Best Campgrounds near El Centro, CA

First car camp in Anza Borrego.  Wasn't disappionted.

The camping spots were close to each other but no one else was there so it didn't matter. The stars and sunrise were amazing! Will definitely go again!

Located South of Q Casino on way to boarder crossing. No amenities. Just a great place to park for free. Casino charges $10/nite for exact same amenities.

It’s technically the Republic of Slowjamistan.

Lots of open space, just drive out and park. Might need an air down/up system depending on how far in you want to travel. No issues for the first 0.25-0.5 mile off the highway.

ATV rentals available. There are some picnic tables and compost hole restrooms.

Pilot Knob RV Resort is a solid option for RV travelers, especially those affiliated with Thousand Trails or Encore campgrounds. Overall, I’d give it 4 stars, with the only downside being its remote location. Aside from the Granite Museum and the overpriced gas station at the exit, there’s not much nearby. For most necessities, you’ll need to drive into Yuma, which also involves crossing a time zone.

On the positive side, the amenities at the campground are great and seem recently renovated. The restrooms, game room, and pool area are all clean and well-maintained, and the shuffleboard courts and bocce ball are fun additions. There always seem to be organized events on the calendar, which is nice if you’re into social activities, though we didn’t attend any ourselves.

The RV sites are spacious, especially compared to other Thousand Trails locations. This makes it a great spot for those who RV part-time or full-time and enjoy a bit more room to spread out.

The staff here is incredibly friendly and helpful, and package/mail handling is seamless, which is a bonus for longer stays. The sunsets are absolutely gorgeous, and the nearby Pilot Knob hiking trails and Sand Dunes offer excellent opportunities to explore the outdoors.

Lastly, we enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the nearby casino—it was delicious and convenient, though the casino itself wasn’t our favorite for gambling.

Yuma is about a 20 minute drive.

We have stayed here a few times now.  The best times are during the fall and winter months as the park welcomes back its community of Snow Birds coming from Canada and the northern US.  During those times the atmosphere in the evening is always festive, often with live music and an outdoor bar.  The staff are pleasant and accommodating.   It is also a pretty good overnight spot if you are passing through in the summer, but the temperatures in this area soar during the summer and are frequently above 110 degrees.  During summer time the pool becomes too warm to be refreshing, and the restaurant and bar are closed.  The rates are much lower in the summer.  This is also one of the few parks that accepts Passport America all days of the week.  Note that Passport America discounts cannot be used with pull-through sites.  The sites are fairly spacious and generally separated by hedges so you are not looking directly at your neighbor's rig.  Scenery around the park is beautiful any time of year, and for those who enjoy the RV Resort lifestyle the only reason to go out of the park during the snow bird season is for groceries.

Traveling down Black Mountain road for about 2miles of wash boards before turning down the camping road.

All the sites were empty as it was almost 100degrees outside and nothing for shade of a creature larger than a bird could find. But here we found quiet solitude and a cooler evening, perhaps the winds helped.

If you have furry friends keep a watch for their paws, there’s small cacti/pokeys scattered about.

Lovely sunrise and sunset 360 views.

Good Verizon service!

Big rig friendly - lots of space to spread out. Nice areas to hike and climb. Can get rather windy and there is some smelly smoke at times from Mexico area. Can drive to Mexico for various doctor/dentist/etc. Easy drive to Yuma as well. Great deal for the winter! Present when the 'scary' situation occurred in March as noted by someone else. Involved 2 parties with dogs loose. We did not and do not feel unsafe at all here.

I visited for two nights to see which version of the Slab City story to believe - There are so many videos, but most of them were made by people who did not even stay overnight.

One story is the romanticized tale of free-thinking sovereign citizens and preppers working together in Utopian Fashion to survive off the grid in the deep Sonoran Desert and shun government interference in their lives.  They even have movie nights and a Saturday night open mic.  There are some folks there who deserve a kind description and they work very hard to help their neighbors when they can.  There just aren't enough of them.    

The other story is about how hundreds of conspiracy-laden, disenfranchised, meth-heads, dependent on SSI, have trashed a 600-acre parcel of public land.  This group is real too, and will solicit your sympathy and cash if they can't figure out how to siphon gas out of your tank while you're wandering Salvation Mountain.

If none of this impresses you, then by all means, visit during winter to see the clever art installations, but if you're determined to hang for longer than the day, I recommend you pay to stay at Mojo's Camp or The Ponderosa where the hosts have a care about their guests.  Do Not camp alone out in the open.  Do not accept any bliss from anyone, and do not flash your cash.   Leave the kids at home unless you want to scare them straight.

I had a very bad scary experience here. The camphost wasn't available at 4 pm to help w a man behaving erratically, threatening my life & others.

Camped here for three nights in March of 2019, in one of the partial hookup sites close to the pool. According to the map of the CG, there are 104 sites and 7 cabins. Partial hookups are closest to the pool/shower area, with full hookups and cabins farther back and tent sites in the middle.  

it seemed to be a well run facility. It was cool, cloudy and wet from recent rains when we were there and our site had a tiny stream running through it. Some sites, including ours, were not too level. The pool was not what I'd call "hot", probably in the mid to high 90s. 

There's a couple short trails in the park, we hiked Moonlight Canyon. We really enjoyed it!! A bit like a lunar landscape with wild desert plants and flowers. The highlight was seeing some desert bighorn sheep!

A small store sits just outside the park entrance and though it was small, it seemed to have at least one of everything you could possibly need, including my favorite Colorado  beer, Fat Tire!!

This park has a lot of rules, some quite unusual. Probably a good idea to familiarize yourself with them before you head out.

4bars of T-Mobile and 2 bars on AT&T. It’s currently $50 for a night which includes the hot spring.

The lots are dirt and uneven. The water on many lots are leaking or with broken fixtures. It’s pretty quiet and I’m here for 2 nights.

Stopped in total last minute and Mojo was friendly and accommodating! I loved the vibe and although it is free to stay out in the slabs it was totally worth it to pull in here in the dark and have a place to stay. My only regret was that it was a quick stop-over and I couldn't stay longer. 

If you are looking for interesting places, colorful people and friendly free roaming pets, then this is the place. I hope to stop here again in the future and spend more time with Mojo and the crew.

No water, $20 per nite with vault toliet and trash   Nice cover picnic tables at each site

We loved this spot. FREE Dispersed camping is located just past power lines behind the actual hot springs. To stay at the LTVA you must have self contained trailer, van, rv…we didn’t know this. It worked out better-FREE camping and just a lil over an ¼ mile to the springs. It is well maintained by camp host Bill. Vault toilets, with TP & bonus there is great food at The Holtville Taco Shop 7 miles from springs. The Del Sol market has great marinated chicken for the BBQ and the tortillas are best outside of Mexico I have found. We will be back as the sunsets are too good not to experience over and over again…cold at night this time of year…

What an amazing place with friendly staff. Go check out them out!! I really loved the ease of their website and reserving a spot. The check in is just as easy because you click on a link from the confirmation email sent from the reservation. Staff are always available, but never bother you. The bathrooms and showers are very clean and the hot springs tubs are nice and comfortable. There are also 3 pools, 1 hot springs and the other 2 are cold. It's definitely nice in the winter because you can do a cold soak then warm up in the hot springs. There are also dunes and ATV rentals, unless you have your own. It is definitely a homey hot springs resort with a positive vibe! Check out www.glamisnorth.com

It has great food and beautiful golf course.

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This is a quiet well ran facility. It has the best drinking water pumped from the mountain aquifers. Every building is relatively new and the showers, laundry and common building facilities are in top notch condition. The staff and the owner are genuinely friendly and have the best of attitudes about the grounds and one’s stay. I can’t say enough about how pleasant our 4 day stay was. It’s unique in that there is not the usual highway road noise we experience at most KOAs.

Area was nice, no trash, host was nice, the only thing was there was A LOT OF FLIES. Other than the flies it’s an good campground, there are pit toilets across the street at the hot springs along with trash cans.