Texas Springs Campground — Death Valley National Park

Pulled in late, well after dark and after a long and somewhat harrowing drive in from the north. Read on the NPS website that of the three area campgrounds (all within a mile and very easy access), Furnace Creek is most popular (so we cruised past it), Texas Springs most scenic with mountain views (true), and Sunset rarely fills (because it’s a big gravel parking lot).

Our stay was mid-week in October, so even rolling in after 9pm, there were only a few sites occupied. It’s a little tricky to find the loops, as the only signage is “slow,” with no numbered directionals, but so wide open it quickly makes sense. We found a spot right in the middle of the lower loop, no one around us, easy bathroom access. Electronic self pay station back at the entrance was a breeze. Realized after the fact there was also a kiosk by the lower bathroom, so we wouldn’t have had to go to the entrance.

No power or water (expected), but the bathrooms were clean and I liked the dishwashing sink setup - outdoors with three taps and one big trough basin, several stations throughout the campground.

Arrived after dark, so waking up to a desert mountain sunrise was a treat. StarLink worked perfectly under unobstructed sky for morning virtual meeting. Bonus points to NPS for their sense of humor in decorating the phone booth - and for having a phone booth. Dumpster, recycling, and propane drop all on the way out, super convenient.

Only downside? It’s SO quiet that with low occupancy and desert acoustics, you can hear a tent zipper from 50 yards away. I imagine in busier season you might be all up in each other’s stuff.

All of the campgrounds in the valley are glorified parking lots, some more obviously than others. Texas Springs holds our favorite distinction, “No generators allowed!” This alone makes it worth the short drive up the hill, but it’s also got a little bit more charm than the open acres down the hill. The open sky makes it the perfect place to rely on your solar power as there are no electrical hookups here.  Within walking distance of the Visitors Center, the hotel, grocery store, gas station and restaurants, all contained in the Ranch at Death Valley, it’s a great base camp for your park adventures. 

The simple bathrooms have flush toilets and hand washing sinks, great dishwashing sinks with good tasting potable water are just outside of the bathrooms. The sites are stacked pretty tightly together, so there’s not a lot of privacy and there is zero, I mean zero, shade. All of the palm trees are down at the resort, but the scenery is all mudstone, sand and gravel, and it is lovely.  Climb up the hill a short way and you can see clear across Badwater Basin and Panamint Mountains to the west. Sunrise is as lovely as sunset. 

This is Death Valley afterall, so come prepared to set up a canopy but be careful of wind- we saw many shade structures destroyed and discarded in the dumpsters. Mobile service was pretty spotty, we had Verizon which seemed to have a good signal in the morning until more people woke up and then everything slowed down. Service throughout the park was pretty spotty. Showers (and use of the pool) and wifi are available at the Ranch for an hourly or daily fee. 

Biking, hiking and even golf are just a few of the activities available nearby, but pay attention to Park warnings about heat. Pets are not allowed on any of the trails and only allowed to be walked on roadways, because of the hot conditions found on some of the trails. We visited in February/March and found some of the canyons pretty uncomfortable, even that early in the spring.

We had a great time on a short trip to Death Valley starting 3/24/22. We stayed in the lower section (we think it was 23) and found a nice semi-shaded area behind a bush at the back of the site. If you can find a shaded spot it can be super helpful as the heat was challenging. Unfortunately we hit a record high for march during our stay (104ºF). 

We arrived on Thursday around 1 PM and had no problem finding a spot. The ones with good shade were taken though. 

The hills just next to our camp site were a great place to watch one of the sunsets (see pictures) over furnace creek. 

The bathrooms were clean and the water was both cold and had great pressure for hand washing and dishes (good to splash your face in the heat too). There are no showers. 

The location of the site is a great base to explore death valley. You are right between Zabriskie Point, Badwater Basin, and the dunes to the north. Furnace Creek was also great for spending the hot afternoons. They have really good ice cream, a nice lawn to picnic on, and for us 4x level 2 EV chargers! We were worried about taking our model 3 from LA but the chargers were regularly open and helped us get enough charge to get back. 

The highlight of our trip was a great hike (Golden Canyon - Gower Gulch loop) nearby. We did do some astro photography at zabriskie point the first night but the wind was not good up there (actually much better near the camp site).

If you can come when the heat is less this is a great spot.

[Internet. There was full 3G signal for Verizon but no service for T-Mobile. Verizon only seemed to be usable in the morning hours but extremely limited. Speedtest wouldn’t run.]

[Rig. Mercedes Sprinter. 22 feet]

Dump station? - Yes Water fill? - Yes Clean site? - Yes Clean bathroom? - Yes Flush toilet? - Yes Showers? - No Laundry? - Haha no Dish washing sink? - Yes

These sites are first-come-first-served.

Be mindful this is a very popular park in a desert. No, there isn’t shade. Yes, the sites are very close together. But I liked this campground. It had a good deserty atmosphere. Not to mention it was an actual campground not a parking lot.

Do not come expecting you’ll be able to shower in your outdoor shower. Park rangers walked around and had everyone take them down. We have a shower in our van so this wasn’t an issue for us but our neighbors were very disappointed.

Bring a variety of tent stakes! We had an extreme wind advisory for 2 days with gusts up to 55 mph. Tents were literally tumbling around the campground. Store things in the tent to at least weigh it down.

Just a reminder, don’t shine your white flashlights in camper faces. Avoid using white lights all together if possible. Use red lights. The campground is compact and your flashlight is in everyone’s line of sight.

It’s basic and served it’s purpose well. No red flags. 4-stars

Texas Springs upper loop is for RV's and Vans, but no generators allowed. So it's lovely and quiet at night. If you want to run your generator you need to go to Sunset Campground closer to the road. Texas Springs lower loop is for tents only (though some tent campers moved up to the upper loop).

We moved to Texas Springs upper loop from Furnace Creek. It is first come / first served with checkout at noon. So if you find a site without a tag before noon, you can claim it. But if you are there before noon and there is a tag in place for that day (and there are no "place holders" like chairs or items on the picnic table) the ranger will not let you claim it until noon. We were there over a holiday weekend (Presidents day on Monday) we got in on Thursday morning and it was wide open with many choices, by the time we left on Sunday there were people asking if they could call "dibs" on your site when you left. I would suggest coming in Sunday - Thursday on a regular week.   

Most sites in the middle and to the right as you come in are pull through, but the left row is all back in. If you get a choice, pick a site at the top or bottom of a row for better views. Our neighbors were all very relaxed and friendly.  There is NO shade. It was a bit too windy to put up our pop-up, but we just stayed in the shade of our tiny trailer.  

    
The bathrooms were clean and pleasant, the water troughs for dishwashing etc were next to the bathrooms, and there were water spigots in each row as well. There are no showers and grey water on the ground is forbidden, so no solar or outside showers. If you want a shower you can get a day pool pass and access to the showers at Furnace Creek Ranch ($14) or Stovepipe Wells ($5).  

My cel provider is T-Mobile and I had full bars, but it was 3G! I heard neighbors on Verizon complain about being on roaming. We had no signal on our Visible phone. 
We saw a lot of coyotes - keep your little dogs close!

This campground is WAY better than the sunset campground… 

So if you can come here and get a spot you are winning!

 Each spot has A table and fire ring.

 The roads are paved, the spots are not. 

Some spots have trees and others have a rock in the background, so a little privacy on those spots. 

Nice clean bathrooms and sinks to wash your hands. 

I suggest bringing a pop up for any extra shade, you will need it.

 This campground is for tents and RVs. 

They do have day use areas as well in case you are just stopping through

Here are my star ratings based on my lifestyle and what I like. I'm also a mother, dog mama, and a wife so it's not just me it's my crew and i. 1 star- AUTOMATIC relocate… the property is no longer there, trashed or/and I could never have my children there and I wouldn't ever think about staying no matter what. 2 star- Not really my jam, and would NEVER go to again… It probably more of desert life and not really my style for sure…Being from Vegas I can't stand being in the desert and I love the Trees and the Green more than anything. 3 star- Would stay there again in a pinch, but not really my style, the reason its not is because not enough family things to do, the scenery, or the location… but I would go again and feel safe having my kiddos here but only if I needed to in a pinch. 4 star- a really good rating for sure, maybe needed some improvements, minor things like being on top of each other, not a lot of privacy, but honestly little cosmetic things that aren't anything to sweat and would be back again for sure. 5 star- MY FAVORITE… love the location, safety, the surroundings, big camp spots available to fit toys for my kids to play, hammocks to hang, our big family tent, cases of firewood, our suburban or RV, etcccccc….. I would not only come back but would live if I could!!! Anyway thanks for reading and enjoy every moment like it's your last! CHEERS!

This campground is WAY better than the sunset campground… So if you can come here and get a spot you are winning!

Each spot has  A table and fire ring.

The roads are paved, the spots are not.

Some spots have trees and others have a rock in the background, so a little privacy on those spots.

Nice clean bathrooms and sinks to wash your hands.

I suggest bringing a pop up for any extra shade, you will need it.

This campground has a lower loop that is ONLY for tents and they have an upper loop that is for tents and RVs.

They do have day use areas as well in case you are just stopping through

Here are my star ratings based on my lifestyle and what I like. I'm also a mother, dog mama, and a wife so it's not just me it's my crew and i. 1 star- AUTOMATIC relocate... the property is no longer there, trashed or/and I could never have my children there and I wouldn't ever think about staying no matter what. 2 star- Not really my jam, and would NEVER go to again... It probably more of desert life and not really my style for sure...Being from Vegas I can't stand being in the desert and I love the Trees and the Green more than anything. 3 star- Would stay there again in a pinch, but not really my style, the reason its not is because not enough family things to do, the scenery, or the location... but I would go again and feel safe having my kiddos here but only if I needed to in a pinch. 4 star- a really good rating for sure, maybe needed some improvements, minor things like being on top of each other, not a lot of privacy, but honestly little cosmetic things that aren't anything to sweat and would be back again for sure. 5 star- MY FAVORITE... love the location, safety, the surroundings, big camp spots available to fit toys for my kids to play, hammocks to hang, our big family tent, cases of firewood, our suburban or RV, etcccccc..... I would not only come back but would live if I could!!! Anyway thanks for reading and enjoy every moment like it's your last! CHEERS!

We’ve camped in Death Valley about a dozen times.  We alternate between Furnace Creek Campground and Texas Springs Campground.  Furnace Creek is adjacent to the Visitor Center and the Furnace Creek Inn.  It’s within walking distance of both places.  The Texas Spring Campground is on a hill above Furnace Creek.  It takes about 10-15 minutes to bike ride to Furnace Creek or 30 minutes to walk.  Texas Spring has great views (although it can get windy) but has more of a camping experience.  Furnace Creek is mainly just parking spots.  Both campgrounds have flush toilets.  This is a great location to explore the park.  Zebrinski Point, Slot Canyon, Fish Creek, Sand Dunes are all fun places to hike and explore. Tip:  Pay the $10 a day for the pool pass at Furnace Creek Inn.  Not only does it give you access to hot showers but also use of the spring fed pool.  The pool stays open til really late (11 pm?) and it is so fun to swim at night when the temperature is still in the 80’s - (May camping).

Pros: Reasonably priced, fairly quiet campground that is close enough to Furnace Creek w/out being in the thick of it. Great scenery surrounding the campground. Modern toilet/sink facilities and potable water.

Cons: Weird site designs - the site boundaries are not clear, so I had no idea which picnic table or fire ring belonged to my site or my neighbors because they seemed to be situated right on the edge of some of the sites. Almost no shade (which is a given), and the campground is very dusty covered in sharp edged cobbles. This is obviously not something they can control, but you'll want to keep it in mind if tent camping - definitely bring 1 if not 2 heavy duty tarps for under any tents, and I would recommend a canopy or awning of some kind. The oddest thing to me, however, is why they would go to the trouble of installing flush toilets and sinks, but not go one extra step and have showers. Even cold-water only coin-op showers would be awesome, and much appreciated at the end of a hot day hiking!

Given all of the above, however, I'd probably choose to camp here again if I was in the park. :)