Indian Cove Campground — Joshua Tree National Park

I’ve camped at Joshua tree national park numerous times but this is the first time at this site. It was great. Lots of climbing at hiking at this spot. Great Joshua tree experience without the long drive and entrance fee.

We liked it there. Nice site with some shade from the rocks. We had a hard time to level our trailer though.

Nice desert camping. Joshua tree is awesome if you are into sightseeing. The rock formations are incredible. If you like hiking (without your pet) then you should enjoy this area. The drive through the park is beautiful. Smaller rigs only. Not very level sights.

What a beautiful place. It was really quite when we were there and saw a beautiful sunset and sunrise

Talk about waking up with the sound of coyotes in your camp, it was so peaceful. Joshua tree is a massive playground of rock, hidden oasis, and creatures. You could easily spend a week in this park and enjoy yourself. It does get extremely hot as it’s in the desert and there’s little to no shade. It does get cold at night when the temps drop too! I’ve been here when it’s snowed! The sites are pretty big and there’s many different campgrounds with 20-180 sites in each.

I went on my first solo trip as a female to this campground a few weeks ago, this campground was absolutely beautiful . There was times I had to stop and stare at everything around me because I could t believe it was all real. The campground was very family friendly and I felt safe even though I was alone. The sites are very close together so privacy was hard. Beautiful nature trail in the area . The weather was phenomenal at an average of 70 degrees during the day and dropping to the mid 40’s at night. “Half the park is after dark”

Great campsite! Stayed in site 14. Excellent options close to Joshua Tree without dealing with the close campsites and crazy crowds.  Our site had great rocks next to it that many climbers came to use and we were able to boulder to the top, which was the only place I actually had cell service! Would recommend staying here instead of inside the park. Our site was kind of close to the road so it was a bit loud at night with them driving on rocks but wasn’t too bad!

There are two campsites in the park that you don't have to pay for the park entrance fee; this is one of them. It is located between two mountains, so no cell coverage, but it is quiet.

Spent one night at the Indian Cove Campground, site 64. Truly breathtaking experience. Never been to Joshua Tree and will definitely be back. So much wildlife, rock formations and beautiful views everywhere. Will definitely be back soon.

Had a fantastic time here. My loop is surrounded by rocks suitable for climbing and bouldering. Nature trail is a short walk away and lovely. And the stars! Be sure to bring a guide so you can identify the many constellations visible on a clear night.

Good sized popular campground in Joshua Tree Nat’l park. Camps tucked in to rocks, sweeping view of desert to the north. No hook-ups

All campgrounds in Joshua Tree are reservation only – but same day reservations are now allowed and you can pay online. There is no cell service or wifi in the park, but the ranger station in Joshua Tree has free wifi, so you can make a reservation from there based on availability. Suggest reserving in advance because Joshua Tree is busy, but we got lucky that there were sites available.

Indian Cove is in the park, but it is not in the main section of the park off the through road.  You have to drive into Twenty-Nine Palms to access the campground. You can access some park trails from the campground, but to enter the park, you will have to exit back out to Twenty-Nine Palms and re-enter through the Oasis Ranger Station or through Joshua Tree.

The campground is big with different loops and many of the sites are set into giant rocks which makes it feel less crowded. I was originally disappointed that we didn’t get a site at Jumbo Rocks, but this was just as great and the campsites were very similar.

Each site had a picnic table and a fire ring. The walk to the pit toilets was short, and there was  trash and recycling. We also saw a snake near our site when walking around the rocks, so it’s worth paying attention.

We had a full moon and a dust storm, so even though the stars were probably amazing, we didn’t really see any. $25 a night, pay online at recreation.gov

My site is number 53, it's a hidden site, very private, can't see any other people from the site. Close to restroom, but no water in the restroom.

I loved Group Site#7. I stayed for two nights in mid-April and enjoyed it. It was secluded enough that I felt comfortable changing our clothes out in the open. A variety of critters casually passed through our campsite, like rabbits, a garter snake, chipmunks, a family of quails, and a hummingbird or two. It was fun hanging with our animal friends, climbing the granite boulders that act as privacy walls. I'd love to return with an actual group for an even cozier feel. What I didn't like was the crazy cold wind, which made it difficult to secure our meal setup and fire. It also made the stinky smell from the bathrooms waft the area a bit. However, when your tent is further out, you don't smell anything.

Beautiful rocks to climb on. Lovely desert scenery. All the beauty of Joshua tree and 29 palms nearby.

Our party stayed in group site #4, the site is surrounded by awesome rocks to climb and explore. The campground is very quiet, light noises can travel quite far. We had a great time overall, would definitely visit again.

The best place to watch the stars at night over a fire pit with good company. I only stayed one night but my heart stayed in that place. Might make it a once a year appearance. :)

Always a go to campsite, quiet and relaxing.

I chose this site because it was close to the main road and we had to leave early morning so we didn't want to go into the actual park.

It was stunningly beautiful - the site is nestled up against giant rock formations that you can climb around on for views of the area. We laid on the warm rocks at night and watched the stars after dinner - best stargazing we had our whole trip through CA - AZ. 

The website warned that the site wasn't level but we were able to just park so that we didn't notice (truck bed campers)

We stayed at campsite 50 in October with two young kids (2 and 4). Tent camping.

Pros: the views, the beautiful rocks, clean sites, friendly ranger, rocks that could give you some relief from sun if you’re lucky enough. Great area for bouldering from entry level up. Site 50 had low rocks that were doable for my 2 and 4 yo. The rest were way too advanced.

Cons: no park entrance from here. You have to drive 20/30 minutes out to the main road and back in to get to the main area of the park. The campsite next to us had some nasty anthills. Some of the campsites are set up a bit odd depending on your equipment, could or could not be a big deal. For example we were sharing a parking space with campsite 51 and their site was walking in behind ours. So if they had had an RV I think it would have been impossible. Site 50 was right across from the vault toilet which was great for proximity (and toilet was clean as far as these go) but every once in a while we’d get a whiff of out house which is not pleasant. Wasn’t too frequent so not a big deal but if you want to avoid stay further away from toilets.

Get water at the entrance gate to the cove. That’s the only water hook up near by. Picnic tables and fire ring in each site. Vault toilets. No showers. No Joshua trees here but tons of Mojave yuccas and other desert plants. Beautiful views and sleeping under dessert sky and stars.

One of my fav camping places! Love the desert during the winter, the sunsets are epic! Beautiful grounds, you almost feel like your remote camping! Lots of land to explore and rocks to climb!

Nice Campground with most sites next to large boulders. Many sites are close to each other but not too bad. The rock walls around us provided some nice privacy. Can get a lot of sun depending on time of day. Really enjoyed the dark skies and cuddling up with my pups. Spend time watching the climbers master their craft :)

I've camped at Indian Cove multiple times, at the group site and the individual sites. Indian Cove is on the Northern side of the park, and you will use a different entrance than the main park entrance. The group sites come up first off to the right, and you can still see the town of 29 Palms, but they're nestled right at the beginning of the classic J Tree giant boulders. A 2 minute walk south and you're in the thick of it. The individual sites are on the south side of the boulder line, giving you a little more secluded feeling (inside J Tree as opposed to on the outskirts), but you'll be right up next to your neighbors. If you can, I highly recommend the group sites - they're HUGE! You get nearly an acre of space depending on some of the sites. 

You can hike the Boy Scout Trail, trailhead near the Indian Cove individual campsites, which connects to the main road if you want to explore Jumbo Rocks or Skull Rock. We always love to scramble up to the top of as many rock stacks as we can.

Overall: Group sites>individual, but 10/10 either way. Joshua Tree is a magical place.

Great night sky campground, pit toilets, campground surrounded by scaleable rocks to scramble on, great for kids and novice rock climbers.

I’ve been to Indian Cove several times. We like to come around sunset, set up camp eat some dinner, get the fire started then star gazer. Wake up and go for a quick climb and walk around the campgrounds.

This was an amazing place to camp for us. There are limited sites in the National Park itself. We did have to drive out to the highway and enter into the park on another road but that was o.k. We stayed three nights and used the 29 Palms Marine Corp base to dump our tanks as we are military. There isn't a dump station at this campground and you can only fill up with water at the small ranger entrance building. It takes a little bit of planning but wasn't a big deal to us. Will return.

During my trip, the campsites were first come first serve, and since I arrived on a Monday evening, I got a great spot with views in both directions. Convenient restrooms and amazing stargazing. The landscape is incredible and the wildlife is active. Awesome campground!

This place was the perfect campground as far as I’m concerned. It wasn’t busy at all when we were there in May. The sites are tucked into the rocks which block wind and kept us nice and warm at night. Bats flew just overhead for a couple hours and I thought it was magical! Restrooms were clean and just a short walk away. What I loved best was that it was pet friendly! My dog loved it as much as I did! Definitely will be back to camp in this spot.

Just about every campsite here is great.  Most are nestled along the base of a huge boulders or rock cliffs.  The stars are amazing.  Seeing all the campfires light up the cliffs at night is magical. There are no flush toilets and no water.  You also have to drive into the main area of the park for the most popular hikes, but you can’t beat the camping. 

We brought a lot of water with us, but also good to stop at the ranger station and visitor center to fill up water bottles before and after the hikes. Great place to go bouldering or just climb rocks.

We camp here every November for a friends birthday and this site never gets old. Plenty of hiking around beautifully formed rock arrangements. Camp sites are dog friendly however trails are not, as this is protected State park land.