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.
"limited sites, each with a picnic table, access to water and flush toilet. very nice spot and the higher elevation provides cooler temperature."
"This is a free campsite for tents only. However, several people brought in their car campers & just set up a tent."
"Homestake Dry Camp is just that, a dry camp. There was a porta-potty (would hate to be the poor guy that has to service it), but no water as the name implies or tables. "
"The trail up to this campground is very rough. there was signs after the kilns for 4x4 only. However, we did see a little car mob up this road, like they had done it before."
"This camp spot is nearly perfect. Very remote, epic views, solitude. Only thing I was surprised to see were so many other campers at this spot. Was busy for middle of the week. "
"Campground had some nice spots for dry camping. I planned to stay on BLM land off the road but this seemed part of the ghost town private property."
"The trail head camp ground was very nice and well maintained. Vault toilets and fresh water with plenty of access to bear boxes to properly store your food."
"We stayed here the end of August before backpacking Mt Langley and Whitney. It's a great campsite to stay at to acclimate ahead of time for your trips and to get a good early start on the trail."
$6 / night
"This is a walk-in campground designed primarily for the backpackers who use this as a jumping off point for trips."
"Tent pads and fire pits and bear boxes. Vault toilets and a water spigot. Trails to multiple peaks and passes all from this alpine valley."
"Surrounded by desert in the middle of nowhere, this place is heaven!! We came here to get away from everyone and exactly that we did. We can’t wait to come back."
"It was a convenient place to park, because you drive right up to the trailhead, and there are trash cans, bear boxes, and vault toilets."
"We didn’t camp here, we spent the day backpacking to check out spots for a future trip. We have a trip planned to come back next year for a week and backpack this whole trail. It’s so beautiful!!"
"It's about a 6.5 mile hike in and is above 10,000ft elevation. Took us about 3 hours to hike to Cottonwood Lake #5, going at a leisurely pace. Some people do the Mt."
GuideLovely campground! Stayed with a small group at site 35, which is a large site with a parking area that can fit 3 cars/SUVs. We set up 3 large tents, 2 hammocks, plus a lot of cooking equipment, and still had room for more! There's a trail that leads down to the creek right from the site, which we used each day to cool down in the water. Very dog friendly- our group's pups enjoyed themselves too. Vault toilets are clean and the toilet paper was abundant. The price of $17/night (plus$5 for additional cars) is very reasonable. Used a bit of the non-potable water and came prepared with lots of drinking water from home. Was a pleasant temperature in the high 80s with a regular breeze.
Now for the downsides…it was extremely buggy;. Even with multiple types of bug spray and a Thermacell, we got bit by mosquitos and various flies all throughout the day. Plus, there are really big beetles that flew on us at night. Wish we had a big bug net over the picnic table or other areas, but at least the hammock was covered. There were also noisy neighbors- one group had a bunch of ATVs they started riding at 8am, and another was shooting guns. No cell service, but that was expected, so we brought satellite devices for emergencies.
ScoutThis is a walk-in campground designed primarily for the backpackers who use this as a jumping off point for trips. There are campsites spread around the meadow with picnic tables and bear boxes.The campsites are spread well apart under the pines. The parking encircles the large, flat meadow. The area is just gorgeous. It’s a great spot to get away from summer heat at 10,000 feet. Vault toilets, water spigots. Lots of hiking.
GuidePros: Reasonably priced, fairly quiet campground that is close enough to Furnace Creek w/out being in the thick of it. Great scenery surrounding the campground. Modern toilet/sink facilities and potable water.
Cons: Weird site designs - the site boundaries are not clear, so I had no idea which picnic table or fire ring belonged to my site or my neighbors because they seemed to be situated right on the edge of some of the sites. Almost no shade (which is a given), and the campground is very dusty covered in sharp edged cobbles. This is obviously not something they can control, but you'll want to keep it in mind if tent camping - definitely bring 1 if not 2 heavy duty tarps for under any tents, and I would recommend a canopy or awning of some kind. The oddest thing to me, however, is why they would go to the trouble of installing flush toilets and sinks, but not go one extra step and have showers. Even cold-water only coin-op showers would be awesome, and much appreciated at the end of a hot day hiking!
Given all of the above, however, I'd probably choose to camp here again if I was in the park. :)
LegendAll of the campgrounds in the valley are glorified parking lots, some more obviously than others. Texas Springs holds our favorite distinction, “No generators allowed!” This alone makes it worth the short drive up the hill, but it’s also got a little bit more charm than the open acres down the hill. The open sky makes it the perfect place to rely on your solar power as there are no electrical hookups here. Within walking distance of the Visitors Center, the hotel, grocery store, gas station and restaurants, all contained in the Ranch at Death Valley, it’s a great base camp for your park adventures.
The simple bathrooms have flush toilets and hand washing sinks, great dishwashing sinks with good tasting potable water are just outside of the bathrooms. The sites are stacked pretty tightly together, so there’s not a lot of privacy and there is zero, I mean zero, shade. All of the palm trees are down at the resort, but the scenery is all mudstone, sand and gravel, and it is lovely. Climb up the hill a short way and you can see clear across Badwater Basin and Panamint Mountains to the west. Sunrise is as lovely as sunset.
This is Death Valley afterall, so come prepared to set up a canopy but be careful of wind- we saw many shade structures destroyed and discarded in the dumpsters. 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. Showers (and use of the pool) and wifi are available at the Ranch for an hourly or daily fee.
Biking, hiking and even golf are just a few of the activities available nearby, but pay attention to Park warnings about heat. Pets are not allowed on any of the trails and only allowed to be walked on roadways, because of the hot conditions found on some of the trails. We visited in February/March and found some of the canyons pretty uncomfortable, even that early in the spring.
LegendGeneral: 81 BLM sites within the shadow of the eastern Sierras. All are first come, first available with a 14-day limit, but we had no problem finding a choice of sites on a Monday in early April around 12:30 pm. You can’t beat the price of $10 ($5 with a Golden Age Pass)! Surprisingly good cell coverage (Verizon)! The views of the mountains are awesome!
Site Quality: Gravel and most looked level. No hookups of any kind. A fire ring (with grill), lantern hook, and large concrete picnic table complete the site.
Toilets: More than an adequate number of vault toilets sprinkled throughout the campground and at least the one by our site was clean and had hand sanitizer.
Activities: We spent our day exploring nearby beautiful Alabama Hills (about a 10-minute drive from the campground), driving out Movie Road, and taking a few short hikes.
Just several things to note (but they did not detract from our stay):
1. since our site was near Tuttle Creek, the mosquitoes came out in droves at dusk,
2. you will hear (but not see!) a steady sound of fighter stealth jets from Edwards Air Force Base flying overhead from about 8 am to 8 pm) and
3. There are gnarly speed bumps on the road into the campground. Other than that, the unpaved road is well-maintained.
I wish we had planned to spend another night here!
GuideI thought this was a great campground at the right time of year. The spaces are huge and a nice distance from your neighbor. Vault toilets were kept clean, full of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. We were there in mid-March and the water was not turned on yet. Next to each picnic table was a post to hang a lantern on or anything else you may need to hang. Cell reception was pretty good.
There was very little shade at this campground which was great in March, but would be a big concern as the weather warms up. Our first night there was very windy and we realized the campsites on the southern side of the creek would have been a better choice as there was some shelter from the wind there.
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.
LegendWe didn't camp here, rather we used this as the start/finish point for our 2-day hike to the summit of Mt. Langley. It was a convenient place to park, because you drive right up to the trailhead, and there are trash cans, bear boxes, and vault toilets. We stashed some extra toiletries in the bear boxes, rather than risk leaving them in the car. Toilets were pretty clean. Unfortunately, the potable water spigots were already turned off. The national forest website said they are off in the winter, but I didn't expect that already in early September. This is an equestrian campground, so there was some horse dung on the trails around the campground.
LegendStayed at this campground in 2012. Mind you this was my FIRST real camping trip, I was utterly excited. The trail up to this campground is very rough. there was signs after the kilns for 4x4 only. However, we did see a little car mob up this road, like they had done it before. The road took us to just over 8,000ft elevation. Small campground, but cozy. Drop toilet close by that doesn't get serviced too often because of location. You could see telescope peak and the trail was just off the campground. Campsite had picnic table and a fire ring, thankfully. It was FREEZING when we went. Lets just say I was not prepared for how cold it was going to be. It got down to 12°F and lets just say I had just a "normal" camping sleeping bag. The view down to the valley was gorgeous. We hiked up a little ways.. maybe 3/4 a mile the telescope peak trail, then turned back. We orginally had come up to see something that was happening in the sky that late evening ( 1-2 am-ish), but by 9pm it was too cold to stay up, even with a fire going.
The campground was about 80% full which was surprising since it was pretty solitary out that way.
Free to camp.
First come, First Serve.
Tent camping near Darwin, California, offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the stunning landscapes of Death Valley National Park and surrounding areas. With a variety of campgrounds available, you'll find options that cater to different preferences and needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Darwin, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Darwin, CA is Emigrant Campground — Death Valley National Park with a 4.2-star rating from 9 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 17 tent camping locations near Darwin, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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