Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Calexico? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Calexico's most popular destinations.
Gecko Campground is the largest campground in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. It consists of a north loop and a south loop. These loops are paved roads and offer numerous vault toilets.
Roadrunner Campground is the second largest campground offering a large loop of paved roads. Two vaulted toilets are available.
Keyhole Campground is the smallest campground located within the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. It is a small paved "keyhole" offering a large group or few small groups an area to camp.
Cahuilla Ranger Station is located off of Gecko Road. This station offers visitors a location to purchase their dunes permit, gather information and seek medical aid. This station is open Friday through Sunday from mid-October to mid-April during the high visitation period.
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!
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.
Traveler
Lots of nice flight that spots very nice view
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
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.
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.
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.
TravelerLooking for a quick place to stay near family in hospital. Staff has been extremely helpful and caring. The place is GREAT
GuideMy wife and I have been full-time RVing here for a little over a month. This is not your typical KOA. It’s off the beaten path of I-8. To get here you take some very windy roads, bigger rigs will take up most the road. Almost all sites are back-in with little site definition.
The view of the night sky is to die for!!! Lots of walking trails and a meditation labyrinth to collect your thoughts. All to the sound of ranch animals meandering through their day.
Definitely worth checking out!
Legend
We stayed here two nights and really liked it. There are a lot of travelers and some locals who come to the beach for the day, to look at the art of just to hang out, but overnight it gets pretty quiet. The first night there was only us and a bikepacker in a tent, and the second night there was a car camper that left early in the morning. Some ATV people riding around the sand also but they weren't too bad. There's also a guy in a nice small trailer down on the beach who looks like he's been there a while, but his site is nice and clean.
It's easy not to get stuck in the sand if you stay in the upper area. We had no problems in our 26ft class c. If you drive down to the beach just watch for the soft sand and stay on the hard packed parts.
The town and the beach are just so... interesting. The artists are taking over the nearly abandoned town and it's really neat to see. Curious to see what happens to the town of Bombay Beach in the long run. Very interesting history, both the sea itself and the towns around it. Lots of documentaries about it on YouTube if you're interested.
There's BLM land here but I think the part you can stay on is owned by IID (Imperial Irrigation District). Not sure about this, but anyway I don't think camping here is a problem.
Good cell reception and weather in mid November. We would have left if it was windy to avoid breathing in the particulates.
Guide
Remote spot down a sand road. My forester handled it well but I would be worried in sedan. There are a few camp sites with fire pits and a vault toilet but that’s pretty much it so if you’re looking for remote vibes it’s perfect. Definitely recommend bringing a table and canopy. It gets hot during the day and cools at night. You can scavenge firewood around the area.
ScoutStaying here for the fall, winter, spring season. The facilities are very clean with a beautiful pool and spa. The rates are reasonable especially if staying long term. It’s mostly quiet although there are off road vehicles around they’re not too irritating. There are occasional fireworks. It feels very safe here. Lots of shade.
GuideThis campsite was first come first serve. We set up quickly and enjoyed ourselves a walk around the site. Not too many trailheads around and it was very hot and dry but we enjoyed it.
Ranger
Educate yourself before you come here. I’m not sure if this is considered camping, in the middle of the desert on old military testing land. There’s no law here. Stuck between an art instillation, peoples homes, and random attractions. You can stay here via Air bnb. It’s close to the boarder of Mexico and you will come through customs a few times if coming down the west coast, salvation mountain is before you hit slab city. We were offered to stay the night in a locals place when we visited and smoked with a local who ended up being from the same small town as we did in Oregon, SMALL WORLD. Everyone was super inviting and nice, others not so much and gave the vibe that you should stay away. Don’t bother people, this is where some folks live so be respectful! Don’t money if possible too.
RangerThis place is so so special, beautiful, and a bit extreme. I’d consider this less of a place for recreational camping and more an alternative lifestyle safe place. There’s lot of interesting artsy folk who live out here full time for a different way of life. That said, it seems decently visitor friendly as long as you’re respectful. If you stay, please go to the Ski Inn. Such a lovely bar with locals!
Legend
Located in the Imperial Dunes, we didn’t even realize this was a “campground” as we drove the short uphill to the lookout to see the dunes. There is a 14-day limit but unless you are really into cruising around the dunes on an OHV, I’m not sure why you would stay that long. It is basically a paved parking lot and there are no markers indicating a separation between “spaces” so you park/camp wherever you find room (there were some sections with no parking signs). Although the road and lot are paved, the wind will blow sand all over and it was VERY windy when we were there! There were two vault toilets, a covered picnic table and several fire rings but no other amenities. As far as I can tell, it is free to camp here. I did notice some RVs displaying rather strident political flags which would have made us uncomfortable staying here overnight so we enjoyed the dunes for a short while and drove on. A plus is the cell coverage is great (you are higher up) and the dunes are beautiful!
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Calexico, CA is El Centro NAF Campground with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
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