Nice place
Good place to stay when all campgrounds inside Joshua tree are full. Spent one night here and it was great. A lot of people were doing donuts which was cool to watch. A lot of open space out here to have fun.
Top Favorite Trip in the Desert
We love BLM camping, but frankly living near LA free dispersed or BLM land is far between and hard to come by. Thankfully Joshua Tree has the perfect BLM spot just northeast of the park right south of the Pinto Mountain Wilderness. We usually come out here on holiday weekends because while the parks are full beyond capacity you can go days on BLM without seeing anyone. We’ve stayed two weeks before seeing one person in the “off season”. There’s a reason why us dirt bikers love this kind of area. Free camping, all the dirt trails you could ever want, full fire options, wonderful place to get space and seclusion; everything you could want as a disperser, minus access to water and shade (unless you bring it with you). And you should, the town is not close and the likelihood of encountering someone to help you out of a tough spot, or supplement missing something is near nil on the off-season. Remember people, this is the desert, if you don’t bring it with you, you won’t find it here. Inexperienced dispersed campers are not recommended. Many grossly underestimate the water/shade they will need/use and if you’ve never had to be 100% self sufficient, this is not the place to start. Cell service is spotty at best, and with the main road several miles away, and town several miles from there, not recommended unless you know you can be completely self reliant. Also in the summer temps soar easily in the 100s and drop hard after the sun goes down to the mid 50s. Even more unpredictable in the “off season”. That being said we love it here and get our desert fix in and plenty of dirt biking done. A great spot to go if you know what you’re doing, place your ego aside, if you know what you’re doing you’ll have a blast. Don’t? And you could end up in trouble quick. Can’t wait to go again in November!
BLM Lake Bed Boondocking
Not sure if this is the same place the rangers in Joshua Tree told us about, but if you drive North on Sunfair off of Route 62 and take a right on Sunflower, you can drive on to BLM land and find anywhere to camp on a dry lake bed. It was pretty open and incredible in late November.
Easy group camping but loud and dirty
We do a yearly camping trip out here with friends. The area we go to is hot and usually filled with garbage so we have to clean it up first before we set up camp.
It stays pretty quiet for the most part but there are LOTS of atv trails and no respect for timing or personal place on this public land. They will come by really early in the morning or late at night and will zoom right next to our camp.
Otherwise, the stars are great and this is an easy spot to set up if you aren't spending a ton of time here and really just need a spot for camp while you explore the park. No one really messes with your gear and you aren't far from town.
PACK IT IN AND PACK IT OUT! Please don't leave trash out here, it does hold water in the rainy season so be aware of flooding.
Month of VisitMarch
