Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Calico, CA

Clean, relaxing area that gives each party plenty of room. Pet friendly, our three dogs loved it! Staff was incredibly helpful and hard working. Also it was well located as it was a semi-quick drive to a few fun locations. Will be coming again, though I hear it requires a reservation well in advance. This is a very popular location!

The units were spaced tightly together with a gravel pad and concrete patio. It was $45 but with GoodSam down to $40.50. Old park. Friendly staff. Bathrooms and showers aged but clean. I was told there was cable TV but didn't try it. The pet area was a sandy strip by the fence.

The campground is a ways into the forest. I'm sure smaller cars could make it but it's not going to be a very comfortable ride.

There are a lot of sites and most were packed the weekend we were there. Lots of families and it wasn't quiet. Lots of pets and it wasn't quiet.

Picnic tables, firepits, the campground manager was on top of people who let their fires get too big.

It's truly a beautiful site though, lots of trails around and some rock climbing as well.

Cool little campground. Spaces are typical desert with dirt, rock, and a few miscellaneous trees. Campground is in a narrow canyon. Clean bathrooms. The Calico ghost town is worth seeing.

Dirt interior roads, including a dead end that was really a challenge to back and fill the trailer out of. Quiet at night once the off-roaders go to bed. Good hookups. Pretty easy walk to Calico Ghost Town, well worth the effort. We will probably be back.

The campsite at Calico Ghost Town is nice with hook ups for RV and spaces for tent camping. Our boys scout troop spent a weekend October. The boys and their families enjoy touring the ghost town. We hiked around the area and on hills during the day. The facility has running water, restrooms and showers.

If you have to camp near Barstow, this is a good place for a week-day stay. Calico ghost town was a fun spot for our kids, not too busy on a week day in the spring though I’m sure it can be crazy (and hot) at other times. The campsites were hit or miss. We staid in a tent site which was tiny, right next to all the others, with no trees or vegetation for privacy, and no permanent fire ring or picnic bench. We walked around and some of the other RV sites are bigger and nicer. Classic desert views. I give it 4 stars for access to the ghost town and price.

This Covid summer my family and I took two trips out to the Calico Ghost Town campground. The first was over Fathers day weekend and the second at the end of September. We had a great time despite the over 100 degree weather. Because there are so few people the wildlife is abundant. It was nice to take walks and hike the hills. The night sky is amazing (download the app that tells you what everything is, "star walk 2") your kids may have never seen the stars like this. Lots of places to ride OHV and great shooting in Mule Canyon. Caves to explore in camp and free admission to the ghost town.

Campground could use more trees but the showers and toilets are nice.

A great desert get away! ENJOY and please keep it clean!

We stayed here with family who had an RV. At the time, we didn’t so we rented one of the cabins. They have bunks, a bed AC and heat and that’s it. Lol. You have to use the public restrooms and showers. It was raining and super cold when we stayed here but one of the days it cleared up and we walked to Calico ghost town. We had the best time exploring, shopping, eating at the restaurant, panning for gold, touring the mine. Super fun. We also enjoyed some off roading. Bathrooms were clean. Showers are run by quarters and were hot although the windows high above don’t close so the cold air was constantly blowing in. It made for an adventure that my daughter and I will remember for many years. Lol. I’d stay here again. It was fun.

We arrived on a Friday night, without reservations. Our first night of van living. Found the security guard who connected us with the ranger. There were plenty of sites to chose from. The ranger then found us a better site for $5 less, The place was quiet, Beautiful sunset. We aren't off-roaders but noticed a lot of ATVs around. Seems like the place to be. There are also mountain bike trails around. In the morning we discovered the Calico Ghost Town attraction right next to the park. In fact entrance to the ghost town is included in the camping fees. The town is an abandoned silver mining town. There's a few historical buildings and mines you can hike around. You can pay for a tour of the mine. Lots of old west quaint shops, and restaurants. We watched a skit of a shoot out preformed in the main square. Spent more time there than planned, it was that fun.

Barstow is a good mileage stop between Las Vegas and SoCal. The campgrounds are pretty quiet with only a little road noise (surprisingly, due to its proximity to the highway) and very easy to access. The Sites aren’t very private, being so close together but there are small bushes that offer some semblance of separation. The gravel pads are a bit different than most KOAs and don’t create that fine white dust, which is a plus. The full hookups worked well but there is no Wi-Fi and all amenities were closed aside from laundry and bathrooms (neither that we used). Pool was closed due to construction on it. The town doesn’t offer much in the way of amenities. You can grab some food at the diner across the street or head to the Calico Ghost Town 3 miles up The road. The biggest draw here is the electricity to keep your A/C running in the high temps.

A great spot that we can’t wait to go back and spend a couple of days at. The amenities at this KOA are great. Pool...playground...horseshoes...archery range...etc.

Just up the road too is the Calico western ghost town.

They have some decent shaded areas that made it look like just about every spot would be a good one.

We had a spot in the front with a patio and everything. It was very nice except for the sewer drain being at the front end of the site (I had to put an extension on my poop pipe)...the other down side of being in the front is the traffic noise from the highway...I could hear it all night.

Last bit — the staff is very responsive and helpful. The sewage pipe had a back up in it (thankfully learned this with grey water!). The staff got out there and foxed it right away. The only other weird thing was my 30AMP power surge protector said polarity was reversed on the L1 or L2...but everything worked fine.

It‘s always nice that this camp ground is free and that you are pretty much guaranteed a “spot” even if all the official sites are taken. Primitive camping can be set up pretty much anywhere. If you can claim one of the actual sites they have a sweet set up with picnic table, grill, and roofed area. They almost always are claimes by RVs when we arrive on the weekend. biggest complaint: so much broken glass around the campground. Dogs are allowed here, but the whole time we were worried about our dog cutting his feet. If you bring a dog, booties are highly recommended!

Because the National forest allows dispersed camping, as long as your off the roads and trails, the camping spots are unlimited. We like coming here if we want to be guaranteed a spot, no early arrivals or reservations needed. Dogs are allowed, and the trails in the area are dog-friendly.

I wish I could give 5 stars! The staff alone deserves 10 stars! Sue and Denise are incredible! Excellent location to the village, you can ride your bike in. We stayed on the point, beautiful view of the lake. Also, boat rental right there! I do feel there could be some love and TLC put into this RV resort to give it some life. Dog owners please keep your dogs close after sunset, you are in coyote territory. We will definitely be back.

We decided to go camping on a Wednesday and Thursday thinking it would be much quieter than going over the weekend. Quiet time is at 10pm-6am. Our first night the group behind us were up till about 130am. They were loud but tolerable. Our second night. A large group in the spot right next to us didn’t even show up till 9pm. They spent about two and a half hours setting up 4 tents on one small camp site. They were also using what sounded like using a shop vac in reverse to set up multiple air mattresses. They were so loud and obnoxious until 230am. They smoked weed throughout the night. Then at 6am when they were up and just as loud. We got up and let our dog out of the tent. Their dog was off leash and came charging at our dog whom is sick with an autoimmune disease who can’t even walk, let alone can’t fight off a Rottweiler dog. Didn’t apologize or anything. So we packed up and left. None of the camp hosts went around to be sure the noise levels were down after 10pm. People are just allowed to do whatever they wanted. We liked our spot. It was a large campsite. We were so sad to not be able to sleep well due to ignorant people. So if you’re looking for a place to party all night… this is the campground for you.

We loved visiting calico ghost town! It was fabulous, but the two nights at the campground were rough. We stayed in the “O” section which I didn’t want based on the map but after we arrived, I’m glad we were in That section. The other side of the campground looked awful. Our sites were small but the main campsite area had lots that were Even smaller! I mean we had 10’ from the edge of our camper to the next camper. How do I know? Our 10’ awning was only an inch or two from my parents camper next door. The picnic tables were nice in our area but warped and awful in the main campsite area. The bathrooms were dirty. They didn’t stink but they don’t appear to clean anything. I brought Clorox wipes with me every time to wipe the toilets. There was no toilet paper in the bathrooms ever and the light are off at night but on during the day. Super helpful. I passed on the showers - didn’t even look at them based off the toilet area. The first night there was so many parties and loud drunks. It went on past midnight. The people next to us were loud and had apparently rented a trailer and had it swapped out for a new one at midnight and no one seemed to care about even attempting to be semi quiet for the neighbors. The second night was a Sunday. Everyone moved out and it was much quieter but early Monday in the am the trash picks up. I probably wouldn’t stay there again.