Texas Springs Campground — Death Valley National Park

After another day spent exploring the park, we were looking for a great spot to set us up for two last stops before leaving the park the following morning. We were going into Sunset but the ranger directed us to Texas Springs-no generators and less expensive for the win. We had a great view of the stars and Milky Way-getting great photos while enjoying the warm evening.

This campground was quiet and clean and centrally located in the park. No hookups, but there is a dump station with potable water available near the entrance.

The spaces are REALLY close together but when we were there the park was mostly empty…maybe a dozen other campers in the whole park. Tent camping only on the lower loop…upper loop had MANY large, pull through spaces. Our camper is small, so the space felt big though. Picnic tables and fire pits at each site. Self serve pay stations, discount for Access Pass holders, I will definitely stay here again if I come through Death Valley again.

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.

Hard pack ground gravel for a tent at the top loop. Close spaces 16$ a nite most amenities except shower and wifi. Quiet

I moved here after camping outside the park to get away from high winds and found a sheltered site. Cost is $16 pay at kiosk with card or nearby furnace creek visitors center. Water, flush toilet, and dumpster. Sites are fairly close together but I had plenty of room bc this campground was much less crowded than nearby furnace creek. Easily accessible in any vehicle. Enjoyed my stay - friendly camp host. Showers can be purchased for $5 30 min away at stovepipe wells hotel or right down the hill at TheRanch for a steep $14 which also gets you into their swank pool. Gas is nearby. I ended up going into Pahrump Nevada 1 hr away for laundry, cheap gas, tractor supply propane refill, groceries and an oil change. Nice camp host. This was my favorite camp out of the 4 I stayed at during my time in Death Valley.

Nice desert campground with clean amenities (without lights make sure you bring a torch). Very reasonably priced and much nicer than the Sunset Campground. Good place to stay for a day or two while exploring the valley.

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.

We camped here because it was one of only 2 NPS campgrounds with tables and fire rings and it was first come first serve. The campground was full both nights we were there. We arrived in the morning and were able to get two sites next to each other. The sites are very close together, so don't expect any privacy. If you are looking for peace and quiet and some stargazing, this place is not for you. People shining their flashlights all over, headlights turning on when they opened their car doors, people driving around after dark and headlights shining in our eyes. Totally ruined the stargazing. There was one car that kept coming and going in our loop. I finally realized that they were driving down to the restrooms. Too lazy to walk two blocks! Restrooms were clean and had running water. There is also a no generators rule. I would not return to this campground.

[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!

Close to everything and way better than Furnace Creek if you ask me. Some tight spots up in the back corner. We picked one in the middle. No problem on a Monday in February. Sites for big RVs and tents too. Plenty of clean bathrooms and dishwashing stations. Ok ATT

I recommend walking to the back and exploring the hills.

Oh, and we saw coyotes here.

No generators, flush toilets, big stainless sink for dishes. Great for tents and the RVs are separate on upper loop.

Nice... drive past the (campground full) sign at 9am and wait for a spot...pay at 11am at vending machine. OUT OF THE WIND. LUNAR MOON environment! Fun for kids. No data in camps.

We stayed in sites 103 and 104. Way better than Furnace and Sunset (parking Lots with hookups). Lots of vans and other dry campers on this loop. Incredible sunsets and sunrises to be had. Spigots and wash stations are clean.

This is a good central spot for getting to Badwater Basin and Zabriske Point and similar spots easily.

No hookups but plenty of access points for drinking water. Bathrooms were clean.

Spots are pretty close together so don’t expect much privacy here. Surrounding rocks and view were pretty during sunrise and sunset.

As it’s Death Valley, roaming only cell signal. The Ranch (5-10 min drive) has ample parking and Paid Wi-Fi if needed.

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. 

Nice clean bathrooms and sinks to wash your hands.

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

This lower campground is ONLY for tents and they do 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.

Trash cans available as well.

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).

We camped in the upper loop in February. Came in around 3pm, found a spot, paid $16 bucks at the kiosk. No showers but there is a pool and shower at the hotel by the visitors center that you can use for $10 bucks.

I’d recommend you arrive during the day. I spent Christmas Eve here and the Park was quite full. Found one of the only remaining spots open. Cool spot with potable water and bathrooms. I couldn’t see stars the night I was here because of the cloud cover. Paid $16 for the campsite. Worth it! Centrally located to several sites.

We finished our trip to Death Valley here after camping for a while at Furnace Creek. Both were beautiful but this one was especially amazing. We explored for hours each day and kept finding new spots. There was a hill right at our site that you could walk up and see the entire campground which was especially cool at night. There is SO much cool geology that you can see right from the campground and explore. Our campsite had easy access to flush toilets, trash station, and dishwashing sink. Our site was long and narrow, so we could set up our two tents and also have a separate food prep/eating area at another end. It was fairly private except there was one group right across from us. The RVs were mostly in another area.

only a couple sItes have shade.. so good luck getting them as thIs Is first come first serve. regardless, i came in spring time and was thankful to get any spot. close enough to furnace creek store and restaurant, should you so desire. I explored the east end of the campground, which pours out into endless hiking possibilities 👌🏼👌🏼

Best campground in Death Valley.

We stayed here in our TT over the Christmas holiday 2017. The weather is excellent at that time. The sites in the back part of the campground (where RVs are allowed) are very spacious, though not at all private. We chose a site at the top of the hill, so we had no neighbor on the door side of the camper. The moonscape rocks surrounding the campground are fun for the kids to climb on. Easy access to many of the sites in DVNP. We enjoyed a Christmas morning sunrise program with a ranger, watching the sun come up and bathe the basin in incredible colors. There are no generators allowed in Texas Springs, so plan accordingly.

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. :)

Very cool natural features included with this campground. On the lower level (reserved for tent camping) has some shade trees, rock formations, flush toilettes, water, fire pits, tables and grills... It's amazing set up. The upper portion of the camp (where I stayed) is set up the same as lower, only difference is RV's can camp here. Very nice, quiet and clean campground. The use of generators are prohibited on both the upper and lower campgrounds FYI

Clean facilities, not too much privacy between sites, but on a quick stopover that was fine. Death Valley is a fascinating park to visit!

When planning our trip to Death Valley, I didn't really pay much attention to this campground. I really thought we would get a spot at Furnace Creek because we were going in what I thought was an off time (late March). However, Furnace Creek was full when we arrived so we ended up at Texas Springs. I really liked it. It is far enough away from Furnace Creek to make you feel somewhat isolated but close enough to go get some ice or check out the Visitors Center. It is also a great central location in the park. Just about all of the main attractions in the area are within a 45 minute drive. That may seem like a long drive but the park is huge. Overall, I think I would prefer this site over Furnace Creek or Stovepipe Wells.