Kelso Dunes Dispersed — Mojave National Preserve

Really nice area. Only one other person on a Thursday night. Room for 5-6 different campsites, plus overflow onto the road. Next to the dunes. Highly recommend hiking up them.

Nice place right past the trailhead as you pull in. Pit toilets in area are honestly okay, a little smelly mostly due to the heat. No cell service for AT&T but I got one bar at the top of the dunes and on the road as I pulled in. It was only enough service to send a text, no internet or calls. Sites have a fire pit.

My family spent 1 night a a full day here. My 3 boys loved climbing the dunes. A little harder for mom and dad to keep up. Wonderful experience amazing view from the top of the dunes. Road to the camp ground is a very poor conditions. Few plastics came off the trailer on the way to/from the camping ground due to the vibrations. No mobile signal which was uncomfortable and nice at the same time!

Gorgeous views but ended up leaving because there were no another campers anywhere around. Can’t wait to come back to Mojave with a camping buddy and high clearance vehicle. To reach: 3 mi on bumpy dirt road to main entrance for Kelso Dunes - keep going and first site is on left - level pull through with stone fire ring. Also got a bad vibe from 2 men that slowly drove by flying a drone above their highly rugged/ militaristic-inspired vehicle. Anyway - beautiful site but in the end it was too isolated for me.

Kids will love it. Pretty rough road coming in but easy to find a place to camp. Trail to dunes are close by. The trail to the dunes is deceptively far. Bring lots of water. Even on a cool day like we went.

Kelso Dunes is a beautiful spot to spend the day climbing or, if you're like me, three days watching the rain and frost roll in! The dispersed sites are spacious and fairly well kept up. Watch out for deeper sand that will sink you in good, they are easy to miss after dusk.

The dunes are stunning and easy enough to climb with any level of difficulty.

Second time staying here and it is excellent. Besides all the sand that is. There is a little bit of service at top of hill but anywhere else in kelso don’t expect to get any, so know where you’re going before entering Mojave. When you pull down Kelso dunes rd, stop at the first bathroom parking lot and that’s where you’ll enter. The hike up will take about 40 minutes to an hour and a half depending on fitness level, walk speed, etc. it’s just up and down dunes until you’re at the top. Although there is a no camp sign at entrance, people still do. There’s no markers on where to go to get to top of dune, so just follow where the majority of footsteps go, especially if you arrive at night like I did. Just bathroom at entrance but no other amenities. Overall great and I’d stay here again.

This was was one of the favorite spots I stayed at during a cross-country road trip from California to Florida in February 2021. It's quite a long drive once you get into Mojave to reach this site, and it's a bit of a bumpy drive. I was in a two-wheel drive van and it was totally fine, but four-wheel drive is probably recommended.

Once you get to the end of the line there's a parking lot with a restroom, some people were parked and camped in the lot. There were firings there also. I kept going off a service road towards the power lines. Complete privacy, absolutely gorgeous desert scenery. I got there at night, so didn't see the dunes until the morning, they are spectacular!

Watch out for the chollah cactus, if you even get close to one it will jump out and get you!

Highly recommended!

Dates & Weather: March 13/14 2021. Slight hail storm the first night and temps stayed in the 30’s all night. 1/4 of snow on the car and about an inch on the dunes in the morning, was 60° & sunny during the day

Road & Address: was fine for any vehicle, I have AWD but there were small sedans, Airstreams, 5th wheels and vans coming in & out during our stay. Easy to get to using Dyrt address and there are multiple signs to look for

Amenities: Vault toilet up by the main lot was clean and there were multiple spots to pull off where we weren’t even in sight of other campers but sometimes heard voices. Didn’t see anywhere for trash or dumping.

Things to do: Hiked to the top of the biggest dune, it wasn’t too hard in the morning (but I hike a lot.) From our camp site it was two miles each way, but if you park closer to the toilets, that’ll knock some distance off. We were the only ones up there until about 9:15 when other groups started making their way across the camp toward the dunes.

AT&T had no service whatsoever, not even up on the dunes.

Lots of long termers, mixed crowd, incredible dunes

Spent several days here with my puppy Boomerz just beyond the dispersed campground area under one of the big power towers. Super flat and nice and quiet. The star gazing is amazing. No city lights. Lots of Cactus and maybe a Desert Tortoise sighting. The Kelso dunes are no joke. 600’ climb in elevation in deeeeeeeep sand that’s been accumulating for 25k years. It’s breath taking literally once your their. But go prepared with water and salty snacks to help with the sweat loss. If you have kids think worlds tallest sand slide and take a sled of some sorts. Research it. Be safe. Be prepared and take extra extra extra. No services anywhere within 100 miles. You’ll see.

This has been the only readily available campsite amid the constant campsite closures. It is first-come, first serve. You can camp at any existing spot with a fire ring (most being about a mile past the trailhead), and enjoy the dark night sky while being pretty spread out from other folks. Also, a hike to the top of the dune is rough, but extremely worth it. This place is perfect for someone who wants to get out into nature and enjoy some solitude. Please only come here if you respect nature and want others after you to enjoy it as well :)

Found peace in the desert. Serene and beautiful. Only one other van within a few miles. Sandy and bumpy to get here. Just a mile past the trail head. Please leave it as you found it. 🤙