Hidden Valley Campground, near Twentynine Palms, California, is a fantastic spot for those looking to immerse themselves in the stunning landscapes of [Joshua Tree National Park](https://thedyrt.com/camping/california/near/joshua-tree-national-park). With its unique rock formations and abundant wildlife, this campground is a favorite among climbers and nature lovers alike.

The campground offers basic amenities, including clean pit toilets and trash disposal, but keep in mind there’s no water or showers available. Visitors rave about the incredible stargazing opportunities, with one camper noting, “DARK DARK DARK sky.....wonderful.” The sites are well-spaced, allowing for a bit of privacy while still being close to the action.

If you’re into rock climbing, you’re in luck! The area is known for its excellent climbing spots right at your doorstep. Many campers recommend bringing your climbing gear and taking advantage of the bouldering opportunities nearby. Just remember to respect the local wildlife—feeding the animals is a no-go, as one reviewer humorously warned about a baby jackrabbit getting too friendly.

Hidden Valley operates on a first-come, first-served basis, so arriving early is key, especially during peak times. The campground fills up quickly, but the experience of camping among the iconic Joshua Trees and massive boulders is well worth it. Whether you’re pitching a tent or parking your RV, Hidden Valley Campground is a memorable base for your Joshua Tree adventures.

The Hidden Valley Campground has 44 sites. There are pit toilets, picnic tables, and fire pits. There is no water so bring plenty of your own. To secure a campsite, 1. Locate an empty campsite. 2. Occupy the site (set up a tent or leave personal items to show site occupancy). 3. Proceed immediately to an entrance station to complete registration and pay. You must pay for the site within one hour of set up. If arriving after entrance stations close, payment may be delayed until the following morning.

Hidden Valley Campground — Joshua Tree National Park

Join the fun near Twentynine Palms. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Twentynine Palms. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Twentynine Palms camping trip.

Twentynine Palms

The Best Camping Near Twentynine Palms, California

Nice sites amongst the rocks and Joshua Trees. Clean pit toilets, but no water. Non-reservable, so can be tough to get in some times (Ryan campground is another good option nearby).

Great location to access climbing

**Campground review**

Similar to all campgrounds in Joshua Tree National Park, it's hard to get a camp site, unless you come midweek or come off-season when it gets hot (mid-may through September). The availability is the reason for not rating this site with a full 5 stars. Otherwise this campground is great. Each site comes with a picnic table and fire pit. There are vault toilets but no running water. This campground is the only one in the park that has a an emergency phone line, which is necessary given lack of cell service. Payment of sites is self service with envelopes at campground board. This campground is extremely convenient for the nearby classic trad routes. There are also many bouldering problems in the campground itself, and many more just a short walk away.

**Gear review**

One of the great parts of being a Ranger for The Dyrt is testing awesome new products from time to time - on this trip I was testing [Boost Oxygen](https://www.boostoxygen.com/). I'd never used sports oxygen before trying this product, so I'm playing around with all the different potential uses. I ordered the flavorless kind and all three flavors in order to try them all. My personal favorite is the menthol-eucalyptus. My friends and I were using Boost throughout our climbing trip. At first assessment: they're fun. We weren't sure what to expect in terms of effects, but we got a major kick out these canisters. We found every opportunity to boost some extra Oxygen - before bed for recovery during sleep, to wake up in the morning, after running around, in between climbs, etc. The flavors really add to the experience. I found the effects to be more noticeable in the immediate sense, like getting a shot of alertness when groggily waking up in the morning or when feeling winded right after exercise. Sometimes I experienced it as a very subtle and brief tingling after taking a few bursts of Boost. Long term effects were less obvious to me, and I didn't notice any clear muscle recovery effects. One final nice feature is that the canisters are extremely light weight - because it's oxygen! So it doesn't add any weight to day packs, which is especially nice if you want to bring some for long hikes, especially at high altitudes. Check it out: [https://www.boostoxygen.com](https://www.boostoxygen.com)

Boost Oxygen at Hidden valley Campground

Very cozy campgrounds. The entire campgrounds are surrounded in a wall of boulders varying in shales and sizes. Tons of fun to scramble and boulder on. We wenf in July and the evening temps were fantastic. No need for tents or sleeping bags. Just a mat and a thin blanket, and sleep under the stars. Although the sounds of coyote packs passing by in the pre dawn mornings can raise a hair or two. Many of the individual camps are well secluded and tucked under or near by boulders. The gynormous boulders surrounding the entire hidden valley camp makes for pretty good shade and sunset photos. All campsites have fire ri gs and bench tables, nearby vault toilets that are well dispersed through the camp. My favorite camps were 16, 17\. Next woukd be 22,23\. These camp sites are often filled throught the year. Best time to get em is early in the am. First come first serve, $15 a night.

Beautiful cozy campground surrounded by boulders

This campground is the perfect place to truly experience the magic that is Joshua Tree. From climbers coffee on the weekends hosted by the park rangers, to boulder problems right in your campsite, to world class classic climbs feet from your car, the Hidden Valley Campground offers everything you could imagine for a Joshua Tree experience.

If you are not a climber, don't worry! This site offers beautiful hikes, scrambles to explore, and hikes nearby. The desert is beautiful and Hidden Valley offers a little bit of everything.

Notes: This is a very popular campsite - it is not free, and sometimes you will have to drive around for a while to find a spot.

Cons: No water, busy

Pros: Beautiful, LOADS of climbs, lots of people to meet and climb with if you come alone or with friends

A climbers paradise! 

We camped at Hidden Valley campground. It’s surrounded by some rocks, has vault toilets, a fire pit, and max two cars per site. Water can be found at the ranger station about 15 minutes away. Recommend 3 gal per person per day. Easily drank 1 gallon on the trail alone. Sights are awesome. Be sure to pack a large hat and some long sleeves, oddly enough it feels cooler than wearing a tank.

Joshua Tree in June

As a rock climber I absolutely loved my time in Joshua tree, but especially this campground. I loved the community here and the overwhelming kindness everyone showed. There were so many night people would just gather around a campfire, cook together and climb together regardless if it was the first time meeting each other. I really enjoyed all of the sun sets as well.  This is a good place to meet new people and hike or climb. 

amazing experience


The campground itself continues to be five stars in terms of quality and facilities. However, there really is difficulty finding a spot during the fall through spring season, so you can’t count on it unless you can arrive early on Friday or during weekdays. Also, although dogs are allowed at the campgrounds, they must be within 100 ft of sites or major roads at all times. This isn’t a fault of the campground specially, as this restriction applies to the whole national park and all campgrounds within it. However, it’s good to know if you’re planning a trip with your dog, because it rules out any hiking and 95% of climbing options.

great if you can get a spot, limited options for dogs

Of all the campgrounds in Joshua Tree this one is consistently the most slammed. It can be extremely difficult to get a site here as they are available on a first-come first-served basis. If you don't get a site here but you want to check out the cool features that make the site so popular, do not despair! There are two day use parking lots in the area so you can park/hike/climb by day. Bring your own water (there's a tap at the park entrance where the ranger station is). You can park at Intersection rock parking lot and enjoy everything Hidden Valley has to offer.

Things that make this campground so popular- classic climbs on all sides, beautiful views if you scamper up any of the rock formations, tons of climbers and a weekend climbers coffee hosted by the climbing ranger.

heads up that falcon nesting in the spring means some areas are closed- please respect closures.

Campground is "Hidden Valley" (not "Real Hidden Valley" across the road)

I’ve been going to this area for years. Unfortunately now it’s hard to find a spot let a lot have any sort of private camping experience. There is more light pollution and less chance to see the Milky Way like we used to. That being said, the area is super unique and wonderful!

You can escape the crowds during the day to go and boulder or climb on some random rock piles. There are bathrooms but no water sources so bring your own.

I hate the crowds but still come back every year.

Getting touristy

Great basecamp for hiking and climbing. The sky at night is breathtaking - so many stars!! Kids can have fun climbing on nearby boulders. Pit toilets and no water. Be sure to bring plenty of water!

Basecamp

Great campground near some amazing climbing and hikes. Beautiful sunset views and spots are very specious but fill up by early afternoon. No big rigs! Very noisy and crowded and bathrooms and garbages get overrun quickly. 

Joshua Tree

The most popular campground in the park means people constantly walking though your campsite and random people taking your limited parking spots. This place needs a Host.

Way beautiful & Way Crowded

My daughter and I came here for a meteor show, amazing!!! The hiking was good, it is very hot bring plenty of water!!!

Great for star gazing 

Me and the ol lady spent the night there this week in late July. Saw a beautiful thunder storm roll threw a few miles from us. Amazing sunset, we climbed up the rocks to get a good view and it was breathtaking. Not very crowded and close to bakers dam hike. Good hike, cool petroglyphs and a really mellow walk. Saw a bunch of critters and an owl flew right by our campfire.    

Great time in the off season 

Probably the easiest campground to get to in Joshua Tree. It has some really cool sites but most seem to be stacked on top of each other for Joshua Tree. It's close to some really cool hikes like the dam, the mill and the mine. I love Joshua Tree and all it has to offer but this isn't my top choice to stay in Joshua Tree.

Joshua Tree Easy

Don’t believe the rangers if they say it’s full or if the full sign is up - it’s often not accurate or updated daily. 

This campground was my favorite in JT - the sites are well spaced offering privacy and quite.

Regular NPS campground, pit toilets abound, table and fire ring per site. The usual.

Location is great and close by to al the main attraction!

Beautiful camp

Beautiful campsite. A decent drive in from the 10 but it's nice and relaxing. Once you get to the site it's an hourglass shapped drive around. We got the second to last site and it's cool spot. Hugs up on the rocks. Great views of the valley from this campground. If you can find a spot to climb up on the center rocks the sunset is perfect there. Highly recommend this sire

Great sites

Joshua tree is amazing I highly suggest camping here, wish I could’ve stayed longer. Great hikes all over 

Nice camping

The campgrounds are clean and well maintained.  The campgrounds have 44 sites which are first-come, first serve and offer pit toilets but no water.  The campsites are only $15/night and allow a maximum of six people, three tents and two cars (some sites only have room for one vehicle).

Great campground amongst beautiful boulders

Almost every campsite has places to hide away and tuck a tent into a private rocky area. Quiet, well kept, great for stargazing.

Camp in rocks

The best first come first serve campground in the park but good luck getting a spot on a weekend. Getting a campsite here is never guaranteed but always worth it. Other than the occasional inconsiderate groups that will jam pack a campsite with cars and tents, this place is epic. “DO NOT ALWAYS BELIEVE “CAMPGROUND FULL” SIGNS! Be sure to check as the rangers have not been updating the signs at all. 

Always crowded.

Nice place to stay in the park. Only complaint would be that it is first come first serve,which I don’t mind, but they don’t put signs up saying when it is “Full” so you have constant traffic and dust being kicked up from people looking for sites.  Fantastic scenery 

Hidden Valley is pretty much the only first come, first serve campground within Joshua Tree National Park. All of the other reservable grounds fill up months ahead of time, making finding a space at Hidden Valley pretty cut throat. I did not find a space my first night and had to get a hotel.

There are a lot of people that come here to rock climb and they tend to set up camp for days at a time, making finding a spot even harder. This is definitely NOT a “one and done” camping place like I’ve seen at most other national parks. Campers hoping to snag a site at Hidden Valley will need to begin making rounds by at least 8 am. 

I believe I had campsite 16. The actual camping area was set pretty far back from where the parking space was, which as a solo traveler made hauling my things from my car a bit of a challenge, but having the additional privacy was nice. Speaking of privacy, because of all of the rock climbing, there are generally people that could be looking down at your campsite at any given moment.

I was there in early November and the nights were brutally cold, so stock up on fire wood in town. Water is available at the west entrance gate or at the visitor centers.

Joshua Tree is probably my new favorite national park, so I hope you’re able to find a space!!

New Fave Place!

We had spot 18 and fit in our trailer! It’s flat too so no leveling was required unlike most of the sites here. No water or RV hookups. Saw a coyote though. 

Parked 18 ft trailer

I arrived at the campsite at 11 am on a Friday. All the sites were filled and I had not been to this site before. I lost hope fast but I drove around a few times and my co-adventurer had the bright idea to actually ask people if they are leaving. (This was clutch). If you plan on finding a first come first serve sight at J tree. Make sure you are willing to approach campers or have someone that will. Because if you don't you will not find a sigh unless it is already vacant which is rare. 

  

One thing that I noticed about this campground is how intimate it is. On many of the blocks of sites, there are no natural barriers between sites. So if privacy is what you are seeking this may not be the best choice. This can also cause some tension between campers that feel you have set up on "their site" even when there are no clear barriers. 

  

More on the intimacy. If you don't know J tree is coveted by rock climbers and people that boulder. Site 29 and 30 are right on the path to get to routes or have a bouldering section right on them. It was a little funny to have people walking right through my camp but I quickly realized it was normal for the reasons above. Something to think about. 

  

Quiet hours are QUIET. I have a feeling this was the case because most of the other campers were climbing most of the day and probably knocked out early to get good rest. Whatever the reason it was strange having the camp completely silent before and continuing after 10 pm even on a Weekend! 

  

If you get a site here you are going to love it. The setting is jaw-dropping and makes every moment dreamy. Except when you have to pack up and leave. Hope this helps!

Come Early, be bold. 

The campground is first come first serve. It costs $15 a day, the restrooms were very clean, but no access to water. Great place to rock climb, and see the stars.

Amazing campground 

Loved our site!

First come first serve, affordable, therefor busy. No reception. We had half the sites to pick from on a Thursday afternoon and my Friday night the campground was full.

Our site had a great shady spot for the tent and we could walk back into what felt like a shaded grove on the rocks. Great climbing here and mostly climbing caravans I felt like. We had a lot of people ask for our site so we had to stand our ground when they tried to rush us out, but ended up giving it to a nice family who was willing to mark the site then come back. 

Remember to bring more water then you think you need, and that the noise echos off rocks so respect quiet hours!

Highlight of JT

I somehow snagged a spot at around 10pm on a Friday night (manifested the heck out of that). Woke up in the morning to one of the most beautiful campsites I’ve stayed at during my travels! Perfectly spaced out and conveniently located in the park, I strongly recommend Hidden Valley.

Amazing!

This campground was amazing, getting to camp around huge boulders is really cool, had an amazing time, bathrooms kinda smell maybe because it was really hot

Boulders 

Upon checking in at the West Gate I was told our 19' might be too long for the campground; but, may fit in #1-7.  No problem in any of those sites for the Trailer and car.

Weather forecast was for the mid-90's; but the high altitude breeze in the shade was very pleasant.  Right before dusk 6 mountain goats came sauntering right through our site.

This is a GORGEOUS park.

Oh - no cell service, water, electric

Wow!!!

Awesome sites amongst the rocks. Centrally location for a great base camp for day activities.

The best campground in Jtree!

A little bit of a drive up, but very worth it. No service for ATT up there but the views were great. Campsite was very clean. I arrived after dark and found a spot. People were climbing the rocks. Highly recommend. It was $30 dollars for me 

Awesome campground

Get there early or on an off day, it's busy these days. 
Gorgeous campground with a myriad of beautiful rock formations. Sites have metal fire pits, tables, 1-2 parking spaces. Pit toilets, no water. Very close to Barker Dam and other great sites. 

Gorgeous rocks, lots to do, first come

Saw three shooting stars before bedtime • quiet up until rock climbers made their debut around midnight not only echoing off the boulders but blasting their music for everyone for the next two hours • definitely would come back here in the cooler months • just be mindful of wildlife and drive slowly and cautiously • flies were a deterrent but maybe they are only near the sites closer to restrooms • sites were very clean and well managed  • most spots could park a car or two on their sites 

Tranquil night under the stars 

Absolutely amazing campground. I pitched a tent at site 2 and had amazing views. No showers, but your camping! Toilets aren’t bad just bring TP and baby wipes. Stars are amazing. You literally cannot go wrong. This is the best campground at Joshua tree 


INSANE VIEW

The Campground offers the most basic accommodations as toilets; no water or showers. It operates with the Frist-come-first-serve system and we would highly recommend to ask someone already parking to share a spot; that’s how you have a chance to get in and connect with great people the same Time. Joshua Tree Park shows some its best climbing spots right around the campground and you definitely will find a guide to try rock climbing if you would want to try. Amazing Stargazing; amazing nature, amazing people - thanks for having us!

Great opportunity to experience Joshua Tree

Hidden Valley is the kind of campsite that begs you to remember where you are. The campground flanks some large rock formations that host rock climbers during the day. 

The sites are pretty well spaced out and arranged. I was lucky enough to grab a spot up against the rocks and it was spectacular. Be sure to climb up on the rocks at night for some awesome stargazing. (Don’t forget your headlamp.) 

Hidden Valley is first-come first-serve. Once you claim your site, you now have to travel back to an entrance station to pay. So keep that in mind. 

Quintessential Joshua Tree 

One of 3 campgrounds in Joshua Tree that is first come, first served. Filled
 up by 4PM in mid May. NO  water, no electric no internet. Little shade most of the day. Few sites can accommodate anything larger than a Sprinter. Sites vary from flat to 5 degree slope.

DARK DARK DARK sky.....wonderful.

Camping among the rocks.

$15 a night, which is a better deal than most NPs will offer and right in the middle of the park! This spot was awesome, lots of wildlife to see (lizards, jackrabbits, etc). There’s plenty of spots that offer great shade, because of the rocks. The rocks are great to boulder, scramble, or climb on. Bring your climbing gear if you’re interested! A baby jackrabbit came right up to me at one point, which was adorable but not great. I guess people feed the critters all the time, so be wary. Don’t feed the animals!! The bathrooms are clean &amp; have trash cans and even lights. There are plenty around, and dumpsters too. They don’t smell either. Picnic tables at every site and fire pit with a grate. Really just a wonderful time here. Mostly for tent camping, but we saw some RVs here and there. 
Ps. Don’t burn the vegetation lying around, a park ranger told us it’s horrible for burning and creates lots of smoke, and check under your cars for turtles!!! It says that everywhere but incase you miss it

All good things 

Stayed here our 3rd night due to it being full from Saturday-Sunday. Recommend going early Sunday morning to get the spots that are open from people leaving. Spots do fill up pretty quick. You can also walk across the street to hidden valley trail. Definitely recommend. Felt safer here due to the fact that you’re surrounded by other campers. 

Hidden Valley Campground

Great camp ground lots a hikes around, can see the stars perfect from right here tons of access to bathrooms , easy access to trails around the area  

Hidden valley camp ground

Have 24' RV. Most sites better suited for tents and smaller RV's due to sloped parking but a handful work for larger RV... site 34 was perfect. Decomposed granite roads and parking slots in OK condition. Pit toilets in good condition throughout campground. Rangers comes around several times per day to collect camping fees. Have credit card ready to pay. Honor system upon exit if you miss them. Easy walk to Hidden Valley loop trail. Fun to watch all the rock climbers. Super quiet and dark at night. Joshua trees and boulders... beautiful desert experience...

Photos of Hidden Valley Campground — Joshua Tree National Park

Real photos from real campers