Darwin, CA is a great camping destination for adventurers of all types. There's so much to see and do, from exhilarating hikes or bike rides to exploring the local dining and shopping. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.
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.
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
First come / first served tent only campground with no additional fee. Located next to CA 190 at 2100' feet in elevation. Emigrant campground overlooks the Cottonwood Mountains which is a part of the Panamint Range. This is a small campground with 10 sites southwest of Stovepipe Wells Ranger Station. A building with flush toilets is 270 feet down a dirt trail just outside of the campground.
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
7800 feet elevation. 73 campsites. 24' maximum RV length. Connects to OHV trails. This campground offers high elevation forest camping. Including; bear boxes, paved parking spurs, and drinking water during season.
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.
This place was great and well organized, the restrooms were clean and the location was tranquil with the sounds of Bullfrogs serenading you at night.
Great for a night or two, heading towards or leaving Death Valley between Joshua Tree..
You are literally in the middle of nowhere. No cell phone reception, amenities, nothing, not even shelter, but yet so peaceful and quiet. We saw a couple of RVs but everyone has a TON of space....I would totally camp here again.
I was able to let dog and cat out of camper and they weren't going anywhere....nothing to chase, etc.
Nice spot near mount Whitney’s trailhead. Decent bathrooms. Some what of a watching destination from the portal. Small sites
If you’re looking for a place to take your jet skis, dirt bikes, and screaming children all while running your generator 14 hours a day, this is the place for you!
Diaz lake is literally perfect for that sort of activity. If you’re looking to kick your feet up and read a book while enjoying nature you might want to look elsewhere.
limited sites, each with a picnic table, access to water and flush toilet. very nice spot and the higher elevation provides cooler temperature.
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.
We only stayed here for a night, enjoyed the water access and incredible sunrise views, did not enjoy the close quarters with other campers who were blasting music until the early hours of the morning. The site itself was clean and very easily accessible. Us and our dog enjoyed our time for the most part, though I would not stay here again and would recommend against staying here long. Unless you’re spending all of your time on the water, there’s little else to do. Even then, people were continually fishing in the designated swimming area, so you might get very little time to splash around and cool off depending on the courtesy of your fellow campers.
It was ok, but lots of bugs!
This is a great driving reprieve from traveling along the 395! A lovely little lake surrounded by giant oak trees that offer lots of nice shade to spend time resting. Haven’t used this as a camping destination personally, but there are so many friendly people that vacation here whether it’s for group camp parties or family adventures. Amenities are slim, but I don’t mind the rugged camping. At only $14 a night, it’s perfect for those that just need to sleep a couple hours in peace and move on, or stay and walk around to take in the scenic surroundings. For what it is, it’s a great spot!
The 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.
Very nice scenery, with a lot of space. It is nice not to be on top of each other. Nice off road and water sports opportunities.
I stayed 2 nights due to high winds in the area that were bouncing my little RV all over the hwy. Campground was a great place to use as a base to check out the area. I drove up and checked out the Mt Whitney trailhead and the view was incredible. Small little lake but quite a few campsites and they all looked to be relatively level. Also a designated tent area. Camped here in mid- May and it was pretty deserted. Had the place mostly to myself. 👍
Check in is actually at the Oasis at Death Valley, and for $34 a night they will let you stay in a parking lot down the road, and use restroom next to the golf course. Staff instructed us to walk 10 minutes across the golf course, where we could use the showers at the pool. There is no on-site laundry, and there is no communal fire pit. No picnic tables. There IS WiFi, but it doesn't reach to the campground; you need to walk to the golf course to connect. Save yourself the money and just camp at one of the other park campsites.
About 28 sites mostly level. All dry camping. Some gen sets running till 11.00 pm. Some starting up around 6:00 am. Toilets available at golf course next door. Site fees include flush toilets next door, use of pool (8:00 am to 11:00 pm), General store, 3 dining options, all on South side of Camp ground.Furnace creek visitors center next door on the North side. One mile of paved path to Harmony Borax Works, for walking or biking.
There is no quiet time. Generators ran all night. The jeep rental company at the front of the lot started pressure washing jeeps at 5:15am. The construction crew kicked off their day and heavy machinery at 6:25am. No privacy, sites are right on top of each other, especially with bigger rigs (I was car camping). Pool and showers is included in the fee (week nights 29 weekends 34). Had WiFi not been required for me working all of the other campsites around that are part of the NP are much nicer and more scenic views and cheaper. WiFi only works near office and restaurants, so no matter where you stay on the property you have to come to the front to use WiFi (for most people not a big deal, but I’m working so it was inconvenient but better than nothing). There is a bar and food / restaurants on site- all severely overpriced. Local draft beer $11, grilled cheese $17, breakfast buffet $18, dinner buffet $32. I didn’t use the pool but lots of others did and seemed really happy with it. Staff was all nice except a younger man working early shift at reception. All in all - Would not stay here again.
The campground is part of the Oasis Resort, located by the Ranch. The amenities for the Ranch are included in the campground fees. The actual campground area is a gravel parking lot with 50’ parking areas for RVs.
Stayed day after Labor Day. First come first serve and not many people there. Was able to find spot next to lake in tent only section. Looks like place was full for Labor Day with reservations but was still pretty clean. It was above 100 degrees so pulled in at 5 and left by 9:30 next morning but great spot with beautiful views for only $14. A goofy ranger stopped by to say “hello” in morning around 9 and checked our pass.
By far the best campground I've been too.
I was on campsite 044. Really secluded surrounded by trees, close to bathroom and water faucet. The bathrooms are clean and have toilet paper. Right next to a river, where the sound relaxes you. Flat ground for the tent and in no sight of other campers. Close (walking distance) to Mt Whitney Trailhead
Camped here in spring when it first opened for the season. COLD and snow flurries, but still such a memorable and great experience. Most sites seem to be well spaced out and good amount of privacy. Lots of sites are along the stream. Great access to Mt Whitney trailhead. Hiked to Lone Pine Lake with my pup (no permits needed and dogs allowed up to here). Lots of snow, spikes were handy.
Road through here on a road trip one hot afternoon when I needed to get off the road. I saw that there was a lake so I thought it would be a great place to camp. I travel in a Toyota Yaris and sleep in my car. This is a very big Campground with a lot of campsites; car camping, tent sites, RV sites and boat sites also. They all come with a fire ring and a picnic bench. The trees are very sparse. My mistake was parking under trees thinking that I could utilize the shade to sleep. I got eaten alive I have so many bites all over me that it seems like I have a rash. The ants are both black and red in the sand outside and they bite. There are also sand flies that bite and spiders that bite and the birds are relentless. This lake is amazing the water is clear and the perfect temperature too bad the campground sucks! There are no flush toilets and no running water. The price is cheap but I probably won't be back maybe for a dip on my way out of town. But this place is way too buggy for me
We arrived on Sunday afternoon. The weekend crowd was moving out. We had the campground A Loop to ourselves. Really nice to be out of the Valley heat.
$14 a night, right by a lake! super pretty. mountain view’s as well. the only bad part is i think this is a local hot spot, and there was loud trucks coming in and out in the late hours blasting music. also 4 wheelers going crazy!! did not sleep good at all.
Normally do dispersed camping, but figured I would do the campground thing. Very beautiful well kept supposedly it had just opened an hour or two before I arrived after being closed for two years. Great campground
Only a few people here on Tuesday. Pretty stop on the 395. Already 90 degrees in May but some trees so nice in the shade.
Beautiful area but if your using campsite 39 beware you will need to pack everything in as there is no direct access to the site and hills on both side that provide seclusion but also a rough pack in and out.
Campsite is at 2000 feet so cooler than bottom and way less crowded. Good biking up side roads.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Darwin, CA is Whitney Portal with a 4.8-star rating from 28 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 7 glamping camping locations near Darwin, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
