Best Glamping near Ocotillo Wells, CA

This campground felt more like I was glamping. Everything was easily accessible and by that I mean; a toilet, running water, and showers. We slept in our tent which felt pretty amazing being that the weather was perfect. I’d highly recommend visiting this camp site in the cooler months.

Let me first off say that the property is beautiful and that my hosts Carolyn and Bernie were very accommodating and had great energy.  Plenty of room for beautiful hikes on their many acres of land packed with some great views a few decks scattered around the property.  I found out they have a full size professional disc golf course here! I don’t bring my discs, but Carolyn and Bernie happily lent me some discs so I could try it out. 

Now to the Glamping- now I been camping a bunch, the reason I say that this is glamping is that they have actual running water flushable toilets and outdoor hot showers!  I can’t tell you how excited I was lol, it really upleveled the whole camping experience. They also have an industrial kitchen as well as an outdoor bar where they have very fairly priced beer and wine. Did I mention they have a full size professional pool table? Turns out Bernie and Carolyn are professional pool players too! This place is awesome! I will definitely be coming back again again to relax. I live in sd so it’s only about 35-40min drive from my place.  Thank you so much Carolyn and Bernie for such a great experience!!

This park is great for all Southern California natives to get away for the weekend. Has clean facilities and the campgrounds have ample space between them. This area has a ton of beautiful landscape, during the fall/winter wonderful foliage appears. Leave no trace & enjoy our lands!

General: The Borrego Palm Canyon campground has three sections: one with full hookups and two without. 

Site Quality: It is often windy here, so it was recommended we pull in at an angle. The driveways are paved and on the short side, but our campervan fit with no problem (I would assume if you have a larger RV, you might be in the section with the full hookups.)

Bathhouse: Individual units with flush toilet, sink, garbage receptacle, and hooks but NO soap dispenser. Showers take tokens and while they were not the worst campground showers, they weren’t the best (but a hot shower after a hot hike was welcome nonetheless). Tokens were 50 cents each for two minutes. 

Activities: numerous hiking trails, accessible from the campground. The most popular one is the Borrego Palm Canyon Trail which leads to the oasis of California Fan Palms. Sadly, the oasis was damaged by a human-caused fire and while you can see the palms, you can no longer walk among them. Galleta Meadows with metal sculptures in the nearby town of Borrego Springs is well worth exploring. 

We were there at the very end of March when it was just beginning to get (too) warm. We only did an overnight here and the Borrego Palm Canyon hike, but it was beautiful and we would definitely return.

68-year old, still tenderfoot tent camper. This was my first experience in California after three prior stays in Texas and Arizona. The San Diego County system centrally handles reservations of its campgrounds, which was fortunate for me. I mistakenly reserved one campground thinking it was another (my preferred, Potrero), but it was 30 miles away. Even though I paid for two nights in advance, their phone reservations help was superb and got me transferred without any hiccups. Big shout-out to the ranger at Potrero for suggesting. I interacted with several and they were all professional, friendly and helpful.

There's one central plumbed restroom and shower facility. Further out along the tent sites there was a hand portapotty. When you first drive in you'll go past a very large day-use area with its own facilities before you get to the overnight camping sites. Alcohol is permitted if alcohol content < 20%.

My site #7 was the last in the row of tent-only sites and appeared to be the largest with plenty of shade and flat pad site. Without seeing other tents it's a little hard to gauge size, but I'd guess walking by the other sites that there's probably at least 80-100 feet between tent pads, or even more. Lots of open spaces. The seven tent sites shared a couple (maybe more) of water spigots.

The primary annoyance was with the park's neighbors who seemingly had a whole pound of dogs who barked loudly through the nights. Given how otherwise silent it was, it was the barking was noticeable and to be distinguished from the coyotes, birds and owls. I think I also heard roosters crowing each morning as early as 3am.

The major event of my stay was the arrival of, as Steely Dan sang, "Here come those Santa Ana winds again …" At 5 a.m. the first morning, it was still and quiet as can be (sans the neighborhood dogs). A few minutes later, the winds hit. For the next 11 hours, surviving the wind 30-40 mph sustained winds, gusts over 50 was the only concern – both for my little tent and my car and myself due to the wind effects on the large trees surrounding us. In the end, there was no noticeable damage but seldom have I spent a full day out in the weather like that.

All in all, I'm not sure you could ask for more at about $25/night. Although I would've paid double if there were a no-wind option. I also had two great tent parties my second night, a couple about my age who were returning to California after summering in Baja, and a young woman from Germany traveling by herself around the world. Interesting neighbors to say the least.

At site #7 I had zero T-Mobile signal. Outside the Ranger Station I could get at most, 2 bars LTE.

This campground is a primitive one. It’s basically an open lot. There’s a wonderful path call Bill Kenyon Overlook trail that’s trailhead is on the side of the campground. No toilets but campground down the road at the beginning of Yaqui Pass rd does with running water (technically not allowed to use if you didn’t campthere). Stakes are a little hard to get in the ground. Day is really hot and night is cold but Anza-borrego is a beautiful place

My girlfriend and I camped here on a Friday night, at the recommendation of a ranger in the Visitor's Center. Overall, I was happy with our stay as we could only see one other party (far away enough to where we couldn't hear them) and it was quieter than I thought it would be, considering it runs parallel to a highway. I wasn't expecting so many planes; I'm not sure what flight path runs over it, but there was an ongoing stream of planes (but not enough to be disruptive; just not as quiet as I'd like). There were vault toilets, but we just opted to do our business in nature. The campground is a mile or two from a developed campground and we navigated our 2WD minivan on the dirt road without any issues. Yaqui Well hiking trail runs through part of the grounds, which is a nice hike leading to a natural spring. It's far enough away from Borrego Springs to feel like you're "out there" but close enough to be convenient if needed without having to drive too far. I'd stay here again!

Spontaneously went here to camp for the weekend. We arrived late Friday night and still found a spot for three cars. There were four other groups, but by morning they were gone. As expected it was very hot during the day and windy at night, but the small, one-mile hike was very much worth it. Plenty of spots to use the restroom, and the dirt was packed so no need for AWD or 4WD.

Photographer friend was also able to capture amazing astrophotography here.

Huge bonus: we had signal all throughout the trip and we had Tmobile.

Perfect for large groups who need a quick spot to camp. It’s nothing special and can sometimes hear traffic but other than that, the stars were beautiful!

Perfect for group sites. There’s an endless plethora of campsites. It will never be full.

We rolled in after dark and found a spot super easy that was secluded and perfect for tent camping. We had a nice hike in the morning before heading back to Julian for pie :)

Easy access and near the main highway. Disperse camping, pack in and pack out! Very windy. Close to the town of Borrego Springs. One night is plenty, because of the windy conditions.

Yaqui wash (valley) is nothing more than a big flat parking lot off the road in the desert. Not much there really. Yaqui Well on the other hand is very nice-real desert camping with a variety of vegetation and terrain. Night and day difference! Two really nice well documented hikes near Yaqui Well, right across the road from Tamarisk grove. PS. don’t forget water, TP and a shovel! 💩

Using the marker on the map in the app, I was brought to a small dirt parking lot off the main road. Further exploration showed that a dirt road continued into the vegetation. I followed it, but it turned and went parallel with a road. I am nowhere near see the marker on the map. However, I am a 100 feet off the trail overlooking the town of Borrego Springs and the mountains behind it. I am here in this section by myself.

I did explore the Yaqui Pass and the Yaqui Wash spots, which are both further west over the mountain. The Pass was great and within a valley. The pass was a carpark as someone else noted. I wanted my back to the sunset (and the wind) so chose this location. Next time I hope to get to the spot the other reviews seem to be at.

I don't think this map pin is correct for Yaqui Wells Primitive Camp, the location according to Google Maps is a little further south just off Yaqui Pass Road off Highway 78. There are two different camps similarly named, Yaqui Wells and Yaqui Pass, fairly close to each other. Anyway, we stayed here at Yaqui Wells for one night after attempting to camp at Blair Valley but getting swarmed by bees. Only saw 2 other vehicles, and while the sites are pretty small and close to the dirt road, they are nice enough. BE AWARE THOUGH: pull your vehicle well into the sites, we had 6 lifted off road trucks come flying through around midnight at a ridiculously high speed without slowing down at all and it could have been catastrophic if we were closer to the road or if we had been walking our dog at that time.

Campground next to hwy which makes it easy to get to but can hear traffic. Along a wash so just pick a spot. Great for groups. Can get windy so bring your tent stakes.

Stayed here on way to Joshua Tree. Was better than the Wash area nearby. Nice trail and views from hills nearby. Also great view of night sky. Tour hike group stopped here in morning though so may not always be quiet.

we love coming here to camp in the winter when the heat isnt too bad. the pools are fun for the whole family. the campground can be loud but its family friendly so that's a plus. there is an indoor pool that is adults only and runs on the hotter side. then there are 2 outdoor pools that are kid friendly. one is only about 2ft deep and the other goes to 5. both these pools are comfortable to swim in under any temperature and its refreshing to escape the desert heat. the pools can get busy during school brakes but during the weekdays it's pretty empty and relaxing. restrooms are easily accessible and fire pits are provided at all sites. aqua caliente is very clean so I highly recommend.

One of the first camping spots I ever went too in the late 70s while in 3rd or 4th grade, was excited to have this be my kids first camping spots.

Camping, hiking, playground and pools!

I have had many great times here, but one bad college kids with a loud radio that ruined one trip, but that does not ruin my thought on this wonderful spot!

This place use to be great when it wasn't as popular as it is now. But, still a nice place with natural hot spring showers/bathrooms/pool/hot tub and now cabins to rent. Last time I was there there was a big party next to my campsite and they were pretty drunk and loud. They were not polite or followed any rules even after they were told to keep it down. So, if you prefer a quiet camp site, this is NOT for you. A lot of large groups camp here and usually not respectful of others or nature for that matter.

2 outdoor pools and an indoor adult spa (102 degrees), RV sites with Power, Water and Sewer as well as tent sites. Flush toilets and hot/cold showers. This place is well maintained and the cleanest campground I have ever stayed at. Shuffleboard and Horseshoes courts, lots of hiking trails and things to see. The campground / pools are all fed from natural mineral springs. Pets are allowed within the campground and all sites have picnic table and fire-ring. Small store at the park entrance is great for the simply things you may have forgotten. They even have cabins available but they book up pretty fast. Rangers are all very friendly and helpful. Enjoyed my stay, I will be back.

Fantastic. Campground for both kidss and adults. Plunty of hiking trails. Kids lobe riding there bikes. Pools for all sizes. Beautiful bathrooms ans showers.

Good clean facilities