Best Tent Camping near Joshua Tree National Park, CA

But very rock to tent camp on. A ton of RV’s, so the noise was a premium. Great hiking into the mountain and mines.

The campsite at Calico Ghost Town is nice with hook ups for RV and spaces for tent camping. Our boys scout troop spent a weekend October. The boys and their families enjoy touring the ghost town. We hiked around the area and on hills during the day. The facility has running water, restrooms and showers.

There were no trees at all. We were told to wait for a white truck when we got there. No one came. We called the security number and they told us they would be by. We waited about 20 minutes and ended up leaving. The tent sites were gravel. Overall not impressed.

If you have to camp near Barstow, this is a good place for a week-day stay. Calico ghost town was a fun spot for our kids, not too busy on a week day in the spring though I’m sure it can be crazy (and hot) at other times. The campsites were hit or miss. We staid in a tent site which was tiny, right next to all the others, with no trees or vegetation for privacy, and no permanent fire ring or picnic bench. We walked around and some of the other RV sites are bigger and nicer. Classic desert views. I give it 4 stars for access to the ghost town and price.

General: A mix of FHU RV sites tent sites, group sites around Horseshoe Lake and some additional dry camping and equestrian sites around Pelican Lake. There are also four RVs you can “rent” in the Horseshoe Lake area. The sites around Horseshoe Lake are close to an active rail line. And by active, I mean really active – I stopped counting after I counted 24 trains lumbering by during our short overnight stay. 

Site Quality: IMO the waterfront tent sites are the nicest. They are farthest away from the trains (but not far enough!) The other dry sites have paved camper pads; some are “doubles” which would kind of suck if both sites were occupied by people who did not know each other! (Ours was one but fortunately, this was not the case for us on a Sunday in November). 

Bath/Shower House: There were two restrooms about equidistant from our campsite, but both were very basic– no soap, hooks or shelves and no mirrors (it looked like they had been ripped off the wall). The floors were concrete, and the entire appearance was very drab. I did not use the shower. 

This was an overnight stop for us, so we did not take advantage of any of the activities (horseback riding, hiking, disc golf, fishing). There was a very nice playground in the day-use area, a reasonable walking distance from the Horseshoe Lake sites. I had called about a week ahead of time to make a reservation (the online reservation system has been down for quite some time) and was assured would not need a reservation. However, there is a gate that is locked at 4 pm and we knew we would not arrive in time, so we called and were able to make a phone reservation when our site was assigned. We were a little concerned when we saw a security guard making rounds around 10 pm (and this combined with the locked gate), we wondered if we were in a safe environment, although we did not encounter any problems. Make sure you know that the park is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (which seems a bit bizarre) so you will need to know the gate code after 4 pm and on those days (the code seems to change daily). Also, I read that seniors (62 and older), active duty military, and veterans receive a $5 discount Sundays through Thursdays but you have to go to the office and show proof and then you will receive a “rebate” a few days later (which we did). This was just an overnight for us as we worked our way back home but we would likely not stay here again.

Traveling while pulling my utility trailer along makes slow going. And pulling up a long, long, long desert mountain grade can be downright exhausting.

So this is a mighty grateful thumbs up review. Robert made my day when I phoned up in the late afternoon and offered me a limited use rate on one their full hookup sites.

And of course, I got in real late, just after late closing hours–10 pm!

I got the last pull through site at the end of the lane. It was a breeze to pull in, get my deep cycle battery charging. 30 Amp with an adapter is all I need.

Shady Lane is mostly populated by real big rigs. So a 50amp socket is also on the post.

The park is a little distance from the highway, so it's blessedly quiet overall. After a grueling pull from Las Vegas, it was a wonderful blessing to crawl into my tent with my feline road companion, Missy. She just loves tent camping the very best. It was down in the 40s last night, but our traveling bed is a cushy cloud ☁️ from Heaven 🌠🌌✨ Just me and Missy and all those stars on that dark desert night.

Just woke to a lovely quiet morning here at Shady Lane. Fully renewed, to make my long drive down towards San Diego.

Looks they offer all the basics, showers, laumdry, and the same wifi network is offered all over these desert parts.. So once signed up, its the same login wherever you go on this network.. That's handy. Great wifi signal all the way down at the end of the lane, too.

Most importantly, Shady Lane offers tent spots and doesn't get snooty about whether you're pulling a utility trailer, or a spit shined mega-rig. On the phone, when I spoke with Robert, told him what I'm pulling along, he was as nice as can be.

I'm glad I found this quiet little desert overnighter. 🏜 Just right for Missy and me.

I am here in California getting ready to leave the state by FY22 and had to get outside. I have been exploring the idea of going camping and decided to go this weekend. I stayed a half mile down from the main camping area. Setup my tent on the back of my truck and enjoyed the scenery. It was amazing sleeping under the stars, I had not done that in years

I agree with others warning about the rough road to the campground. Winds blew down my tent and I had to sleep in my car. Left next morning.

I stayed with a group here for 3 nights a few years ago in October. This is a beautiful campground. Very primitive, with pit toilets and one water faucet. Trash is carry in carry out. It is a small campground (Less than 25 sites). It was also extremely hot (I think above 110F during the day), but at night it was beautiful. We didn't even need a tent because of the mild temperatures and calm breeze. Our group site had plenty of room for everyone, and picnic tables that had a covering to provide some shade during the day. The area felt very remote and quiet, and we were able to hike right from our site each day.

This place wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be. The guy running the place was so nice!! But... There were a few really hilariously creepy things that happened. Like a naked homeless guy getting chased out of the pool. And a bunch of wild raccoons wrestling outside our tent and eventually being chased off by a very enthusiastic RV guy. It wasn't like we felt unsafe or unclean... Just a lot of interesting people around to make our overnight stay amusing!

Tips: When you’re on the road heading into Holcomb go slow (Rocky). Prep for dusty ground sediment. Bring extra water and chargers. Dropped to around 40 degrees at night so bring extra blankets/ jackets. Bring firewood from town. Otherwise, As expected when arrived with fireplace, secluded space (enough from other tents), space to spread out, and scenic meadow views. We saw mule deer and of course the horses! Check out grand view mountain trail, it was a gorgeous view- across the lake. Oh and it’s rifle hunting season in Oct, FYI.

We stayed here for four nights and actually enjoyed it in spite of the heat during the afternoon hours.  Our space was on the end so we had a lot of privacy but near the I-40.  That didn't bother us but it might bother those who are looking for total quiet.  The nights were fantastic!!  The lakes here give it a nice feel since it's in the Mojave desert between Barstow and Ludlow California.  The staff was VERY friendly and helpful.  The best part for me was the pool which was clean and cool.

It’s a beautiful ride up the groomed dirt road, but there are definitely some steep and curved spots. Definitely not big rig friendly! All spots are in full sun and most have shaded picnic tables. There is a water spigot near the first site on the left when you enter the camping area. The keyhole shaped road does allow for an easy turnaround if you’re towing a small trailer. The sites vary from small and secluded surrounded by tall shrubs, ideal for cars, vans or tents. Others are deep enough for backing in a trailer and not having to unhitch your truck. All sites are back in but the road is just wide enough to provide decent swing space. This area is first come first served and takes cash or checks only. Envelopes and a secure dropbox are available at the info board. The info board is quite faded, but to the best of my knowledge as of November 2024 sites were six dollars per night or three dollars with your America the beautiful pass. 14 day limit. I was there nine days and only saw it get busy on the weekend. Mostly very respectful OHVers making use of the many dirt trails that head off into the canyons. There is a railroad bridge adjacent to the campground and the freight trains do come through fairly frequently, but that is the only other sign of civilization in this area.

Most of the wet camping spots are very rocky and not level. Bring extra blocks to level your RV. Restrooms were not very clean.

I’d give this a 3 star during COVID but it’s probably closer to a 3.5 star post-COVID if not a 4* for kiddos!

The grounds themselves are OK; not much to look at. The bathrooms were old and a bit dirty. The ghost town is walking distance through a short cut or you can quickly drive over to the parking lot.

I wouldn’t recommended visiting during covid. There were only a few gift shops open. I just wanted to grab an expensive beer and sit outside on one of the patios and that wasn’t an option. Everything from the train to going into the mine was not available. Mostly understandable, but still, it would have been nice if there were socially-distanced, safe food or entertaining options. You can just walk around the town right now.

Cool little campground. Spaces are typical desert with dirt, rock, and a few miscellaneous trees. Campground is in a narrow canyon. Clean bathrooms. The Calico ghost town is worth seeing.

This little town is dope for sure... it's off the beaten path and it's one hell of a time boy!

Great for families for sure!!! Bathrooms could be a little improved but over a super dope place with plenty of history and cool stuff to get into!! It's a must you check it out! Stay a night or two and plan ahead because this place is always busy with people and sand toys!!!!

They do have a dump station and a propane area if you need to fill Up your tanks!!

Talk about good times!! Get dirty as you can and have a blast doing it!! Razrrrr city!! Super cool ghost town, and really family friendly! Clean bathrooms and well maintained. You can fill up your propane here and dump your rig if needed. This place has cool little mining caves and a cool train for kids to ride on. Somethings are locked down due to covid but this place isn’t shy of family fun! Really neat place! Bring your fire wood for a cool fire at night, if you don’t want to camp they do have cabins that are without bathrooms but shelter if you prefer. Also plenty of parking for your vehicles.

Camping fees include access to the Ghost Town which closes at 5pm daily. It's a short walk up the trail from the campground. No need to drive around and park. On Easter they have an egg hunt divided by children's age groups, music, photos with EB, and other activities. Your camping fee also covers access to these type of special events. The largest full hookup site is likely #B18 and #B11. They seemed to have the widest parking area. I was able to work from this location using Homefi with no service issues on zoom calls.