Ryan Campground, near Joshua Tree National Park, is a fantastic spot for those looking to immerse themselves in the stunning desert landscape. With spacious sites tucked among the rocks, it offers a sense of privacy while still being part of a vibrant camping community.

This campground is perfect for families and adventurers alike, featuring picnic tables and fire pits at each site, making it easy to gather for meals and evening campfires. Visitors have noted the clean pit toilets and the abundance of garbage and recycling containers, which helps keep the area tidy. As one camper mentioned, “The campground was super clean,” which is always a plus when you're out in nature.

For those eager to explore, Ryan Campground is just a stone's throw from some of the park's best hiking trails and climbing spots. You can easily venture out for a day of bouldering or take a leisurely hike to nearby attractions like Ryan Ranch. Just keep an eye out for local wildlife; campers have spotted everything from coyotes to rattlesnakes, so a little caution goes a long way.

Whether you're pitching a tent or parking your RV, Ryan Campground provides a solid base for your Joshua Tree adventures. With its beautiful surroundings and friendly atmosphere, it’s a great place to unwind and soak in the desert vibes.

## Overview

 Download the [NPS app][1] prior to visiting the park trail maps and more! Ryan Campground lies amid the huge, steep rock formations for which Joshua Tree National Park is known. In close proximity to many boulders and rock formations, it is a popular camping location for families with kids. Ryan Campground is one of four campgrounds in the 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 70-90 degrees during the day and drop to a 40-60 degree range at night. Summer is the park's off-season due to the uncomfortably-high desert heat. Ryan is at an elevation around 4,400 feet. 
## Recreation

 Several hiking trails also leave from the campground. There are plenty of rocks and Ryan Mountain to explore outside the facility. Clear desert skies are perfect for star-gazing. 
## Natural Features

 Campsites are nestled on a flat, sandy surface between large boulders that tower in unique shapes over the campground and rise up from the otherwise uniform desert landscape. The rocks were formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago and have been exposed and shaped by wind and water over time. They brighten with soft pastel hues during the morning and evening sunlight and low with campfire light by night. Visitors may want to keep their eyes out for typical desert inhabitants such as lizards, rattlesnakes, scorpions, ravens, squirrels 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. 
## Nearby Attractions

 Cape Rock, Ryan Mountain, and Hidden Valley 
## 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

Ryan 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

One of the best campsites ever with restrooms and running water. It also includes a grill.

Joshua tree

Camp sites here and at most campgrounds in Joshua Tree are first come first serve, making them difficult to snag during popular months (mid Fall through mid Spring). If you come during the week you should be fine, but the sites are pretty much always claimed by Saturday morning. If you do a get spot though, it's a nice enough campground. Every site has its own set of interesting boulders. Sites come with picnic tables and firepits, and there are outhouses and trash containers within quick walking distance.

Popular Desert Camping

Drove around in the hours of the night unable to find a campground. Luckily it was just my friend and I, and since these campgrounds are quite large, we pulled into an empty spot and asked some folks if they wouldn't mind us sharing their campground in exchange for some money and food. They were more than happy to share and gave us advice on the park, shared their fire, and great stories about their experience here. These campgrounds are first come first serve and everything inside the campground was full when we got there so we got very lucky that we stumbled upon friendly people. The campground is close to many of the hikes and popular climbs in the park. It is very open with beautiful views and fun rocks to climb in the middle of it. I couldn't even hear any of the other campsites around us!

Gem in the middle of the Desert

Less busy than Hidden Valley, but just as nice and centrally located. Clean pit toilets, but no water. Non-reservable.

Central location

This is the best site location for non-group tent camping for an early morning or late evening summit of Ryan Mountain.

Unfortunately, I didn't do enough research when planning my trip to Ryan apart from getting excited about the proximity to the popular Joshua Tree Ryan Mountain hike. I was focused on getting up the hill as early as possible before the sun got too hot. Because the sites are first come, I didn't think I wouldn't have a problem because things aren't too full in the summer. Unfortunately, to my surprise, this campground is closed in the summer.

As an alternative next stop, tried Sheep Pass (which has a trail that connects to the Ryan Mtn trailhead) and quickly learned that this is a group only campground which requires reservation (and is also closed in the summer). Finally wound up at White Tank which is a bit further away, but still a great site and close enough to get to Ryan Mountain early in the day. It turned out to be a good summer alternative.

If you happen to be lucky enough to get a site at Ryan in the season when it is open, it's a "primitive campground", $15 per site, no water (you'll need a lot to drink if you're hiking Ryan Mtn in the sun as well as some to wash off the dust when you get to the bottom) and each site has a table and fire pit (which seems to be the standard across JT). I didn't get to check out the bathrooms, they were also closed.

Find an Alternate Plan for Summer

It is a great campground of the main road on the right. 👌🏼 there is some great bouldering here and picnic areas. And if you follow the road down and keep to the right you will end up on a mountain bluff where you can see all the mountain ranges sprawling out before you. Great view. Nice an quiet. Lacks shade though. 

Right before 29 palms

Joshua Tree National Park is a world of it's own. Ryan was a beautiful site with great rock formations all around.

No Where Else...

We loved the location of Ryan campground and also that it was smaller than some of the other loops. It was mostly quiet and the views of both rocks and Joshua Trees was great and it was easy to access any point in the park.

Favorite campground in the Park

This campsite is firstcome, first-served and the campground is at 4,300 feet (1,310 m) in elevation. It only have 31 sites and make sure you bring plenty of water since there isn't a single potable water in this site. It's a must for anyone who enjoys being away from big crowds but loves to take a hike, boulder or rock climbing.

Gazed on Bright Stars

We had a wonderful time here. We stayed 2 nights and had no other company except for a kit fox or 2\. Its a lot smaller of a camp ground than most national parks. Which i imagine if its packed would be great. We did not have that problem. There pretty amazing hiking, climbing, and mountain biking inside Joshua tree. Some the best in world. Cool hiking real close right from the site.

Camp sites had fire rings, picnic tables, and lots and lots of beauty. You will definitely enjoy yourself at Joshua Tree. Only reason its a 4 star review is because the price. Which is still cheaper than most NP.

Cheers!

Excellent. No company except some kit foxes.

I went to Visit Joshua Tree in late March and it was during spring break for all the college students so it was very difficult to find an available campsite, you definitely want to get their early and start asking around if people are going to leave their campground. Most people will leave a sign at the front of their campsite saying when they will leave which is helpful. Luckily I found a campsite at Ryan Campground and it is a wonderful campground that has a trail that leads down to keys view. Also there are plenty of rock formations to do some rock climbing.

Also the trail is close to the Boy Scout trail which leads to Indian Cove. Definiely a great site to stay at, which I would highly recommend.

First come first serve

Beautiful landscape. very dry. you must bring all of your own water and firewood (not allowed to collect it there). It is an easy drive from Ryan campground to several classic hikes including ryan moutain trail with an epic view. Cholla garden is far, but so pretty at sunrise/sunset - just heads up that because it is on the eastern side of the hills in the park the sun sets significantly earlier than the rest of the park- so be sure to hit early!

gorgeous alien landscape

Excellent location right in the middle of the park. You're an easy drive to most of the park. The campground backs up to big rocks you can climb on. The spots are well spaced and they were very clean. 

Right in the Middle

I chose site#10 and it was perfect.  Was able to hide my tent in a cubby of sorts with the site backing up to a giant boulder.  Had a clear view of the sunset off to the west.

  

Each site had a fire ring and a picnic table.

Some sites are pretty close together but drive around and you can find one that has plenty of room between you and the next camper(s)

  

Pit toilets and as many others have said, NO WATER on site.  So be sure to carry along what you need and some extra.

  

I visited in Mid Sept and it was perfect weather.  Warmer during the day and nice and cool at night.  Just a handful of campers during this time as well.

  

Just a heads up, LEAVE YOUR HAMMOCK  at home unless you have a stand or plan on tying off to a vehicle or the boulders.  Reading a review below it shows someone using their hammock set up on a Joshua Tree.  Sure it made for a really cool photo but just fyi, yes it is in fact illegal.  Not only that but your damaging the exact thing that you are headed to the national part to enjoy....the Joshua Trees!

Unobstructed dark skies, peace and quiet

Pros: plenty of sites available, first come first serve

          Great night sky views, climb the rocks for a great sunset view.

          Short drive to most of the popular sights / trails in Joshua Tree

  

Cons: Some sites are pretty close to each other, can feel crowded.  

  

         Fantastic first come first serve campground (31 sites) right in the middle of Joshua Tree. Really great spots near the boulders, some even had partial shade. Several toilets located throughout the campground. Each site had a fire ring and picnic bench. No water available, so bring in plenty!

Great central spot in Joshua Tree...

Enormous boulders are the backdrop (and only promise of shifting shade relief) of this little campground in Joshua Tree. Toilets. Trailheads. Bike in sites. Tents. Adventure Vans. There are a couple other campgrounds I might prefer in Joshua Tree, but this was not too shabby at all. The kids liked biking the loop. The scenery and starry night sky are breathtaking.

Joshua Tree Gem

This is one of the small Joshua Tree first come first served campground in the main section of the park.  I have heard now you need reservations so check to see if that has changed.  Choose your site carefully - some are very close together.  Also check which way the wind is blowing and use the rocks as a wind break.  It can be very windy here.

There is no water here.  You have to bring in all the water that you need. An ember guard for the fire is also useful here and throughout the park so when the wind comes up you do not have to worry about flying embers.

Lots of rock piles to climb in this campsite  Also some to hike and climb behind the campground.  Good night sky for stars.

There is trail behind the campground that leads to an old ranch and old buildings which is fun to explore.

Sites have tables, fire rings and primitive bathrooms.

Good Location - Close to Lots of Adventures in Joshua Tree

As a first time camper, this site was very comfortable. A little more sequestered than other spaces. There's a decent rock that offers some relief from the sun, and it's a parallel park spot! Perfect for those with a rooftop tent. 

The campground itself is decent. A dirt road leads you through the loop, and there's a trail leading to Ryan Ranch. Central location made it easy to get to all the trails and spots, Cholla is around a 30 minute drive from there.

Campsite 14

This is an awesome campground that offers a lot of easy to climb rocks for beginners, we enjoyed our stay and would visit again. 

A real getaway

Boring

Great sites in a less busy area of the park.

This is a great value campsite for a National Park. The sites are not very private, but there is a community of campers and climbers and travelers that are, in our experience, fairly camp respectful.   
  

We stayed in site 12 which is on the backside of the camp (away from the road) looking out at the desert. This particular site is on a slight incline for car camping but has a flat pad for tents. Site 9 would have been our first choice as it is flat and a bit more private (I stress "a bit more"). 

  

Easy hikes out of the campground and big sky country.

Epic Vistas. Bouldering and hiking right from camp.

Beautiful place with cool rocks. Pit toilets, metal fire pits, tables. Geology trail and a short trail to Ryan Ranch. Close to Hall of Horrors and other cool sites. If you get the right space, it's pretty private, which is nice. 

Beautiful 

This camp site was tucked in the back, 12 miles from Joshua Tree park entrance. This site was on the side of the rocks that provided shade for more than 12 hours in the day. There were fit pits, charcoal bbq, and picnic table. Hiking trails in all directions with directional signs and mileage. We went in July so it was really hot but we brought an easy up, ice chest with ice and a water jug. There were restrooms but no running water. There are a ton of animals; we saw coyote, squirrels, crows, and buuugs so bring bug spray and keep your food locked up!

Desert oasis

This place is perfect for Families because it’s likely neighbors will have kids as it’s a popular spot to rock scramble.  Noise Carrie’s across the campground off the rocks and that’s just a fact.  One thing is to get there as early as you can for checking in as the place is known to have squatters try and poach sites.  Not fun to get there at night and have someone in your reserved spot.  NPS needs to police this way better.  Be prepared for cold nights, no cell service and it’s a great experience.

Great campground but be ready to hear neighbors

We really liked Ryan campground. The camp sites are private feeling, and spaced far enough apart. It's smaller than Jumbo Rocks; there aren't as many, um, rocks-- but there were enough to keep our 9 year old climbin' and happy. The camp host was really nice, and the campground was super clean. And of course Joshua Tree park is epic!

Small scale Joshua Tree experience

We stayed at campsite #9 for 1 night (5/18/23 - 5/19/23). We had a wonderful stay. The campsite is spacious. The vault toulet is clean. If you gonna stay in this campsite, be cautious of rattlesnakes! One showed up right next to our tent at 7:45am. Other nearby campers told us they saw it at this campsite the day before as well. Maybe this is its home. Scorpions are also spotted by other campers in this campground. See attached photos and videos. Stay safe during camping!

Nice camground to explore Joshua Tree National Park

Decent layouts on the ground 
Every spot is open to wind but none the less ! Very peaceful spot. Must reserve!! 

PRETTY GOOD 

Ryan campground was a little further out from the middle of everything. Rocks were still present but not as large as at jumbo or sheep’s pass. Great collection of sites. Any would be good - some really fun ones tucked in the rocks. Pit toilets clean and serviced regularly. Plenty of garbage and recycling containers.  Fire pits, bbq and nice picnic tables at each site. 

Nicely spaced sites 

We stayed two nights here in a campervan. It's a really great location to explore the park. The rocks give some good shade. Space #9 was shady in the mornings. The toilets were fine. It was really quiet, they're were a few other campers mostly in tents. No sign of any rattlesnakes or other critters either. Except loads of cute squirrels, and some mice and lizards. 

Photos of Ryan Campground — Joshua Tree National Park

Real photos from real campers