Best Campgrounds near Salton City, CA

Large campground split into 3 sections. The one side is mainly for RVs and has hookups — would only recommend for RVs as they’re stacked up. The other 2 sides are a bit more spread out, especially the sites on the outside of the loops. It’s well taken care of and clean. Plus it has token showers with hot water, a dish washing area, flush toilets, fire pits, grills, and cell signal. Anza Borrego park has tons of awesome dispersed sites around the park that are free, but this was a good spot to take a little break from the desert and grab a hot shower.

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.

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.

Nice campground without hookups but flush bathrooms and fresh water. Sites are kinda small, but we had a backin that fit our 26' trailer easily. B26. So pick your site carefully. There is no cellular service, so bring a deck of cards and games. The sites are paved but need some leveling. If you choose a pull through, your driver's side slide will be facing the road. Enjoy your stay.

Far 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.

Amazing area! So many places to camp. Road in is unpaved but not too bumpy. Once you get to the canyon area it’s deeper sand, so 4WD is advised. The road says mandatory but we saw many 2WD cars there.

Turn off Hwy 10 onto 168 (it is paved) and head north. There will be several roads you can either turn left, or right onto. They go for miles, so don't worry if there are people camped at the turn offs. We stayed 3 nights and 4 days. The roads and sites (at least where we drove and camped) are not power sand. Nope, more like small gravel. There were a lot of 5-wheels in there and we didn't sink in at all. Good spot, we would stay there again. There are fire pits. Quick drive up to Joshua Tree canyon from some exploring.

Amazing what a delightful place to stay! Very unique with stunning boulders through your the camp ground! Clean bathrooms too!! No showers or hook up if any kind! We have a 29ft trailer with truck got in and out ok much bigger you would have a problem many tight spaces .

I like this campground the best because the road is paved and that cuts down on the desert dust. Only drawback is there is no cell service at all at this campground. Its very picturesque against the unique Joshua Tree rocks.

First car camp in Anza Borrego.  Wasn't disappionted.

The camping spots were close to each other but no one else was there so it didn't matter. The stars and sunrise were amazing! Will definitely go again!

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.

We were pleasantly surprised by the spacious camp spots with fire rings and picnic tables. The CG had toilets and cold showers. I would have given it 5 out of 5 but there was a train that went by near the site. We've heard about the bad smell at Salton Sea but it was odorless when we were there in January.

It’s technically the Republic of Slowjamistan.

Lots of open space, just drive out and park. Might need an air down/up system depending on how far in you want to travel. No issues for the first 0.25-0.5 mile off the highway.

ATV rentals available. There are some picnic tables and compost hole restrooms.

Enjoyed staying at this campground. Each site is different, but the information on reservation site contains all details.
Planning for water is needed, there is only a pit toilet.

We loved camping 🏕 here! Great big rocks, and good trails near by! An arch too!

I followed the coordinates provided and it took us right to the trailhead. We saw a few other campers but overall, the campground was ours for the weekend. We did some light hiking and exploring but otherwise took advantage of the peace and quiet that was available to us. Gorgeous sunsets and sunrises and epic star gazing! Being a dark sky community, we were able to see so many stars and constellations. We saw shooting stars nearly every minute and we were also able to find Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,  and Neptune all with the naked eye! Next time we will pack a small telescope and I'm sure we will see more! 

Watch out for cactus and needles that are buried in the sand. It is not recommended to bring dogs or walk barefoot for this reason. Our sandals and boots both had many needles stuck in the rubber soles after the trip. Being in the valley, the winds were very light but there is a possibility of strong winds and sand storms so be prepared. Temps averaged 70-75 during the day and dropped to 38-42 at night but with a small fire and proper gear, we were plenty comfortable. Fire rings are provided at some locations however the ranger informed us we could build a rock ring and line it with tin foil which worked great. 

The road in was a bit rough in some areas. Wash out and silty sand could pose problems for smaller vehicles or campers so use your best judgement. Single track roads in/out so you will need to yield off the main road when encountering larger oncoming vehicles, which could also be difficult for inexperienced offroad drivers.