Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Palm Desert, CA is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Palm Desert is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. Discover great camping spots near Palm Desert, reviewed by campers like you.
"The is a beautiful Thousand Trails RV Resort in Palm Springs, California! The park is large, very spacious and so clean!"
"Thousand Trails Palm Springs offers a great pool and hot tub area with a lively, mixed-age crowd—perfect if you’re in your 30s and looking for variety."
$22 - $44 / night
"This gem is located on the outskirts of Desert Hot Springs, CA. With two hot spring-fed pools and hot tubs (one of which is massive and SO luxe), we didn’t want to leave. Like, ever."
"Sites are pretty close together but divided by tall hedges that make for good privacy. It was a little loud our first night from other campers and dogs, but the second night was much quieter."
"Near and clean campground with clean restrooms requiring a key code to enter. Two laundry rooms."
"Private hot showers that you accessed with a free code. The wifi was pretty good too. There was a 9 hole mini golf and playground for the kids too. Great views of the mountains."
$45 / night
"You can fit two 10' x10' canopies to cover the bench table, and fit 2 individual tents (4-6 person) OR a bigger 12p tent however you decide to position it. It has its own Fire pit."
"The lake with all the blow up toys was a blast! The section we were in only had a volt potty but there were showers there in another section. Every site has a picnic table and fire ring."
"It's a lovely location with almost perfect weather in the winter. April very windy and May, it starts getting hotter. However, you can take the tram up majestic Mt."
"This park is 25min from anything but that’s one reason I like it. Lots of exploring within a hours drive to great sights like Joshua Tree NP, Palm Springs, Salton sea, Idlewild, Borrego Springs, etc."
"It's close to the freeway and the road noise is loud and never stops. There is also a freight train that frequently runs along behind the park, and it's very loud."
"We upgraded to the"luxury" site which meant that the spacing between sites was a bit greater and we had a lovely patch of green grass between us and our neighbors."
$45 - $9999 / night
"We’ll groomed and maintained park. Semi private spaces, plenty of grass, very nice pool & spa, and friendly staff. Our space was adjacent to Jefferson Street which is a bit noisy but tolerable."
"Full hookups, daily trash pickups at each site, cable tv, large level pads with privacy hedge, small dog parks scattered throughout, gated security, nice restrooms w/ showers (free)."
"Had two pools and outdoor bar area with fire pit. All spots are paved and easy to access"
"The park is spacious and clean. Beautiful pool and hot tubs. Four pickleball courts. Clubhouse with lots of activities. Near Palm Springs and lots to explore in the area."
"Had no problem booking it on the internet but the phone numbers provided (especially the one regarding the late check in) kept you either asking to leave a message (that was never acted upon / returned"
"Great clean campground and resort For55+ lots to do Mineral hot springs Rental cottages and some for sale"
$52 - $113 / night
"This place has everything you could want in an RV park. Everything was new and sleek and modern and well designed. The price was average, I guess, though still much too expensive for us."
"This place is huge and so are the sites. 2 pools but of course as luck would have it one pool that’s about 20 steps from our campsite is closed! Office staff were friendly as were workers."
ScoutJune 4, 2018 A great way to escape the heat of Palm Desert...however
Their premium priced “meadow view”($53) was a very small back in space with low pine branches. My sewer hookup was up hill, and the water spout was at the front of the site on the opposite side and needed two hoses! I looked around, and NONE of the spaces I saw looked level.
When I complained to the staff, I was told “it’s an old campground”, and I could switch to a “regular” spot....however no refund of the price difference would be given.
No free access to the lake for campers. Camp store is way overpriced(a small 3lb bag of ice was $5). No WiFi, No cell service(T-Mobile).
BTW.... take the long route! Drive up the mountain from the town of Hemet. DO NOT attempt the Palm Desert side...especially with a large 5th wheel or a class A. The Hemet approach has a more gradual grade and wider roads.
ScoutVisited the last 2 weeks of August. Great place for family and kids. Affordable. Campsite #295. You can fit two 10' x10' canopies to cover the bench table, and fit 2 individual tents (4-6 person) OR a bigger 12p tent however you decide to position it. It has its own Fire pit. Different campgrounds for all chosen methods (Tent, RV, Glamping, etc..) There's restrooms you can use. There's showers you can pay per use. The swim zone isn't too far from this campsite, 5-10 min walk w/ no accessories. If you have little ones, you can take them with a wagon but I'd recommend just driving your car with a few items to the zone. Bring your own shade for this campsite, your own water too. The marketplace is near the entrance BUT they only sell individual waters (No 48 pack types). You'll definitely hear your neighbors snore at night after a long day LOL.. quiet hours are from 10pm - 8am. Overall, this is a great spot. If you're lucky to snag other spots with trees covering you then great but this is still a good campsite. Happy camping! ... Oh yeah, T-Mobile no service up there (apparently Verizon, AT&T do)
TravelerThere are no bathrooms or water here, but you have cell service and a convenience store very close by. This is a great spot to find a free camping site and still be somewhat in your own seclusion. The sky is really nice here at night. You can see the freeway a bit of a distance out from this location and it takes about 45mins or so get back into Joshua tree National park from here. The fire pits are in the ground so you might have to rebuild the walls above ground if they’ve been knocked down. Overall a very cool spot to check out that’s right outside of Joshua tree National park with beautiful sunset views. This is BLM land
RangerTamarisk Grove Campground is about 20 minutes south of Borrego Springs. It sits next to the highway but there’s minimal traffic so it isn’t terribly loud. There are tent sites as well as primitive cabins. Each site has a fire ring and table. There are also flush toilets and paid showers. There is no potable water at this campground - be sure to bring your own. The cabins are simple structures with platforms for sleeping. There are no amenities in the cabins - no electric, no water, no mattress, no linens, etc.
The campground is across the street from both the Cactus Loop and Yaqui Well trail heads. We recommend the short Cactus Loop hike over the Yaqui Well hike. Go at sunset to catch the cholla cacti backlit by the sunset.
ScoutWe tent camped 3 days 2 nights during Memorial weekend with 3 other families. We really enjoyed the drive up Idylwild, beautiful scenery. I think the sites are a bit too close to each other, I would prefer more space between sites. But it's a quiet campground, everyone goes to sleep early around 10pm. A downside during our visit, is the restroom/bathroom; the resort closed down couple restroom/bathroom for renovation, so we had. to walk far to shower/potty. Maybe they were short staffed, the restroom/bathroom were dirty, toilet flushing issue and trash bin overflow. Overall we had a good time, also be aware of coyotes they come out at night.
GuideNear and clean campground with clean restrooms requiring a key code to enter. Two laundry rooms. One large pool and three spas (hot tubs to folks not from So Cal) all heated with naturally heated mineral water. Secure. Park staff drive around at night to keep an eye on things. Most camps are close to the neighbors but most folks are quiet. Pay extra foe larger or premium campsites. Play area for the kids by the office. Put-put golf. Not much shade but many hedges. Gravel parking. Separate are for tents, communal sinks. Few trees around. Each camp has a sturdy picnic table. Propane fires only. And probably the same for BBQs. Great AT&T 5G cellular. Wi-Fi is weak, but it’s free.RV spot had fill hookups (water, 30 or 50 amp power, sewer, but no cable TV.
Well run and friendly, responsive staff. Understand that Desert Hot Springs is sometimes WINDY!! And that can mean dust storms, but that goes for the entire Cochella Valley. Not close to anything out here. A convenience store about 1/3 mile away. You won’t be running for coffee here. The the management sometimes hosts events and a weekend breakfast can be purchased.
All rigs are in good repair and I’ve seen nothing sketchy here at all. Been here 3 weeks with 3 more to go.
Bottom line: I would definitely stay here again, but it is a drive to get into DHS or Palm Springs. And it is windy/dusty.
ScoutThis was our first time here.
We made it clear, at the time we reserved, that we needed a 50 Amp hookup. It turns out that our reservation was for a 30 Amp site (#21). We again made it clear at the time of check-in that we needed a 50 Amp site, we were moved from #21 to #31 (the only 50 Amp site left in the park). It is a lakeside parallel parking site that is beautiful. The lake has a fountain in the middle that gets illuminated at night, very nice indeed.
Now for the bad, although there was clearly a gate at the front entrance, we never saw it closed. The park provides security until 10 pm, after that, it seems that ANYONE can come and go. We heard from others that thefts had become common-place.
The tiny store at the entrance closes at 5 pm every day. Luckily there are several stores only a couple of blocks away.
Showers are not included in the price of your site rental, an average shower will cost between $1 and $2. You must purchase shower/laundry tokens from the tiny store. When we went to the store to purchase our tokens, we were told that they had to go empty the machines so that they had more tokens to sell. The laundry room was actually closed for the first 2 days we were there.
The dump station in the park was locked (no sewer hookups). You had to wait until someone from the tiny store was able to get free long enough to open the locked dump station.
The WiFi situation is horrendously bad, especially after about 9:20 pm. Apparently that is when their metering software kicks in. We went from watching our shows (NetFlix, etc) to the point that we couldn't even play a complete song over the connection. Still unhappy about the WiFi, an ominous warning came across my devices stating that there was suspicious/hacking activity on the WiFi network, disconnect immediately.
**OMSB: When are RV parks going to learn that in today's world, good, safe, WiFi is essential, and should not be an afterthought? TO ALL RV PARKS: Upgrade your WiFi now, I (and probably many others) would happily pay another $5 to $10 per day for great WiFi service. **
There seemed to be an inordinate amount of trash around the entire place. There were multiple empty beer cans on our site when we arrived. The nice green lawn area that we walked our dogs on was littered with waste from other inconsiderate pet owners (please pick up after your pet).
The place is a little pricey for what you actually get, Everything seems to cost more, as long as you get it before 5 pm.
We have gotten much more, for much less. Overall the place was beautiful until you looked more closely. Unfortunately, it looks like people have stopped caring about maintaining this park.
GuideI had a reservation at Wilderness Lakes, and I was a day early, so they let me in! Off to a good start! Full hook-ups, laundry and showers about 50 yards away, no matter which way you go. Laundry is done with an app, and pretty cheap, $1.75 wash, $1.75 dry. Nice canals running through the park, with ducks and their ducklings trailing behind. I chose to stay at the far end, away from the crowds. I got a great site, with no one on either side, and 2 neighbors across the street. While I was setting up, one of my awning screen poles broke. I called ShadePro, and they were out the next morning with a new one. Management seems very friendly, there’s a store at the front of the park, and a nice one mile hike around the perimeter of the park. Unseasonably warm the past couple days, so used my AC for a couple hours in the afternoon, to cool Riley and I down. The internet pretty much sucks. Good for email, and very little surfing, but way too slow to stream Netflix, etc. I just put on some music and relax, or throw in a DVD at night. Plenty of trash receptacles, playground for kids, mini golf, and much more. They even have cabins to rent. Will definitely come back!
ScoutFar from off-grid, but very nice camping! Level, painstakingly maintained campsites in a golf course resort. Well-maintained amenities, community activities, and gorgeous natural beauty surrounding a full-service RV park. Reserve a year in advance if you want a site during the nicest months of the year (winter). Our only issue was that a neighbor kept a giant light “display” on until well past the Dark Sky hours.
Cabin camping near Palm Desert, California, offers a unique blend of outdoor adventure and comfort, making it an ideal getaway for nature lovers and families alike.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Palm Desert, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Palm Desert, CA is Thousand Trails Palm Springs with a 4.1-star rating from 18 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 53 cabin camping locations near Palm Desert, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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