Best Dispersed Camping near Mojave, CA

We love lake Isabella and just discovered this free camp spot right on the beach…

Great hideaway with plenty of dispersed sites. I spent two days here and only seen a handful of vehicles drive through, mostly US Forest Service trucks. Pack in, pack out. No toilets, showers, or water so bring in everything you need. 14 days of free camping every 30 days. A great find to get away from it all.

On my way into Sequoia NF I was so excited to see Hanning Flats dispersed camping area. My pup and I stayed for three nights and didn’t see another person or vehicle the whole time. So peaceful, quiet, sunny, green. My dog did get lots of ticks and we had a mouse find its way into the van but I still really have no complaints. Such a gorgeous spot, lovely sunsets and sunrises. We loved walking on the sandy dirt roads at golden hour. My van is only 2WD and did fine. As with all dispersed camping.. pack in pack out and we found a pre-made site to park at. No services/facilities. About 35 mins to Isabella for groceries/gas. We will be back :)

We stopped here on the way into Sequoia National Forest knowing the Kern River sites would be full. There were lots of families playing by the water here and it was nice to have our dog out and swimming for a little bit.

There is only one pit toilet bathroom so that was rough waiting for the line to go down. Kernville isn't far away so you can go to town easily to get supplies and food.

We stopped here on our way to Death Valley and ended up staying for several days because we love it so much! There’s another dispersed site a few miles away (Stine Cove) and we found this one to be much more pleasant. The two are actually connected by dirt roads. Our site was shaded and had a fire pit as well as trees perfectly spaced for our hammock. Temps were lovely during the day, but quite chilly at night and during the mornings/evenings.

The area is also used by lots of cows for grazing so beware of the patties and lots of mooing. They didn’t bother us, we actually quite enjoyed watching them.

Literal MILES of dispersed sites so plenty of room to spread out. There’s a bit high spot of rocks in the middle at the beginning of the road which was great to climb for sunset views!

There are several very dispersed spots, but its all open so dont expect too much privacy or shelter from the wind. Gorgeous sunset to sunrise. Watch eagles prey on ducks, pelicans gather, hear the frogs croak. Gnats get a little crazy before the bats show up. Nightime lights permeate the sky across the lake, but star viewing is still possible.

Quiet place, we only saw one other set of campers. The warm sun the next morning was beautiful but there is next to no vegetation. Additionally, this campsite has nothing so take what you need and leave no trace! It worked for a night. The road in is kind of weird as it runs parallel to another road similar, we drove along one and would alternate to try and avoid bad potholes. Some are inevitable and I would imagine high clearance is needed to access.

I’ve been camping at This lake since I was 11. My favorite place caught 100’s of fish out of there. I’ve camped in all the camps over the years but I like steins cove when we had a boat. Camp right on the water and the price is right FREE. I live in Az now but when we go back we always hit the lake.  Love it great memories with my mom and dad and our kids and grandkids. Enjoy❤️

March 3, 2021

We headed here to both see the area and camp for a few days and to be scouts for a future trip to celebrate a family member's birthday who wanted to do some fishing on his b-day.

The first thing we noticed was how low the water level was…bummer! Because of that, any fishing would have been casting into or over trees that are now exposed. 

The area is exactly like the pics; a wide open beach so there's space to spread out but not too much to do for active kids due to the aforementioned water level. Verizon cell service was non-existent and lots of cow poop, which we were aware of in the area. Also it's right on the road which was, if you're looking for silence, there's decent traffic on the roadway.

It's free which is awesome and if the water level goes up a bit, I would love to try it again. Disbursed to please pack in and pack out. Happy Camping!

Very remote absolutely nothing out there. Definitely somewhere you need to be aware of your surroundings. You can get far enough away from the highway that you don’t need to worry about people driving by. There is nothing out here. The road to it is unmarked and very unmaintained Would definitely recommend high clearance vehicle if you want to be further away then 100 feet from the highway. Lots of wash outs. Beautiful sunrise. We were the only people there.

35.08627305276245,-117.54092669125416 Great space. Easy to find. Away from highway enough. Very windy. Great sunset and sunrise.

Is quiet up the hill about a half mile from where GPS said to stop. It’s on the right just past the rocks

Say hello to the cows for me! They gave me a warming welcome which set the tone for this ideal overnight spot. I visited in February which was most likely the reason why I had the area to myself. I appreciated the rough feel of the lake and how close the road was. There is a restroom and a dump bin at the entrance which locked this spot in for convenience. I didn't have any trouble coming in and out and I loved waking up with open space and the sounds of the lake shore. One big word of caution! Winter winds here almost blew the tent over with my pup and myself inside. Although occasional gusts may seem obvious for location and time of year I would have lost that tent had I not been inside. Coming back soon to launch into Kernville from here.

Wide open space and only one other camper so far. Didn’t see trash in the area but it’s pretty windy so maybe it all blew away. Nice view of the lake and surrounding mountains. Some road noise but not too bad.

Water is low due to them repairing the dam, where I'm camped at should be underwater and it is gorgeous. The night sky has no light pollution, and is beautiful enough to knock you off your feet because of all the stars. Good location. I would definitely do this again. I'm planning to stay for the full 14 days.

Tip - Evening winds come from a westerly direction. When rebuilding your site's fire ring, make sure to leave some gaps near the bottom and ensure clear avenues for airflow, yor fire will have a much more complete burn and less smoke.

Took a bit to find as the marker on this map isn’t where the entry is. Go past it and take a left on Sierra way, follow to Stine Cove. Toilets and trash at entrance. The dam is being rebuilt so the water is real low. Easy to drive along the beach until nobody else is around. Great views, sunsets, sunrise, stars, cows… truly wonderful. Early January (2022) is great temps for me around 65. Nights are windy so prepare accordingly.