Death Valley: Dispersed Camping East Side of Park

Nice place to camp for free if you don't mind having some neighbors. Close to the highway but little traffic noise. Worked well for an overnight before going into the park the next morning.

Large space, you can park on the pads or the dirt. Very close to the park. Right off the highway and easy to find. No water, no restrooms and no cell service. Be careful if you tent camp off the pads. My tent got some holes from the tiny rocks, even with a good foot print. Some are just very pointy. Overall great free spot, can’t complain. Would definitely camp there again.

Super easy to find a few miles before the entrance to Death Valley. Theres a ton of pads to park on, in a few different sections along the road. The section I was in had 10+ pads, each with their own fire pit. I was lucky enough to get the whole section to myself so it was very quiet and peaceful! Definitely recommend, but no water or bathrooms so come prepared.

Location is good, right outside the park. Not much for views and it’s right on the side of the road. As others have said there are a bunch of Cement pads that you can put a RV or camper on. No very private and spots are close together but it works for a night.

Free sites close to the park entrance? Score. Was here in March and there were about 15 other vehicles camping. Everyone was spread out and noise was very minimal. Only downside is lack of privacy. I camped near some tall grass so I could pee with some cover.

“The slabs” offer plenty of room and nice level parking. I had a great stay and then moved to a more sheltered campground for a period of extended heavy wind. Exactly 5.5 miles before the Death Valley Park sign at the east end on 190. Did not have any reception- as is the case in most of the park. Can’t beat the price!

I absolutely love this spot. Lots of concrete pads to park on. No light anywhere at night, the views are epic. No signal but good with that as well.

This place was great. Cement pads for parking. No toilets, dump or water. Close to Death Valley. Super quiet. Around 100 pads. We saw only a couple camper each day.

Thanks to Dyrt and the reviews on this spot, my wife and I had a great experience staying in Death Valley; the site was easy to find, and there were many spot available for use. We did not experience windy nights like others did, but we may have just got lucky. 

Great views for sunrise, sunset, and star gazing (looking away from Las Vegas light pollution).

We had to drive out with our trash, but that was expected. Campers should be mindful of the exposed pipes that can damage cars and hurt people/animals.

Will 100% stay again.

This spot has a ton of abandoned flat concrete pads, mostly level and mostly accessible. On some of them the surrounding dirt has washed away so it's a big drop from the pad to the ground, and some have begun to lean and are no longer level.

The area isn't beautiful or amazing but this makes for a good staging area for Death Valley, or for an overnight en route to your destination. There isn't much to do right in this camp area, but it's peaceful and quiet and a good resting spot.

Zero cell service in this area with Verizon and ATT.

Easy access from Hwy 190, and there is plenty of room to spread out. There were 4 other campers when we stayed here mid week in early April and we were all nicely spaced from each other.

Wind picked up in the afternoon and lasted all night and all the next morning, and the weather was warm but not brutally hot, but you have no relief from the sun here. We had to keep the windows closed overnight because the wind felt like it was going to break our windows off, so it got a little warm in the RV overnight.

No amenities whatsoever so please pack out all your waste and dog and human poo. We were pleasantly surprised at how little garbage there was here.

This is located about 6 miles east of Death Valley’s eastern information center. There are numerous concert pads with fire rings. Our skoolie could easily drive the road and we picked a concrete pad on the far side. The views were stunning at sunset. There are not any facilities, but we really enjoyed it. Our kids loved climbing the nearby hills too.

Do it!

Tent camping first night- very windy and got very poor sleep. Just beware of wind - not sure how common that is but I would’ve slept in my car if I would’ve known. The sites are spacious and clean. Close to highway but surprisingly quiet. Great location.

This site was BEAUTIFUL!! Surrounded by desert and so calm and peaceful! There are cement slabs that you can pull your car up onto and it makes for a perfect level spot to sleep in a tent or a car! The slabs are far enough away from each other for a bit of privacy but close enough to feel safe.

We arrived at night and it was really easy to access! It have ring fires and they put pave spot, so it was really nice and really close to death valley

This campsite was probably the most comfortable I’ve ever experienced. In October it was warm with beautiful sunrise/sunset. Easy to set up a tent even in the dark. Multiple fire pits at most camp spots. I put the coordinates in maps on my iPhone and it took me right there. No WiFi but can be found within 10 minutes where there is a casino with gas and little market if need be. 5 or so minutes away from Death Valley Park. Save your money and stay here for free!

I had planned to stay in the park when I visited early February 2021. All camping was still closed when I got there, so I found this dispersed camping site just outside of the park. It was easy to find, even though it was already dark. There were several other campers already out there, but there's enough space where it still felt somewhat private.

Basically this is an abandoned housing development, so it's super flat and easy to find and unoccupied space. Basically it's the pad where a house was going to be built.

There are no amenities, no water no bathroom no nothing. But it is so quiet! I stayed up late and when everyone went to bed it was the quietest I've ever heard. No road noise, no planes overhead, absolutely nothing. You don't realize what real silence sounds like until you experience it!

Definitely would recommend, cheap (free!), Easily accessible in any vehicle, great view of the desert and night sky!

I stayed at 'The Pads' in Spring 2020 on a 12 day road trip. This was a great and easy campsite just outside of Death Valley NP. It wasn't very full and the views of funeral mountain were great. There are no amenities so come prepared with everything you need, but things were pretty clean for the most part and I would stay here again.

I was pleasantly surprised by Death Valley and this camping area! Perfect weather in the winter, comfortable enough for tent camping. There are fire pits at most sites and concrete slabs at approximately 40 sites or so. If you drive past the slabs you can pitch tent in the dirt. Beautiful view of the Funeral Mountains. This spot is about 10 minutes outside of the park. Very convenient for day trips into the park to sight see and hike. With covid right now, all camping in the park is prohibited. Stores in the park are not even selling firewood because of campground closures. The most amazing sunsets of my trip were at Zabriske Point!

A beautiful and remote area of Death Valley National Park “backcountry.” Be sure to research the Park’s rules for disperse camping.

Enjoy hours of exploring without seeing another person for days.

No facilities, No campfire pits,

This spot is mainly set up for RVs or vehicle camping. There are a bunch of pull offs, the majority of which have concrete slabs to park on. Almost all have fire pits. I was tent/car camping. The ground is hard and can be rocky, depending on which spot you get. I put my set up in my car a few nights and slept in there. It was pretty busy, even in December, with RVs and trailers. I got there a little after dark every day and easily found spots, but I was also there in the middle of the week. Some of the slabs don't really have the clearest paths to them and others you have to drive through other sites to get to them. No facilities. Easy drive into the park and super easy to get to. There's no shade or really any tall veg to speak of, so you're hard pressed for relieving yourself, if you're primitive camping, and have no privacy, regardless. It was a decent spot to spend the night, but probably not good if you're planning to hang out at camp. Gorgeous surroundings, though. The night sky is to die for! Awesome place for star gazing or night photography.

Right before Death Valley if you coming from vegas and right after Death Valley if your heading to vegas!! They do have cement pads so that seemed really cool for it being BLM land… they have nice roads as well.

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 pulled into this spot right around sunset and were greeted with friendly bats and open rv concrete flat spots. It had a beautiful view of the Funeral Mountains and was just East of DVNP.

No bathrooms or facilities and hardly any shade but perfect for a free spot right outside of the the NP.