Best Dispersed Camping near California City, CA

This is BLM land camping in an OHV area that we used for an overnight. For this purpose it was great. A paved road leads to endless dispersed camping options in a beautifully rugged canyon. There were a few OHVs but we arrived late on a weekday and OHV traffic stopped altogether in the evening. Wind was a problem and made sleeping hard. We camped in a 24’ travel trailer with a high clearance truck. While not necessary, the larger truck was nice to have on the dirt portions. There are sites that would be accessible by car as well just be more discerning. Verizon was at 1 bar the whole time.

dispersed camping along keyesville rd. big open areas for group or big rig camping, lots of pullouts with fire rings. vault toilets and dumpsters at staging areas. this recreation area has lots of trash, easily could spend days picking litter. keyesville rd. has plenty of traffic though from 2200hrs til morning is fairly quiet. it’s a rec area, so with that in mind the weekends are getting busy. a lot of motocross, ohv and atv traffic from late thurs to sunday. other than that it is a wonderful free camping.

Really enjoyed staying at the Pinnacles over the weekend. Free BLM dispersed camping here, so bring everything you need and take everything with you when you leave.

The landscape is like no other. Felt like Skywalker or Spock was going to walk around a formation at any minute. Very cool vibes out there.

A bit breezy when we stayed in mid-April but nothing outrageous. Temps were warmer and we had our own shade.

Somebody commented it's the type of dust that sticks to everything and they were right.

If you have the option, air down your tires at the trailhead of the Trona dirt road. It makes the last 5 miles much more comfortable.

Hot and dry. Boondocking only. Lots of campsites.

I'm driving a large Nissan can converted into a camper. I made it to where Forest route 26S06 meets black gulch. I might have made it the rest of the way but it was getting dark and scary. A motor home or camper trailer would surely not make it. The whole Keyesville SRMA is open for dispersed camping.

Been here several times to boondock with our SxS. It's good off summer due to heat, plenty places to camp, but absolutely filthy because no one in SoCal knows how to clean up after them selves. Trash, ammo, and broken glass absolutely everywhere.

Been there done that, personally, I don't need to go back. STUNNING AS CAN BE. and it was neat teaching my kids about desert wildlife and what to look out for, my kiddo was all obsessed with this rattlesnake sign and was tripped out for days lol. Anyway, it's just dispersed camping so bring everything you need.

Here are my star ratings based on my lifestyle and what I like. I'm also a mother, dog mama, and a wife so it's not just me it's my crew and i. 1 star- AUTOMATIC relocate... the property is no longer there, trashed or/and I could never have my children there and I wouldn't ever think about staying no matter what OR its not something us campers are on this is more of an airbnb. 2 star- Not really my jam, and would NEVER go to again... It probably more of desert life and not really my style for sure...Being from Vegas I can't stand being in the desert and I love the Trees and the Green more than anything. 3 star- Would stay there again in a pinch, but not really my style, the reason its not is because not enough family things to do, the scenery, or the location... but I would go again and feel safe having my kiddos here but only if I needed to in a pinch. 4 star- a really good rating for sure, maybe needed some improvements, minor things like being on top of each other, not a lot of privacy, but honestly little cosmetic things that aren't anything to sweat and would be back again for sure. 5 star- MY FAVORITE... love the location, safety, the surroundings, big camp spots available to fit toys for my kids to play, hammocks to hang, our big family tent, cases of firewood, our suburban or RV, etcccccc..... I would not only come back but would live if I could!!! Anyway thanks for reading and enjoy every moment like it's your last! CHEERS!

There are no services available, you are boondocking. The views are awesome - great sunrises and sunsets. Most of the year you can be by yourself out here but at Thanksgiving be prepared to share. And remember what you take in you take out.

You can park RVs right next to the water but it gets very busy, there are more secluded spots accessible to even Class A rigs further down. My Class C was able to make it through a few of the dirt roads no problem. Best part is the nature, trails, river, fire rings almost everywhere you need, dumpster and vault toilet near the main road. Worst part was the dirt bikes passing by my campsite on the weekends but it wasn’t loud honestly. The busiest spot is the one down next to the river , easily 20+ vehicles on an April weekend.

Access to the river is closed as of 26 January, still plenty of dispersed places down the road to camp. Bathrooms and trash dump and lots of trails to ride bikes! Some of the sites are a little rough for trailer access.

We stayed here in June and there were plenty of open spots we just couldnt see many since it was dark. We eventually found a spot about half a mile back. Only one other person nearby. We had a few bars of service on verizon and at&t.

Overall nice secluded spot off the road with great scenery would recommend

Hey, it's free. Weekends are busy but weekdays are exceptionally peaceful. Be advised the Jawbone canyon store charges RV's $40.00 for potable water. Fill up before you come out here.

I’ve camped here multiple times, sometimes with multiple RVs in a group, it’s very private with wide vistas.

Sometimes you can go days without a single car passing by, and there are a lot of spots to just camp since it is all completely level. There are a lot of insects, birds, and the occasional cow and deer.

To swim in the lake this area connects to Stine Cove campground - via a very soft sandy road - which is also free, has a vault toilet, but is shaded by mountains and less private.

There’s a $12 dump station with potable water at Camp 9 and one at Old Isabella Recreation Site.

T-mobile was very slow but Verizon had a good connection.

Heads up that the lake is MUCH lower than anything you see on satellite view, from Stine Cove I still had to walk 30min before getting to the shore.