Best Dispersed Camping near Ocotillo Wells, CA

Free dispersed camping just North of Interstate 10. Take the paved road North about a mile and you can turn left or right on the "main road" just before the park entrance (right before the berm) . A few people were camping South of the Interstate. Dirt road has some washboards but it firmly packed and can be driven by any type of vehicle. If you take one of the smaller side roads, you may have more trouble and there are less camp sites cleared on those roads, but are more private.

Lot's of people cluster up near the paved road but the further you go away from the paved from the more space and privacy you have. I went about 3 miles to the West from the paved road and had about a quarter mile in each direction between me and my neighbors.

No noise except maybe once and hour a car drives by but it's not disturbing. Camp fire rings made of rocks in almost all clearings. Very private and a huge bonus to have cell and internet at almost full signal in such a remote place.

It is BLM dispersed camping so it's free, first come first served, and has zero amenities. Be sure to fully stock up on water, gas, propane etc before arriving in the area.

Gas station next exit down the highway about 4 miles. Has a free water spout for customers but it's kind of slow so don't plan on filling a 90 gallon tank this way. No firewood sold there, you have to go 30 minutes into Indio.

Verizon Cell/Network Service: 5/5 - Full bars in the BLM land

AT&T Internet Service - 4/5 - Half bars, great for how remote it is

Rig Details: 2008 Toyota Tundra 4WD w/ 27ft Travel Trailer

We love this BLM dispersed boondock area. It’s one of our go-tos. There’s always room, even though there are always lots of other campers here. Once you leave the main road and drive on the dirt road for a bit in either direction, people start to thin out and you have your own huge patch of camping. 

The road is washboard in parts, but manageable. Heads up that the BLM land is a checkerboard type situation, but nobody seemed to care. People were camped anywhere, and we’ve never seen anyone from BLM come by. 

Cell service is great out here. Getting your spot level is tricky each time, and we usually have to dig a hole on one side and use levels on the other just to get our rig level. Of course we fill the holes back in when we leave.

Disbursed camping on BLM land outside Joshua tree has cell service, which you can’t get in the park

Just off I -10 and outside the national forest, sits this gem. On either side of Cottonwood drive are numerous camping sites, most with man made fire pits. It’s a great location that fills quickly as Phoenix and S Cal people come out for weekend free camping. We found a great site and had 2 neighbors that were far enough away to feel like we were on our own. It was quiet and dark, great for star gazing. It got crazy windy in the middle of the night, but no big deal. Would definitely go back again!

This is a great area if you want BLM land super close to Joshua Tree National Park. It is literally right next to the south entrance of the back door of the park. Great night sky viewing as well. Super close to the 10 freeway thought.

This campground (and I use the term loosely) is everything that I love about BLM land - dispersed, quiet, and FREE! No amenities and not a ton of privacy for outdoor bathroom usage, but not crowded enough for it to matter. Tons of spaces along several different dirt roads. Rock fire pits at most every campsite, the majority of which are flat and not too sandy.

When coming from I10, head towards Joshua Tree NP and just before the NP sign (can’t be more than a couple hundred feet), you’ll see dirt roads going both left and right - we went right and had no issue on the road with our Subaru Crosstrek and small tow-behind popup camper, although it could’ve been more difficult for 2WD vehicles.

Be aware that although this camping is super close to the park, the majority of park attractions and hikes are in the north end, so be prepared to drive through. However, it is super close (about 10 mins) to the Cottonwood Visitor Center, which has 24/7 bathrooms (I think?), and the Lost Palms Oasis Trail. Nearest gas station is in Chiriaco Summit, about 13 minutes away, and nearest city is Indio, which is about 35 minutes.

Honestly, who needs bathrooms and paved roads... You are camping for goodness sake! The BLM land north of I-10 and just south of the Joshua Tree's southern entrance is the perfect place to camp if you A. Want to pay $0.00 and B. Want privacy! We decided to camp here over Memorial Day weekend 2016 because all the campsites inside the park were SOO crowded. We were the only ones out on the BLM and it was quiet and we had great views (even the highway looked cool at night with the cars whizzing by and it's far enough away that it's not like it really even matters). I highly recommend this if you love to camp but you are like me and don't want other people's camp fire smoke in your face or hearing their screaming children throw a temper tantrum! This was my first time camping BLM but it will not be my last!

What makes BLM Joshua Tree South a perfect dispersed camping option?

1. Let’s start with it’s Free.
2. It’s literally just outside the gate for Joshua Tree National Park.
3. It was quiet, spacious and I never encountered anyone else. I could see other campers but they were far enough away it didn’t matter.
4. Tons of campsites any 2WD vehicle can drive to.
   BONUS (Why it got the 5th star). It was open! That’s right in a time when every other BLM camping option was closed, JT north and south were open for camping!

Unlike the Joshua Tree north BLM, this BLM area is calm and relaxing. Maybe it's because rather than a wide open lake bed it's individual huge pulloffs where you can sort of feel like you have your own space. There were so many people here when we were here in mid November, including a bunch of atv people, and yet everyone was respectful and quiet (everyone around us anyway).

Be aware of the patchwork of BLM land here, and watch for signs marking borders prohibiting camping.

We stayed here almost two weeks, and most days were pretty windy. Guess that's the norm here.

Good cell reception.

Finding a flat spot is pretty impossible, as the whole area is on a slope from the park down to hwy 10.

Great place, tons of spots. Keep going and people will thin out.

We stayed here a couple nights and also stayed inside the park a couple nights. BLM land and national forrest are my favorite. This place was pretty exposed and rather windy but still alright.

There are no facilities, no amenities, and while i like that it may not be for everyone. Whether you stay here or in the park you going to love Joshua tree. It has some of the more amazing climbing, mountain biking, and hiking in the world. My girlfriend and i had no expectations going in and thats what made it so special.

Cheers

For being a dispersed camping spot I am always impressed when there’s a bathroom! Definitely loved this spot. Stars for days! Coyotes came right by the van in the night though so watch your pets if you’re camping with them! Follow the road all the way back for two great hiking trails. One has petroglyphs and the other is an old homestead. I also make it a point to visit the slot canyon on the way in our out of this area!

Once you go BLM, you never go back(?) Ok that's not how the saying goes but it's true! Seems like every time my friends and I want to go to J-tree for climbing, the campgrounds are allll full. It's such a pain to drive around looking for an empty site, especially if you want to meet friends and there's NO CELL SERVICE in the park. One time a ranger handed us a paper with instructions to get to this place called "BLM land"..the first time we went we were quite unsure, but it ended up being the best thing ever!! Plenty of space for a large group to get loud, get drunk, have fun without worrying about having families with children nearby.

Cons:

• have to drive outside of the park.
• not the prettiest place, especially compared to waking up amongst the rocks inside the actual park
• just land. no bathrooms, water, etc.
• technically no fires allowed, but we have always found a fire pit made of rocks from previous guests, and used that.

Anza Borrego Desert SP allows dispersed camping in certain areas of the park, and this is one of them.  I tried to find it on the website, but found no mention of allowed camping in the park.  However, it's listed in the visitor guide you can get from the visitor center.

The reviews on The Dyrt for the camping area directly across the street to the north of this section mentioned that there will be a campground built and fees charged in the near future, but I don’t think that’s the case for this side of the street. There was no signage or any signs of development here on this corner. Just lots of boondockers tucked in among all the shrubs, plenty of room for everyone. 

I could see this area getting annoying with ATVers on the weekends, but there were none when we were there mid week in April. A couple of obvious sketchy long termers there, with heaps of junk and posted signage to stay away, which wasn’t a problem as there was plenty of space to stay far away from them. 

Good cell service and beautiful sunrise. 

Watch for nails and broken glass.:(

Since there are already 21 reviews of this area I will try to keep this review short because everything has already been said. 

This BLM land is managed by the Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office and is not in JTNP itself. 

There are many, many spots here, so you are almost sure to find a spot to camp even if it’s crowded like it was for us when we stayed here in early Feb.

 Very windy here! 

You can see I-10 traffic but the noise wasn’t too bad. 

This isn’t a camp area I would come to for a long period of time, but it’s a great place if you just need a place to stay for a night or two. 

Great cell signal here, but keep in mind that within Joshua Tree NP there is poor, almost non-existent cell signal.

* Note - check on Joshua Tree campgrounds as they may have changed their reservation policy. Ryan Campground used to be first come first served but as of Sept 2020 it is reservation only. At time of this review only the 3 smallest JTNP campgrounds are first come first served, all others require reservations and are almost always fully booked over the weekend.

The best feature of this free camping area is the awesome metal sculptures right near this campground. 

Near the cute town of Borrego Springs, just a little off Borrego Springs road. Not secluded by any means. Please use existing pull outs. Keep it clean so we can continue to enjoy this free spot. 

It's one road in. The further back you go, the more privacy. I stayed fairly close to the front as I was only there one night.

I stayed here the first week of April 2019. Plenty of space to feel secluded. The highway noise is rarely noticeable. The site we found was more level than some campgrounds we’ve been in. It’s 100% boondocking, but it’s also 100% free. About 23 miles from Indio/Coachella.

Grateful for free camping sites. Just outside of Julian which is a charming little town.

Decent for some seclusion/isloation as the road through is winding.

When in early January. 65-70 during the day. ~45 at night.

The quiet was my favorite part.

What a great spot for some dispersed camping. There are sites all over the place. However, on the weekend it can get pretty busy. Fortunately, I was able to find a spot with not many people around at all. Where I was, I had zero Verizon signal.

On the outer southern edge of Borrego Springs is this private yet free camp area.

A few dozen sites exist, each some five hundred feet or more apart. All have views of the surrounding mountains, and the wide open skies.

Borrego Springs is a dark sky community, which means lights are kept to a minimum, thus enabling great star viewing.

The area is renowned for its hiking and other outdoor activities. It is also known for its iron sculptures, which many exist within this camp area.

Came  here to hike Ladder Canyon and Painted Canyon. Before the trailhead there are lots of areas for dispersed camping. It's an unpaved road that can be challenging to drive in at times, so would recommend 4x4 high clearance vehicle. Overall a nice remote place to camp out in the desert!

This FREE (not sure why it shows up as $25 on this app) dispersed camp area is perfect for convenience to JTNP, although at the south entrance. Easy to find spots, even in the dark. I stayed here the night of January 3rd. Flat and sandy areas with lots of rock fire rings (check fire status though! It was a no burn time when I was there).

See other reviews for good descriptions of directions from I-10. Very simple.

To get to the north part of JTNP it takes about 1 hour through the park (BEAUTIFUL drive), to Black Rock Canyon for trail heads about 1.5 hours. You can drive through the park before park hours if needed. The cottonwood springs visitors center opens at 8:30, but you can get a pass in another place.

One downside, you can hear (faintly) and see I-10 but no big deal!

Would stay here again!

This was a great spot to stay while exploring the south side of Joshua Tree NP. Closest dispersed camping to the Cottonwood area. Right off the highway, but far enough away that the noise isn't noticeable. If coming from the highway, the area is right before the Joshua Tree Park sign. You can head right or left, and there are camping areas.

The road is manageable for any kind of camper (RV, Trailer, ect). The sites are spaced well, and some are level and others are not. There are a ton of fire rings. There are sites ranging in size from large enough for a few RVs to only large enough for one vehicle. Sunset and views were nice. Noise was very minimal from neighbors, only a few OHV or vehicles coming and going.

No services. Pack in, pack out. There is potable water in the park at the Cottonwood Campground. Verizon service was good.

Here on the Great Southern Overland Stage Route well off the beaten path is a dispersed camping area that allows you to enjoy the solitude and explore a bit. Ochre petroglyphs, fantastic night sky views, a variety of flora and fauna, hiking, and some challenging 4x4 lines await you here. Access is not always assured, check the local park conditions as well as the weather report. Washboard, softer sandy sections, and flash flooding may make the area difficult or ill advised to travel to. There are some public restrooms at the entrance, and some cell service, but not much else in the way of infrastructure at first glance. Yet the land was inhabited for thousands of years by the Kumeyaay “Those who face the water from a cliff”, Ipai, Kamia, and Tipai people. In the surrounding rock formations you may find morteros and metates used to process piñon, chia, and acorns that served in making dietary staples like shawii, known elsewhere as wiiwish. In addition to hunting and gathering, complex agricultural projects to cultivate maize, teparies, and beans.

Spent 4 nights here in February. A good amount of other campers, but not too crowded. I found the perfect spot tucked up against the rocks. I had my own private rock garden with so many variety of cacti and lots of birds. So peaceful.  I would definitely come back here again. 

No cell signal, but plenty of solar. Primitive camping--no amenities.