Best Dispersed Camping near Cima, CA

Wonderful dispersed free camping in Mojave National Preserve. Find the first road adjacent to the white cross memorial. We arrived after sunset and we reluctant to drive too far down the uneven and non-maintained dirt road, but were rewarded with an outstanding campsite for our risky persistence!

The road has many wash out holes and soft sand, but I was able to navigate successfully (and slowly) in an AWD Honda Element. Higher clearance four-wheel drive vehicles will be able to explore additional camp sites further down the road, but there are a handful of sites near the entrance.

Tip: Stargazing at this site was outstanding. Rock formations provide comfortable platforms for laying on your back and watching for shooting stars. Camped here in December with overnight lows around 30 degrees. Bundle up and enjoy!!

Great place for desert boondocking! Very quiet and amazing stars! Joshua Trees all around. Coyotes howling at night. Watch out for cacti which are enormous! A huge fire left a large area of this part of the preserve damaged but there are still some spots where the Joshua Trees are un damaged. It’s a dirt road with some large-ish rocks to get to the dispersed spots. We made it just fine in our pick-up towing a teardrop. 2WD cars shouldn’t have a problem expect. High clearance definitely makes your life easier for sure. Most sites have a rock fire pit and not much else. We opted for a spot against some jumbo rocks for wind protection. It’s a decently trafficked area but wasn’t at all crowded or trashed. We’d 100% stay here again.

• Free primitive campground great for boondocking! First come first serve.
• Right across from the Teutonia Peak trailhead. Perfect for going on a day hike and explore the landscape surrounded by Joshua Trees
• Shell gas station about 11 miles up Interstate 15 if you need to pick up water and supplies
• Dirt roads with gravel with some small rocks when approaching campground.
• Fires are allowed and some sites have firepits. You can always make your own with the rocks in the area.
• The land is owned by Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and dedicated to the fallen soldiers of all wars
• The best sites are the two right around the White Cross Memorial boulders. The one near the front of the cross (entrance) is great for group camping. It has two picnic tables and is right next to a large Juniper tree. The one in the rear of the White Cross is very spacious and has large rocks that protect from the wind.
• Amazing star gazing in the dessert with very little light polution
• Some spots may be difficult for vehicles without high clearance. Beware of scraping the underbelly your cars or trailers on rocks in the road.
• Pretty secluded and remote camping. There were about 6 other campers near us -- mostly RVs and a few tent sites
• No showers, toilets, running water. Practice LNT and pack in pack out.
• Wifi is okay -- 2 out of 4 bars (AT&T)

We tried to stay at a few of the other Mojave Preserve sites listed on the Dyrt (17 mile and Kelso dune)  when traveling between Joshua Tree and Death Valley), but a blown tire on our campervan rental meant that we couldn’t reach any of them as they were all down long dirt roads. With the sun setting and a limping van we had to find a new dispersed location.  [Disclaimer: we wouldn't have camped here unless we had other options. Leaving this review in case someone is in a similar situation— I was scouring Dyrt Pro offline for anywhere to go as we were searching that night and everything needed 4WD or a long drive down a dirt road]

The turn off was Aiken Mine Road and we went down it a bit to get off the main road and find a flat wider spot to safely camp.

Along Hwy 127 between I-40 and I-15 there are a number of  pull offs where you can spend the night in a campervan or RV (I wouldn’t recommend a tent unless you can get further off the road). This space we found was very wide and far enough off the road to be quiet, but not too far that we wouldn't be in trouble with the tire. Only one car passed between sunset and sunrise. There aren't a whole lot of options between Death Valley and Joshua Tree if you're traveling in the shorter days of winter and plan to see one of the parks during the day.

I'd only recommend this option if you just need a place to sleep during the dark hours.

There is actually some decent cell service in the Mojave preserve (along Hwy 127) . There are also call boxes about every 2 miles further along the 127.

Cost=$0 also means no amenities. But there were lots of Joshua Trees to be seen and a very, very beautiful night skies because there is NOTHING out here.

Someone had told me we could do a little dispersed camping at Sloan Canyon, just outside of Vegas. In addition to many hiking trails this place has a pretty extensive area you can hike around to find some great views and camping.

We started out by stopping in the visitor center, which is little more than a mobile station at the beginning of the Petroglyph Trailhead with portable toilets. There wasn't a lot of information online about staying here only that it was in fact BLM land and it was accessible for those who are wanting to stay. To hike in we figured we needed a permit, but when we got there we just kind of got a puzzled look.

Finally a ranger helped us and told us that people do in fact hike in to camp dispersed but there was no permit. We hiked down the trail with our gear and about 2 miles in found a great spot just beyond the petroglyph gallery. It had a view of the mountainside and a great view of the sunset.

We settled in and enjoyed a quiet evening amidst the tall walls of the lower canyon. We had views of the larger mountain ahead but opted to not stay up higher because the winds get pretty strong I this area.

I will say that we were told you cannot set up in the petroglyph area because it is preserved, but it did make me realize that a lot of people probably don't follow this by the fact that there were numerous smaller trails leading through this area where people clearly are not remaining on the main trail. I think the most important thing about camping in a place like this is respecting the leave no trace rules. I you are visiting a place with such history and want to allow others to continue doing the same then you should respect the area you are in.

While this was a clean area for the most part you could see where some people hadn't respected the land the same way.

TIPS:

• Stop at the visitor center before closing hours to get a map and find out about the area. There are two routes to the area we were in and depending on your level of desired difficulty this hike can be easy or have some light scrambling.
• Remember this is a dark space so you will want to have your own light with you because there are several animals which roam at night and you will want to be able to see.