Looking for the best Imperial tent camping? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Imperial's most popular destinations.
Gecko Campground is the largest campground in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. It consists of a north loop and a south loop. These loops are paved roads and offer numerous vault toilets.
Cahuilla Ranger Station is located off of Gecko Road. This station offers visitors a location to purchase their dunes permit, gather information and seek medical aid. This station is open Friday through Sunday from mid-October to mid-April during the high visitation period.
Roadrunner Campground is the second largest campground offering a large loop of paved roads. Two vaulted toilets are available.
Guide
I have been coming here for 25 years. Sadly the lake is disappearing, but it have beautiful sunsets and is isolated and peaceful ( except for the occasional train). Avoid in the summer, but winter is amazing.
Guide
We loved the spot so very much!! We will be back every winter
Traveler
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.
Guide
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!
Scout
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ScoutI 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.
Traveler
This is not the place I was expecting from all the bad I've heard. It was beautiful. The park was clean, all facilities were clean. The staff were friendly and awesome. They do have E/W hook ups and can take rigs up to 35'. The showers take tokens!
GuideDid a quick motorcycle camp here. The campground was extremely well maintained. Clean bathrooms with showers etc. depending on the time of the year and the winds there can be an unpleasant smell but I didn’t have any problems on this trip Site are pretty close together but it didn’t seem to be very crowded most of the time
Ranger
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.
Traveler
Lots of nice flight that spots very nice view
Traveler
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.
Guide
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.
Scout
No water, $20 per nite with vault toliet and trash Nice cover picnic tables at each site
GuideThis is a great little spot stayed a couple of nights, beautiful views, clean bathroom, cold shower. It’s close to the road and the trains go by. They’re kind of loud but part of the topography.
TravelerWhat 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
Scout
So it’s no new news that the park has been sold and along with doing so the previous owner decided to replace the current manager Debra who in my opinion was overworked and definitely more than likely under paid considering who her boss was . My point here is why would anyone sell a place and replace their manager who did and does way more than job description. It seems as with every other business he’s sold in the community in recent years k owing it was going to be an epic failure and he’s wind back up with the business, that he has it changed his business model why sell a park and the incoming owners has to deal with a place they know nothing about or the ins and outs or the people and except to not have tons more of problems with a new hired manager who don’t know either , of course he won’t get this business back but just doesn’t seem ethical or business worthy to do so . If the new owners had this kind of thinking they’d be smart to rehire or keep if possible current management. Just my opinion it don’t matter cause I no longer am a resident of that poor town but still love the place
TravelerIt has great food and beautiful golf course.
Guide
Primitive camping. First come…, requires payment in envelope.
Scoutdrove there 7/9/2023 and the place no longer exists. It was sold years back and now is The Tiny House Block https://tinyhouseblock.com/
Guide
Mount Laguna is a wonderful destination if looking for some fresh mountain air without a long commute being just 30-45min drive from San Diego. We really enjoyed our time at this campground. Lots of wonderful trails right from the campground. Sites are nice with lots of tree for more privacy. Restroom facilities were pretty nice. Would come back again!
Guide
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.
Guide
Such a wonderful spot in the middle of the desert! Has a large pool and big hot tub all inside of a solid wall to prevent sand from blowing inside. Each spot is surrounded by trees which is very rare to find in the desert! It makes each spot private and helps hugely with keeping wind from blowing dirt into your spot. Very affordable as well! Debra at the front was just the sweetest thing… helped us find a perfect spot, gave us multiple brochures and mapped out local spots that we should check out. Borrego springs is about 25 minutes away. Phone service is spotty for ATT and Tmobile, but you’ll have better service at the front of the campground. Overall a very peaceful stay with lots of stars at night!
Scout$850 a month. Very expensive food and drink. There is a nice little store in Seeley though. Huge piles of slash and garbage mixed in at the south side.
TravelerThis is our second stay at Salton Sea State Recreation Area; our first stay we stumbled upon and were easily able to walk-in for a campsite staying at sites 48 and 26. Sites 48 and 50 have the best view of the Sea but least privacy, site 26 has a great tree for shade and a double picnic table Ramada for a decent sized group. this visit we stayed at site 49 which was less shady but no biggie with the breeze off the sea.
This place is such a relief from the dessert dryness and heat in late spring, it is about 10* cooler than the desert outside Joshua tree and the salty low humid air is so refreshing. The history of issues with algae on the sea keep this place pretty quiet. The park staff says it’s relatively safe to enter the water, though hard to access and can be smelly so few people do. It really makes for a serene stay where a location this beautiful and park with such nice amenities would usually be packed; this place is not. To be clear these sites are the “New Campground” the Headquarters sites are in the main parking lot; I’d only recommend headquarters for a trailer/25+ RV; the new grounds are much nicer.
If you are a tent camper there are quite a few sites you could pitch right under the shade of a tree and we’ve seen folks with hammocks on their Ramadas as well.
The nature loop on the east side of camp is a perfect spot for a morning stroll to watch the sunrise, while camp or the day use Ramadas provide a stunning view of the mountains, Sea, and sunset. There is a 1 mile trail to the Mecca campground we haven’t done yet and the park staff recommended checking out the Sonny Bono Bird Sanctuary on the East end of the Sea. This is a place to come, relax, unwind, and be perfectly fine with not doing a whole lot to just enjoy your setting.
Showers are token run which is a drawback, you get them at the office which is open Thur-Sun from 9-4 currently.
PS holy cow the migratory birds and the bats at sunset, ridiculous!
ScoutThis used to be a good RV park for Seniors on fixed income. But the new owners, who live in Palm Springs, have gotten greedy. First they cut out cable TV, then they cut out the seasonal discount, then they raised the rent$50 in one shot, and now they have cut off the Wi-Fi and raised the rent another$45 so Seniors now can't even get on the Internet to pay bills, or check on their Banking. Now they have been lying to us about the Wi-Fi internet, telling people it is only down temporarily, It has now been down temporarily for over 3 months. It is just a dirt lot that turns into a giant mud bog when it rains, no level pads to park on, and dogs are allowed to run free and shit all over the place. They just want to bleed people on fixed income, and stuff the money in their pocket. Some senior citizens have been forced out and have become homeless because the rise in food and gas prices already had them fighting to just put food on the table. The sprinkler system that is supposed to water the plants separating the sites at night has broken down so all the plants are dying off and they have no intention of fixing it. There is only one men's public shower and rest room and one public shower and rest room for women. The door locks don't work and men have been caught using the woman's shower if there is someone already using the men's. They have cut the Manger's hours down to noon to 5 O'clock 3 days a week and the owners are never around. They stay up in their nice rich house in Palm Springs and never even visit the park. So the poor Manager has to deal with all the problems. Their ad still says they provide free cable TV, Seasonal discounts, and free Wi Fi but they have discontinued all of these plus raising the site rent$100 a month. Avoid this place it is a dump run by slum lords.
ScoutNice place to stay easy to make reservations for staff was really helpful. I would stay there again. It’s a bonus that they had a nine holes of golf course and the driving range and Central located.
GuideWe stayed 5 days there is a 9 hole golf course on site and a nice sized pool .Many snow birds and year round campers. Mostly 55+
Tent camping near Imperial, California offers a unique experience with diverse landscapes and well-equipped sites, perfect for outdoor enthusiasts looking to explore the desert.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Imperial, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Imperial, CA is El Centro NAF Campground with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Imperial, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 18 tent camping locations near Imperial, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
