For those who want to get away from civilization for a weekend, but still want the comforts of home, consider renting a cabin for your Darwin camping trip. The Dyrt is the ultimate place to find cabins for your next outdoor adventure near Darwin. The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect cabin rental near Darwin.
Furnace Creek Campground is the only NPS campground in the park that is reservable. All other NPS campgrounds operate on a first-come, first-serve basis. Advance reservations are highly recommended for Furnace Creek Campground during the reservation window (October 15 - April 15). First-come, first-served sites (FF) at Furnace Creek Campground are rare and fill quickly on weekends, around holidays, and in days preceding and just after the reservation season. PLEASE NOTE: The actual availability of any first-come, first served-sites (FF) IS NOT reflected on the Recreation.gov website in real time. When arriving without reservations, we recommend tent campers pack camp chairs and a propane stove for cooking as not all campsites in other park campgrounds offer picnic tables and fire rings. Death Valley has a total of 9 National Park Service campgrounds to choose from in this beautiful land of extremes. Six are open year-round. Three others are closed during summer months. Please visit our official park website to assist with trip planning and to check out all of our camping options: https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/camping.htm
There are over 3.4 million acres of Death Valley to explore. The popular main attractions are accessible by paved roads and more remote areas of the park will require high clearance, 4wd. Please visit our website for helpful tips when planning your trip: www.nps.gov/deva
Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life survives in Death Valley! In this below-sea-level basin, steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Yet, each extreme has a striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. Lush oases harbor tiny fish and refuge for wildlife and humans. Death Valley has sunk below sea level through geologic processes over time. It lies within the Mojave Desert and is the hottest, driest and lowest location in North America. Despite its extreme climate, the park boasts a diversity of ecosystems, including colorful badlands, snow-covered peaks, desolate sand dunes, rugged canyons and flat, dry basins called playas. Furnace Creek Campground is located on the valley floor. The terrain is fairly open with sparse vegetation. Some campsites do have trees that provide shade, but most are unshaded. The facility offers a wide mountan views to the east and west, which glow with hues of orange, red and yellow during sunrise and sunset.
Between 10/15/2020 and 04/15/2021 this location is staffed. Please call (760) 786-2441 to speak with local staff. From 04/16/2021 to 10/14/2021 this location is unstaffed. Please call (760) 786-3200 for general information.
Explorers of all ages can enjoy educational programs and exhibits at the Visitor Center, just a short walk from the campground. Birders may have luck spotting local and migratory birds around the campground and along Airport Road, especially in the cooler months. Visitors can bike, walk their dog, or run along a one-mile bike path to an interpretive trail from the campground to the Harmony Borax Works, an abandoned borax refinery from the late 1800s. The campground is also within walking distance of the private resort, Furnace Creek Oasis and Ranch.
Reservation Cancellations & Changes Cancelling a Reservation: Customers may cancel their reservation prior to arrival both on-line and through the call center. A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refund for a cancellation. Depending on when you cancel in relation to your arrival day, it may be considered a late cancellation (see below). Changing an Existing Reservation: When changes are made prior to the cut-off window: If a customer wants to switch dates that are entirely outside of the original reservation dates, there is a $10 change fee. There is no change fee if a customer extends or shortens a reservation, as long as the change includes dates from the original reservation. If they choose to depart early, they may forfeit the recreation fee for the day of departure. There is no change fee if the customer wants to switch sites that are the same price with the same reservation dates in the same facility. If a reservation is made that includes dates beyond the maximum booking window, that reservation cannot be changed until 18 days have passed from the original booking date. Late Cancellations or Cancellations within the Cut-off Window Individual Campsites: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows Overnight and Day-Use Facilities: A no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date (or for day-use facilities, by check-in time the day of arrival). Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first nights recreation fee for a campsite. Early Departures If a customer departs prior to the scheduled check-out date, they may be eligible for a partial refund. Please notify staff at the facility if you depart early to allow others to use the site. Customers may notify the call center to request a refund of remaining unused nights. If a customer requests a refund for an early departure after the facility check-out time has passed, the customer will not be refunded for that night and is eligible for a refund on any additional nights that will not be used.
$60 / night
Whitney Portal Campground is in a prime location within the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains - at the base of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States. With hiking trails to Mt. Whitney and the John Muir Wilderness less than a mile away, the campground is a popular home base for hikers, as well as family, RV and tent campers who wish to explore the area's activities and enjoy unparalleled scenery.
Hikers are drawn to the majestic scenery and challenging trails of the Whitney Portal recreation area. Nearby trails lead into the John Muir Wilderness and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. The campground is only 0.5 miles from trailheads to Mt. Whitney, Meysan Lake and other popular destinations. Visitors should be aware that hiking in this area may require a permit. Visitors can also hike, fish and picnic in the area around the campground. There are numerous lakes, streams and a small pond in the area for trout fishing.
The facility is situated in a thick pine forest at an elevation of 8,000 ft. Campers can see striking views of the rugged granite peaks surrounding it. The area is home to abundant wildlife, including black bear, mountain lions, mule deer, pine martin, pika and many species of fish and birds. This campground is especially prone to bear activity.
Campers can enter the John Muir Wilderness, a land of lofty snow-capped mountains, deep canyons and vast expanses of glacially carved terrain, via nearby trails. Mt. Whitney is within the wilderness area and entry is available by lottery for experienced hikers. John Muir Wilderness
For facility specific information, please call (602) 726-1102.
$93 / night
$38 - $75 / night
Located on the Pacific Crest Trail near the South Fork of the Kern River, Kennedy Meadows campground is surrounded by the South Sierra, Golden Trout, and Domeland wildernesses. It's a great place for camping near Los Angeles. Some of the 38 sites are shaded by juniper and pinion. Maximum vehicle length is 30ft.
At Lake Olancha RV Park and Campground we offer cabin rentals, 50 RV sites with 50amp and 30amp electrical plugs, and tent sites in our 100-acre RV retreat, settled along a one-mile circumference around beautiful Olancha Lake. From our campsite you’ll find the majestic, snowcapped Sierra Mountains to the West and Furnace Creek and Death Valley to the East. Enter a 400-foot, rock walled entrance to our serene, lakeside surroundings.
$49 / night
Adjacent to The Ranch at Death Valley and the Death Valley Visitor Center is the Fiddlers’ Campground, available for only $24 per night. With your nightly rental, guests enjoy the Ranch’s natural spring-fed swimming pool, shower facility, coin operated laundry and sports courts including a Tennis Court, Shuffleboard, Volleyball, Bocce Ball and Basketball Court. The Campground is located close to the Ranch’s restaurants, as well as the General Store for camping supplies, groceries and mementos to remember your journey. Furnace Creek Golf Course is directly adjacent to the Campground for those who want to golf the lowest elevation course in the world. (These sites do not have water, sewer or electrical hookups and are back-in only)
$24 / night
Traveler
It's a huge campground, a whole section was closed off when we were there. It's worth driving around to find the best vacant spot, as there are a few trees giving much needed shade. There are flush toilets, and running water. It's nice and close to the visitor centre, and to zabriskie point. It was quiet enough in Sept on a weekday, but I wouldn't fancy going there when it's busy.
Traveler
This park is in the middle of nowhere but a fabulous view of the Sierra Nevada's. I had a problem when I pulled into my site getting shore power from the electrical hook up. But I went to the office and I was moved immediately to a better site with a good hook up! Quiet, clean and well landscaped for the desert surroundings
TravelerThis is just an extraordinary place, Death Valley. Takes you out of yourself and your sense of human history completely.
The motels and campsites were always subpar. They act, to this day, like only hardened stoic geologists would want to visit. This campsite is actually better than the so called “motels’ available. It’s not a great place, but BRING ALL your creature comforts and you’ll be thrilled to be in the middle of the all the hiking and road trip thrills.
I am writing this in fall of 2024. That means you should book Xmas 2025. Or else, really stay somewhere else entirely and expect a drive.
And yes, when you have the winter blues in January, this is just an incredible visit.
Guide
It’s confusing to find the campsite. No signs directing you where to go. You have to drive behind the sites and pull through. Sites are small and you’re basically packed together. power and water are on the right instead of left. Bathroom ok, shower curtain looks dirty.
ScoutA lovely site, both scenic and peaceful. Was very quiet when we stayed. The small lake was ideal for a bit of casual kayaking and nature watching - mostly birds and dragonflies. Charming and spacious, the informality of the site was a refreshing change. Owing to it being quiet, we spent most of our time there in one of the riverside overlooks that provided seating, a table & a grill (as well as being a vantage point for watching nature and launching the kayaks.
The only slight negative was that it was the only one of 10 we used on this trip that offered full hook-ups but no WiFi (5G service was adequate though). Would also benefit with the addition of more than just the single shower/toilet unit (which contrary to another review was of more than adequate size)
Ranger
The campground is beautiful. The sites are a bit close together and many have little privacy, but it was very quiet and enjoyable. The vault toilets needed to be emptied and they were very stinky. It seemed a little early in the season (early June) for them to be so full. Nice hiking trails accessible from the campground. Saw fresh bear scat near our site, but never saw any bears.
GuideI love that they have separate parts of the campground for RVs and tents so you don’t have to hear generators if you’re tent camping. Our site had some trees that we pitched the tent under for shade. Bathrooms were clean with running water and a dishwashing area too.
ScoutI wasn't able to stay here as it was full, but I did want to let others know of a good option nearby.
There are two other campgrounds pretty close. One is called Sunset and is right across the road. It did not look very interesting, but you could walk from your site to the Death Valley Ranch, which has a saloon, restaurant and nice little oasis like setting for those looking for some shade and to grab things.
I did stay at the Texas Springs Campground, which is just up the hill, about a 3 minute drive away. Was a bit more interesting with the setting amongst the hills, etc. with a bit of a view. It is a first-come-first-served, but seemed to have plenty of spots mid-day, mid-week, beginning of April, if the NPS is full. Also, great proximity to many sites in the National Park. Hope that helps!
TravelerWe stayed in March and it was perfect 👌 very busy so get reservations in advance!
GuideOverall, I enjoyed my stay at this campground. Sites have fire rings, picnic tables and level asphalt drives. Rest rooms are not modern but they are always clean. I only gave 4 stars because there are no showers.
GuideThis resort is really just a place to park with hookups. The lake is a large pond and it’s beautiful but there is only one small restroom with one small shower with barely room to change. There are no other services like laundry, clubhouse, pool, gym. The price was the same as a fully featured property. The host was responsive and nice.
GuideNice spot near mount Whitney’s trailhead. Decent bathrooms. Some what of a watching destination from the portal. Small sites
GuideLoved this campground. Trees behind the site provided lots of shade and places for the kids to play. Clean restrooms. Quiet.
ScoutThey take reservations. Only spot near here with trees Close to main attractions (Zabriskie Point, Dante's View, Bad Water Basin, Golden canyon)
GuidePullthru is functional. Hot in May. Wi-Fi way good. Good for overnight.
Legend
It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again–“all of the campgrounds in the valley are glorified parking lots, some more obviously than others.” Fiddler’s Campground is one of the more lot-like, but there is shade with a row of trees on the south side of the camping lot. The campsite is closer to the National Park Visitor’s Center than even the Park’s campground, Furnace Creek. While it's a very utilitarian campground, it's a good central location to explore the park from Golden Canyon to Zabriski Point to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes to Badwater Basin.
It is run by the Oasis Ranch at Death Valley Resort, so you have access to all of the services provided there including the lovely golf course, pool, showers and reliable wifi. During our two visits to DVNP, we’ve spent at least one night here just to grab a shower, swim, and wifi update. While these sites are usually booked months in advance, you can find an occasional open night during the mid-week.
The campground bathrooms have clean flush toilets and hand washing sinks, and a dishwashing sink with good tasting potable water just outside of the bathrooms. The bathrooms by the campsites were pretty clean, but the pool was very clean as was the shower/ locker rooms.
The campsites are stacked pretty tightly together but there’s plenty of room for big rigs. Unlike Texas Springs campground up the hill, Fiddler’s Campground allows gas generators. There’s no need with all of the sunshine, an appropriately sized solar panel system will provide you with all the power you need. We’ve run for over a decade on solar panels and saves a ton of money on campgrounds.
The resort also offers a few restaurants, gift shops and a small grocery store with enough options to feed yourself in case you didn’t bring much food. We highly recommend the milkshakes at the ice cream shop, they are expensive but worth the drive to the valley alone!
Mobile service was pretty spotty, we had Verizon which seemed to have a good signal in the morning until more people woke up and then everything slowed down. Service throughout the park was pretty spotty too.
GuideFurnace creek was a great campground to be central to a ton of different places in Death Valley. It was a busy campground with lots of other campers. Great sunset views!
GuideThanks to a SUPER accommodating NPS fella, we got site 111 for a couple of nights during the Dark Sky Festival. It's dry camping, which suited us for the short stay. We were stoked to be next to a little road that led to a nice birding spot and the little airport. Super charming...
Until the generators kicked on! I was bewildered, because I hadn't realized that there's a private campground right across that little road. If you're after a little peace and quiet, book on the opposite side of the campground.
Proximity to the main visitor center is a huge plus, as are the two nearby dump stations. It's not in a particularly beautiful part of the park, which is huge. You'll need a car to explore. We biked to a couple of trailheads, but the park's scale really does force you into car mode.
LegendAshley here with The Dyrt! We're happy to welcome this new partner to our platform. Check them out and leave a review!
RangerGreat place and great staff so nice and clean
Scout
Most reviews here are dated. Campground has been abandoned for years so: no fees, busted up roads, no water, no trash, no bathrooms, no cell/wifi. Basically dispersed camping in an awesome location on concrete spurs/pads. Each site still had picnic table and fire pit. The mosquitos here are biblical at night so bring your nets and deet. Kern creek and trails right from campground. General store and Grumpy Bear tavern close down the road. Only 2 other campers here when I stayed in October. Great place as long as you are expecting disbursed camping experience.
GuideNice and clean. Full hook ups. Clean laundry room. Quiet except hwy 395 noise. Some view of the sierra Site 41 lean a bit to the right. Had to put one layer of pads.
TravelerExcellent RV Resort! We stayed a night on our way to Yosemite and we found this RV Resort by google search. Marcos at the front desk is very accommodating. There are many facilities including, swimming pool, hot tub, mini mart, gift shop, playground, horseshoes, basketball hoop, kitchen facility, RV dump station, fenced in dog run, laundry, showers, full hook ups, clubhouse, Wifi and more! Great place to stop.
RangerThis was stop to be able to visit Manzanar Internment camp.
Tent sites are gravel and mostly level. They all have water, a table and fire ring. Trees are still young. Very close to Owens lake(within view).
We had a lot of wind that came blowing up the valley from the south. There is very little protection for the tent campsites. Almost killed the tent.
Hosts were very helpful in getting us situated despite the need to switch sites(too many people).
Free muffins and coffee in the morning! Nice pool and hot tub, as well as bathrooms and laundry facilities.
Easy access into town for dinner or groceries.
GuideThis campground location was ideal as it was right next to the visitor center. Like most NP camp sites, they are pretty close to one another. Most sites had no or little shade and you’re lucky if you get one with a little bit of brush to hide from the beating sun heat. The picnic tables are metal, which doesn’t make sense to me given everything gets really hot in the desert. Fire pit was also provided, but we didn’t use. There are few bathroom locations within the park, they were cleaned daily and very basic, but with running water. You have to dump your trash all the way near the front of the campground. RVs with generators made a lot of noise and were not separate from tent sites. The stars at night are amazing!
GuideThe trees against the rocks and blue sky is gorgeous every time you look up. Very cool campsites nestled into the raw nature. We loved it. Didn’t see any bears, used the bear locker and trash cans on site.
ScoutWe loved it here. Our first time but there is everything you need right here. :)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Darwin, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Darwin, CA is Furnace Creek Campground — Death Valley National Park with a 4.4-star rating from 54 reviews.
What is the best site to find cabin camping near Darwin, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 6 cabin camping locations near Darwin, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
