Best Dispersed Camping near San Bernardino National Forest, CA

We love BLM camping, but frankly living near LA free dispersed or BLM land is far between and hard to come by. Thankfully Joshua Tree has the perfect BLM spot just northeast of the park right south of the Pinto Mountain Wilderness. We usually come out here on holiday weekends because while the parks are full beyond capacity you can go days on BLM without seeing anyone. We’ve stayed two weeks before seeing one person in the “off season”. There’s a reason why us dirt bikers love this kind of area. Free camping, all the dirt trails you could ever want, full fire options, wonderful place to get space and seclusion; everything you could want as a disperser, minus access to water and shade (unless you bring it with you). And you should, the town is not close and the likelihood of encountering someone to help you out of a tough spot, or supplement missing something is near nil on the off-season. Remember people, this is the desert, if you don’t bring it with you, you won’t find it here. Inexperienced dispersed campers are not recommended. Many grossly underestimate the water/shade they will need/use and if you’ve never had to be 100% self sufficient, this is not the place to start. Cell service is spotty at best, and with the main road several miles away, and town several miles from there, not recommended unless you know you can be completely self reliant. Also in the summer temps soar easily in the 100s and drop hard after the sun goes down to the mid 50s. Even more unpredictable in the “off season”. That being said we love it here and get our desert fix in and plenty of dirt biking done. A great spot to go if you know what you’re doing, place your ego aside, if you know what you’re doing you’ll have a blast. Don’t? And you could end up in trouble quick. Can’t wait to go again in November!

Typical BLM land, not far at all from Joshua Tree Park. Open and spacious, was able to dig my daily fox hole butt naked in broad daylight without being spotted. Very dispersed, road wasn’t too bad either. I’ll stop by again if I can’t get a reservation in Joshua Tree Park next year. Thanks BLM!

This is just a dry lake bed not far from Josh Tree National Park. It’s just a dry lake bed on BLM land.

Not sure if this is the same place the rangers in Joshua Tree told us about, but if you drive North on Sunfair off of Route 62 and take a right on Sunflower, you can drive on to BLM land and find anywhere to camp on a dry lake bed. It was pretty open and incredible in late November.

As another reviewer noted - this spot is huge so make sure you are staying on BLM land. There is a lot of trash in some areas and there was some dirt bikes but they didn’t bother me. Car camping I found the area I liked best was as follows: off 62 take Sunfair rd, right on cypress rd (dirt road which my GPS thought was Reagan Rd but is marked with a street sign Cypress) - go past ITH coyote ranch (no sign but may show up on map) Then right on cascade - an unmarked dirt rd. Then there is a large flat BLM area where rvs and vans were quite spread out, and a motorcycle with a tent was my neighbor (quite far away). No trash here when I was there. Zero facilities obviously so pack it out. Hot tip - water and restrooms 10 min away at the Indian Cove ranger station near Indian Cove Campground in JT park. I stayed here two nights car camping.

Great free camping when campgrounds are booked. Easy to navigate with GPS. Many large and small sites along the road. Some spots more secluded than others.  Smaller rigs, medium clearance and lite off-road capabilities recommended. Good cellular reception in my particular location.

Free camping just outside Joshua Tree. No amenities or designated campsites. Large open area where you can camp wherever you'd like. Previous campers have built fire pits from the rocks laying around. Beautiful views, off road vehicle recommend.

It's free camping so be respectful and clean up after yourself. That said, there are no facilities so pack it in and pack it out. The road going in isn't too rough, and you'll likely find makeshift fire pits. Work with what is already there instead of making making a mess. Bring your own shade too.

First come first served dispersed camping just outside Big Bear. Near bike trails. Was not crowded mid week, but spots were filling up closer to the weekend. There are a lot of flat spots to choose from.

Specs if this campground are wrong, no toilets/water/etc.

Great for campers that meet 2 criteria 1) You have a Jeep, Truck it similar vehicle that can go off-road. 2) You enjoy dispersed camping (no water/restrooms etc)

If both are yes, this place is amazing.

Deep in nature, beautiful area, no cost and you can almost always find a spot, even on a Saturday in summer.

If you go the the end of 3N06 (main off-road path) there is a good hike that you can take for several hours.

Depending on where you camp the roads go from semi rough to very rough. Tough if it rains. Lots of established camps at the beginning with a wide spread of space. Great for RV or none tent campers all around. I'm tent camping so drove to the outskirts and decided that the softer sand at the beginning was more suitable than the cracked surface of the once was lake. Lots of space between camps but not many high trees so isolated but in sight. That and the rougher roads plus high traffic led to the 3 rating. Free is free and no one within 100 ft so 3 is what it is for me. Not bad. Not good.

My husband and I were looking for good boondocking spots yesterday and we decided to check out this spot, after finding it on The Dyrt and a few other sites. It's definitely a beautiful place, and most of the road to the site is paved, but the road up to the actual spot is gravel, with lots of potholes and washboard areas, which would make it difficult for an RV. But the biggest issue for RVs is an area of the road that is very steep and immediately turns into a hairpin turn that we didn't even want to try in our 4x4, since the road is very thin and our SUV (a 2009 Nissan Pathfinder) is kind of thick. I'm sure it's probably nothing for people who are used to using their 4x4 for more than regular driving in the snow, etc., but it was too dodgy for us. There is no way that even a Class C rig would be able to take that steep incline and immediately do that sharp turn. And since there's nowhere to turn around in that spot, you'd have to back your rig down the incline and then quite a ways down the pitted, gravel road to get out of it. 

It's full of trees and seems fairly remote, but we had 5 cars pass us as we were backing away from the incline, so it's obviously a busy spot - you wouldn't be there alone, and this was on a Thursday.

This campsite is located at the junctionof the Deer Springs Trail and the PCT, and is breathtaking. Only 3 or 4 sites available so make reservations in advance or stop by the office in Idyllwild if you’re feeling lucky . I stayed there in October and snagged the last site. The sites are dispersed and marked with small signs. There is an outhouse towards the top of the site. You must hike in but it is absolutely worth it.

Within 15 min. or so of JTNP, farther depending on where in the park you're going/coming from. I camped here Thanksgiving week. There are established sites all over the place, all along plenty of side roads. Saw mostly RVs, with very few tent campers, like myself. No vegetation above maybe 1m, so you're well within sight of everyone and vice versa. Not much of a problem when it gets dark at 5pm, but there's campsites along Sunflower Rd., I believe, with portable toilets if you're tent camping and can't find a concealed spot to pee, though I didn't have trouble. Main roads are pretty busy; people get in at all hours, but I noticed most people were driving farther into the lakebed. Don't expect to feel very isolated or solitary out here; expect to wake up to more people around you than you thought. Roads go from bumpy to pretty rough--be careful if the first time you're driving here is in the dark (I was in a Jetta, granted). I showed up after sunset every day and easily found a spot on the outskirts. It was noticeably cooler here than in the park--each morning I woke up, my car was saying it was at least 10 degrees cooler, 20 one morning. I ended up getting out of there first thing and cooking breakfast in the park to be a little warmer. Easy to find, and it works if you're just looking for a place to rest for the night.

Very nice to find a campsite this private on a weekend in southern California elevation is high enough that temperatures were very enjoyable (mid 80's)

I would actually give this campsite a 3.5 just because it is so barebones, no privacy, and where the pavement turned to dirt there was a huge hole that I hit just right and it was nasty - so heads up! On the other hand, it’s got lots of spots, it’s free, close to the north end of the NP, spacious, and I actually got pretty god internet out there! It is hard to see where spots are at night, but the sky is gorgeous out there at night. The roads aren’t horrible if you go slow (just watch out for that first hole!). Nothing fancy, but gets the job done.

Couldn’t even get to the campsite. It was gated off and had a no trespassing sign! Fail!!!! All this after 1.5miles of driving.

Words Can’t Describe...How amazing the evening colors are over Joshua Tree as the sunsets. The entire lake bed area and well beyond into the desert N.E. is dispersed desert camping. This spot specifically is close to the motorcycle track and 4x4 area. If your into off roading this is a fun place to check out while exploring Joshua Tree National Park. Be prepared but Walmart is like 15min away and Joashua Tree RV/camp is 3.5 miles further up the road passed Broadway and they only charged me $3 for 45 gallons of potable water that I took back to the desert. Score in a pinch.