Looking for the ultimate pet-friendly camping experience near Calexico? Finding pet-friendly campgrounds in California is easier than ever. These scenic and easy-to-reach Calexico campsites are perfect for camping with dogs.
Thank you for visiting the Hot Spring LTVA managed by the BLM El Centro Field Office. You must have a permit to camp in a designated LTVA between September 15 and April 15.
Every year, thousands of visitors come and enjoy the natural beauty and recreational opportunities offered at BLM's Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVAs), where visitors can camp for as long as seven months. The Hot Springs LTVA is known for it's historic and still active hot spring attracting both local and winter visitors.
Located in the southeast corner of California, the Imperial Sand Dunes are the largest mass of sand dunes in the state. Formed by windblown sands of ancient Lake Cahuilla, the dune system extends for more than 40 miles in a band averaging 5 miles wide. Dunes often reach heights of 300 feet above the desert floor, providing outstanding opportunities for recreation. A favorite place for off-highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts, the dunes also offer fabulous scenery, opportunities for solitude, and a home to rare plants and animals.
With most of the off-road action taking place in the recreation area south of Highway 78, the open areas allow all types of vehicle recreation. Limited areas surround the dunes require vehicles to travel on designated routes. Closed areas prohibit motorized vehicle use entirely. Information and maps for all of these areas are available at the ranger stations.
The North Algodones Dunes Wilderness offers a tranquil alternative to the fast-paced action of the main dunes. This wilderness encompasses more than 26,000 acres, with the largest and tallest dunes located in the central area. Visitors are welcome to walk or ride horses in this remote area. The wilderness is closed to all vehicles and mechanized use.
Traveler
We have stayed here a few times now. The best times are during the fall and winter months as the park welcomes back its community of Snow Birds coming from Canada and the northern US. During those times the atmosphere in the evening is always festive, often with live music and an outdoor bar. The staff are pleasant and accommodating. It is also a pretty good overnight spot if you are passing through in the summer, but the temperatures in this area soar during the summer and are frequently above 110 degrees. During summer time the pool becomes too warm to be refreshing, and the restaurant and bar are closed. The rates are much lower in the summer. This is also one of the few parks that accepts Passport America all days of the week. Note that Passport America discounts cannot be used with pull-through sites. The sites are fairly spacious and generally separated by hedges so you are not looking directly at your neighbor's rig. Scenery around the park is beautiful any time of year, and for those who enjoy the RV Resort lifestyle the only reason to go out of the park during the snow bird season is for groceries.
Guide
Traveling down Black Mountain road for about 2miles of wash boards before turning down the camping road.
All the sites were empty as it was almost 100degrees outside and nothing for shade of a creature larger than a bird could find. But here we found quiet solitude and a cooler evening, perhaps the winds helped.
If you have furry friends keep a watch for their paws, there’s small cacti/pokeys scattered about.
Lovely sunrise and sunset 360 views.
Good Verizon service!
Scout
Big rig friendly - lots of space to spread out. Nice areas to hike and climb. Can get rather windy and there is some smelly smoke at times from Mexico area. Can drive to Mexico for various doctor/dentist/etc. Easy drive to Yuma as well. Great deal for the winter! Present when the 'scary' situation occurred in March as noted by someone else. Involved 2 parties with dogs loose. We did not and do not feel unsafe at all here.
Traveler
We stayed just one night while traveling through. It's about 1/4 mile from a Walmart with a few other RV parks around it. The Staff was friendly and helpful. We were able to make a reservation over the phone. We had full hook-ups (both 30 & 50 amps were available). It's a small RV camp with spaces, a pool, and a building with bathrooms (very clean), showers (use quarters), and several washers and dryers that cost $1.25 & $1 respectively. Wifi was on slower side but sufficient to stream TV shows. We paid $45.
ScoutI visited for two nights to see which version of the Slab City story to believe - There are so many videos, but most of them were made by people who did not even stay overnight.
One story is the romanticized tale of free-thinking sovereign citizens and preppers working together in Utopian Fashion to survive off the grid in the deep Sonoran Desert and shun government interference in their lives. They even have movie nights and a Saturday night open mic. There are some folks there who deserve a kind description and they work very hard to help their neighbors when they can. There just aren't enough of them.
The other story is about how hundreds of conspiracy-laden, disenfranchised, meth-heads, dependent on SSI, have trashed a 600-acre parcel of public land. This group is real too, and will solicit your sympathy and cash if they can't figure out how to siphon gas out of your tank while you're wandering Salvation Mountain.
If none of this impresses you, then by all means, visit during winter to see the clever art installations, but if you're determined to hang for longer than the day, I recommend you pay to stay at Mojo's Camp or The Ponderosa where the hosts have a care about their guests. Do Not camp alone out in the open. Do not accept any bliss from anyone, and do not flash your cash. Leave the kids at home unless you want to scare them straight.
ScoutI had a very bad scary experience here. The camphost wasn't available at 4 pm to help w a man behaving erratically, threatening my life & others.
Guide
Stopped in total last minute and Mojo was friendly and accommodating! I loved the vibe and although it is free to stay out in the slabs it was totally worth it to pull in here in the dark and have a place to stay. My only regret was that it was a quick stop-over and I couldn't stay longer.
If you are looking for interesting places, colorful people and friendly free roaming pets, then this is the place. I hope to stop here again in the future and spend more time with Mojo and the crew.
Scout
No water, $20 per nite with vault toliet and trash Nice cover picnic tables at each site
Guide
We loved this spot. FREE Dispersed camping is located just past power lines behind the actual hot springs. To stay at the LTVA you must have self contained trailer, van, rv…we didn’t know this. It worked out better-FREE camping and just a lil over an ¼ mile to the springs. It is well maintained by camp host Bill. Vault toilets, with TP & bonus there is great food at The Holtville Taco Shop 7 miles from springs. The Del Sol market has great marinated chicken for the BBQ and the tortillas are best outside of Mexico I have found. We will be back as the sunsets are too good not to experience over and over again…cold at night this time of year…
Scout
So it’s no new news that the park has been sold and along with doing so the previous owner decided to replace the current manager Debra who in my opinion was overworked and definitely more than likely under paid considering who her boss was . My point here is why would anyone sell a place and replace their manager who did and does way more than job description. It seems as with every other business he’s sold in the community in recent years k owing it was going to be an epic failure and he’s wind back up with the business, that he has it changed his business model why sell a park and the incoming owners has to deal with a place they know nothing about or the ins and outs or the people and except to not have tons more of problems with a new hired manager who don’t know either , of course he won’t get this business back but just doesn’t seem ethical or business worthy to do so . If the new owners had this kind of thinking they’d be smart to rehire or keep if possible current management. Just my opinion it don’t matter cause I no longer am a resident of that poor town but still love the place
TravelerIt has great food and beautiful golf course.
Guide
Primitive camping. First come…, requires payment in envelope.
Guide
This is a quiet well ran facility. It has the best drinking water pumped from the mountain aquifers. Every building is relatively new and the showers, laundry and common building facilities are in top notch condition. The staff and the owner are genuinely friendly and have the best of attitudes about the grounds and one’s stay. I can’t say enough about how pleasant our 4 day stay was. It’s unique in that there is not the usual highway road noise we experience at most KOAs.
GuideArea was nice, no trash, host was nice, the only thing was there was A LOT OF FLIES. Other than the flies it’s an good campground, there are pit toilets across the street at the hot springs along with trash cans.
Guide
Good if you need to get off the highway to catch some sleep. People shoot here so there’s shells, rusty metal, and broken glass everywhere.
Guide
Such a wonderful spot in the middle of the desert! Has a large pool and big hot tub all inside of a solid wall to prevent sand from blowing inside. Each spot is surrounded by trees which is very rare to find in the desert! It makes each spot private and helps hugely with keeping wind from blowing dirt into your spot. Very affordable as well! Debra at the front was just the sweetest thing… helped us find a perfect spot, gave us multiple brochures and mapped out local spots that we should check out. Borrego springs is about 25 minutes away. Phone service is spotty for ATT and Tmobile, but you’ll have better service at the front of the campground. Overall a very peaceful stay with lots of stars at night!
Scout$850 a month. Very expensive food and drink. There is a nice little store in Seeley though. Huge piles of slash and garbage mixed in at the south side.
ScoutThis used to be a good RV park for Seniors on fixed income. But the new owners, who live in Palm Springs, have gotten greedy. First they cut out cable TV, then they cut out the seasonal discount, then they raised the rent$50 in one shot, and now they have cut off the Wi-Fi and raised the rent another$45 so Seniors now can't even get on the Internet to pay bills, or check on their Banking. Now they have been lying to us about the Wi-Fi internet, telling people it is only down temporarily, It has now been down temporarily for over 3 months. It is just a dirt lot that turns into a giant mud bog when it rains, no level pads to park on, and dogs are allowed to run free and shit all over the place. They just want to bleed people on fixed income, and stuff the money in their pocket. Some senior citizens have been forced out and have become homeless because the rise in food and gas prices already had them fighting to just put food on the table. The sprinkler system that is supposed to water the plants separating the sites at night has broken down so all the plants are dying off and they have no intention of fixing it. There is only one men's public shower and rest room and one public shower and rest room for women. The door locks don't work and men have been caught using the woman's shower if there is someone already using the men's. They have cut the Manger's hours down to noon to 5 O'clock 3 days a week and the owners are never around. They stay up in their nice rich house in Palm Springs and never even visit the park. So the poor Manager has to deal with all the problems. Their ad still says they provide free cable TV, Seasonal discounts, and free Wi Fi but they have discontinued all of these plus raising the site rent$100 a month. Avoid this place it is a dump run by slum lords.
ScoutNice place to stay easy to make reservations for staff was really helpful. I would stay there again. It’s a bonus that they had a nine holes of golf course and the driving range and Central located.
GuideWe stayed 5 days there is a 9 hole golf course on site and a nice sized pool .Many snow birds and year round campers. Mostly 55+
GuideThis place is usually a stopping point for us and it's always very clean and quiet. The folks here are always very nice and helpful. The spots are big and level gravel. All hookups too.
LegendNot my choice for a LTVA. Open, harsh, windy and noisy from I8 interstate truck traffic. Only garbage dumpsters , no water, RV dump. Only reason to camp here in my opinion is if you need a staging area to lv camper when going to MX for dental, optical, Rx needs. Nothing else of interest here. One positive if cell signal is very good.
RangerWe only stayed one night in a pull through but enjoyed the facilities. Park is very clean and has a good restaurant. They do have a lot of mobile homes but most are newer and well kept. Some RV’s look abandoned which is a shame. Nice dog park area with grass, could use water for the pups. Laundry and bathrooms were very clean. Pool area and restaurant, bar area is nice. We had dinner, wing’s were great burger was good but not great. Service was very good. Pull through site was narrow but had all we needed for one night. Looks like the workout facility is nice.
ScoutDecent spot to pull over and stretch the legs , stayed here for a full moon in the winter, some freeway noise but good enough
TravelerLooking for a quick place to stay near family in hospital. Staff has been extremely helpful and caring. The place is GREAT
ScoutGreat location if you plan on visiting Los Algodones, Mexico. Great cell signal. Dry camping. Close to I-8 so somewhat noisy. Large area so no close neighbors. 10 miles to Yuma with all of the shopping needed.
LegendTons of space. Right off Oligby rd. Many pre established sites with rock fire pits. Some close to the road and others a drive in. Even fairly close to the road we had lots of privacy. Didn’t seem to be many folks close by - however we could see many people camping in the area. “Roads” we’re varying depending on how far out you go. There are train tracks close by and we heard the occasional train but wasn’t bothersome. Not a lot of trees/shrubs for privacy but 🤷🏻♀️ this is the desert.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Calexico, CA is Rio Bend RV & Golf Resort with a 4.4-star rating from 5 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 50 dog-friendly camping locations near Calexico, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
