Mid Hills Campground — Mojave National Preserve

A little rough and rocky to get there, but our Kia made it without 4 wheel drive.
Did some hiking, then ended the day by our campfire. Fantastic quiet location. Great sunrise.

Pure Review:  

Stayed here on the 29th of May 2021. Was a little warm during the day but hella cool at night. The campground is kinda remote, way better than "Hole in The Wall." You can get there in a 2wd car during dry conditions. Nice sites with a table and fire pit. Room for trailer or tent camping. Might have to arrive early to get a good site. 

************************FACTS*********************************************

Price: $12 (first come basis)

Water: NO  

Amenities: Picnic tables and fire ring/grill

Access: A freaking Prius made it

Cell service: Verizon 2-3 bars @ top of hill next to site 24

Pit toilet: Clean

Privacy: Yes/NO depends on your site.

Pure Tip:

Drive the loop before you pick a site. Better ones are at the back. Enjoy!!

This is a great spot. The drive here can be a bit rough if you come down cedar canyon. Cedar canyon and black canyon roads are full of washboard spots that makes for a bumpy ride.

No water or cell service at this site. They do have bathrooms. You do need to pay per night but they had no pencil or writing device so we couldn’t fill out the form. Ending up dropping a blank envelope in. Maybe bring a pen 😀

This site can be windy depending on when you go.

Long road in need of grading. Glad we stuck with it once we arrived. Privacy, fire rings, standing grills, table, but most importantly quiet. A few sites have fantastic views. No running water, so we brought our own. The pit toilets are very clean. We preferred this to Hole in the Wall down the road since it was packed! We’ll be back!

Site 22

I choose this site for its privacy. Boy I should have considered the hill for the wind factor. My fault. But overall great camping experience. Just a little windy at night. Nice to get off the grid.

We brought the rpod. Left it in the camp and explored lava tubes and sand dunes near by. NO more water! Used to have water but they broke and no plans to fix. Very windy. We went 10/18/19 Lots of hunters! Deer season

This is a simple campground but it's quite and spread out enough that you have privacy.  We saw some great wildlife when we came across a few deer and a gorgeous jack rabbit!  The sunsets were unreal!!!  Don't expect much from this simple campground except a place to come back to after a day of exploring the desert.  It can also get a little windy, but sites 11 & 24 seemed the best to avoid the wind.  

Be warned - we took a backway unknowingly to the light tunnels and ended up in a pretty dicey situation even for a Jeep Grand Cherokee.  Service is touch and go in a lot of the desert.

Gorgeous open plains/canyons make for awesome star watching. Nearest city about 1 and a half out with lights. Honor system. No showers. Hole in the ground outhouse toilets. No water, so bring your own. Coyote visits. Sweet sunset and sunrise views.

Having camped here twice this year, it's a favorite of mine. Temps are decent, even in January (mid-30s for lows) and perfect in April. Tree cover is still a bit sparse and hiking options are limited, but it's a great place to set up camp and do absolutely nothing. Normally, water is available, but they are revamping the water system and the result is that there is no water available at the campground until Spring 2019, so be sure you bring plenty with you.

Went on a Saturday night and had no problem finding a spot. There is no potable water at the campground currently, but you can get some at the visitors center a few miles away. Go to the back of the campground for some more private spots with a few trees.

Campground Review About an hour drive from I-15 or I-40 in the Mojave National Preserve, this high desert campground has an abundance of desert life with ample views of the surrounding mountains. I camped at site 21 at the far Northern end of the campground. The site was surrounded by juniper trees and pinyon pines which offered shade during the day and a wind break at night. I camped here in late May and while valley temperatures were in the upper 90s, this campground stayed about 10° cooler and was almost chilly at night. A fire came through the campground in 2005 leaving the southern sites much more exposed than the northern sites. Some northern sites also have views of other mountain ranges.

One thing to note it that this campground is a bit far from some of the main attractions of the Mojave Preserve. It’s about a 30 min drive to Kelso depot and an hour to the closest food and gas, so come prepared. The campground had massive sites that could easily fit multiple tents (in fact the group next to us had 6 trucks and as many tents on their site). This campground is good for families, couples, or groups and apparently is popular with hunters and off roaders. The nights I was there it was quiet and secluded despite most sites around being filled.

My favorite aspect of the campground was the abundant wildlife. At my site, I saw many lizards, bunnies, kangaroo rats, birds and beetles as well as blooming cacti and wildflowers.

The fee to stay here is a very reasonable 12$ per night and it is first come first serve. This campground has pit toilets and water available. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring with a grill grate. Click here for more info about the campground!

**Product Review**

As a Dyrt Ranger, I also get products to test and review in the field. At this campground I tested the [Seattle Sports FrostPak™ CoolPak](http://www.seattlesportsco.com/camp/coolers/frostpak-coolpak.html).

This FrostPak™ CoolPak was a great companion for a hot desert trip! Why you ask?

1\. This cooler is very well insulated while still being spacious. It held ice for about 10hrs while sitting in the sun and kept drinks cold for over a day. It held a 6 pack easily with ice.

2\. The backpack feature works great making it easy to carry and access. The straps are adjustable and comfortable. It is as heavy as you pack it though using freezer packs may provide cool temperatures for lighter weights. I foresee packing it with drinks and lunches and bringing it to the beach, to a picnic or out on the lake.

3\. Though many backpacks are prone to tip, this one doesn’t. It stands very well on its own meaning you don’t have to worry about losing your ice or your lunch if you leave it open.

One word of advice: the backpack has a zipper at the top and while every other part is well sealed, the zipper is not and may slowly leak over time if the bag is not upright. Overall great product perfect for many different adventures!