water but nothing intense. Other than that incredible. 


A hidden beauty 

Great place clean

Lots of trains but few bells and whistles.

Trains

This is our second stay at Salton Sea State Recreation Area; our first stay we stumbled upon and were easily able to walk-in for a campsite staying at sites 48 and 26.  Sites 48 and 50 have the best view of the Sea but least privacy, site 26 has a great tree for shade and a double picnic table Ramada for a decent sized group.  this visit we stayed at site 49 which was less shady but no biggie with the breeze off the sea.

This place is such a relief from the dessert dryness and heat in late spring, it is about 10* cooler than the desert outside Joshua tree and the salty low humid air is so refreshing.  The history of issues with algae on the sea keep this place pretty quiet.  The park staff says it’s relatively safe to enter the water, though hard to access and can be smelly so few people do.  It really makes for a serene stay where a location this beautiful and park with such nice amenities would usually be packed; this place is not.  To be clear these sites are the “New Campground” the Headquarters sites are in the main parking lot; I’d only recommend headquarters for a trailer/25+ RV; the new grounds are much nicer.

If you are a tent camper there are quite a few sites you could pitch right under the shade of a tree and we’ve seen folks with hammocks on their Ramadas as well.

The nature loop on the east side of camp is a perfect spot for a morning stroll to watch the sunrise, while camp or the day use Ramadas provide a stunning view of the mountains, Sea, and sunset.  There is a 1 mile trail to the Mecca campground we haven’t done yet and the park staff recommended checking out the Sonny Bono Bird Sanctuary on the East end of the Sea.  This is a place to come, relax, unwind, and be perfectly fine with not doing a whole lot to just enjoy your setting.  

Showers are token run which is a drawback, you get them at the office which is open Thur-Sun from 9-4 currently.

PS holy cow the migratory birds and the bats at sunset, ridiculous!

Hidden gem

Did a quick motorcycle camp here.  The campground was extremely well maintained.  Clean bathrooms with showers etc. depending on the time of the year and the winds there can be an unpleasant smell but I didn’t have any problems on this trip   Site are pretty close together but it didn’t seem to be very crowded most of the time 

Moto camp in spring 

This is not the place I was expecting from all the bad I've heard. It was beautiful. The park was clean, all facilities were clean. The staff were friendly and awesome. They do have E/W hook ups and can take rigs up to 35'. The showers take tokens!

Photos of Headquarters Campground — Salton Sea State Recreation Area

Real photos from real campers