Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Thermal, CA is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Thermal 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. Find the best campgrounds near Thermal, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.
Motorcoach Country Club
14 min away
Painted Canyon
29 min away
"this is a dispersed location on box canyon in Mecca. the road is loose sand and is possible by most vehicles as long as you stay on the road."
"There are 16 yellow post sites along the Santa Rosa Truck Trail (7S02) from hwy 74. Most of the sites are beyond the springs that are flowing through a faucet at Santa Rosa Springs."
"Some just off-roading and a few camping. Road was not too bad. Definitely want clearance but I did most in rwd. Saw a stock Tacoma at the top. I stayed at campsite 6 and it was very enjoyable."
"This is a great open camping area, you can camp near others or find a secluded spot of your own. There are fire rings, picnic tables, toilets and even showers."
"Season starts around Halloween and ends in May for Red stickers. They have public restrooms spread through the grounds. It's great for tent camping and RVs/campers, tents."
"Recommend four wheel drive to get to Tool Box Springs, the fire road is long but once you’re there it’s worth it."
"This campsite is about 45 minutes down a 4 wheel drive only dirt path. Pot toilets and trash cans available at the site. Nothing else much around to do other than hang out at the campground or hike."
$40 / night
"We're happy to welcome this property to our platform. Pick your spot anywhere on the property. Give them a try and leave them some love."
"we took the tram up from palm springs and backpacked to the campground before summiting up San Jacinto peak. the views were breathtaking and the elevation was a killer."
"This Campsite is only about 2 miles from the tram but the elevation of Round Valley is 9,100 ft."
$5 / night
"Giant RV park with many entrances, it looks free but don’t quote me on that. We camped here off the dirt road and didn’t see anyone to pay."
LegendStone Creek Campground in San Jacinto Mountain State Park is the perfect getaway for coastal Southern California residents. It is a few hours out of the major metro areas, but close enough to get to for just a night or two.
Located near Idyllwild, this is the smaller, less rowdy campground associated with the tourist town. There is also a camp right in town if you're looking for shopping and bars, and a few more further up hill.
Stone Creek has about 35 sites. The outer ring sites are huge, and most of them are fairly private especially the loop to the right of the entry. Our site was #7, and after thoroughly campsploration it is unquestionably the best for individuals. If you're in a group rent the inner ring where the backsides of all the sites run together.
We were trying to get away from people, from the pandemic, and spend some time doing something normal. Stone Creek was perfect for that. The only human interaction was having to check -in at the entry with a ranger. They wore a mask, and we spoke through a window in the ranger shed. They did have to hand me a parking pass, but after that we were on our own.
Site 7 is extremely large, and extremely private with multiple flat spots that could accommodate tents, two large picnic tables, multiple spots for hammocks and a fire ring that has seen better days. We could see a car across the loop, but couldn't actually see other campers without effort from where we set up the tent or even the fire ring.
This particular site extends back over a ridge and downhill. It was so private back there we strung up our camp shower next to a giant boulder for a shower without feeling like we needed to set up a privacy shade/curtain.
Camp is just high enough to prevent most bugs, but there were a few flies and mosquitos. The vault toilets were clean, and well stocked with TP and antibacterial soap. There were three on-site. One in the middle of the center ring which was the busiest, but none of the solar lights were working making it difficult to find in the dark. No obvious trail. The other we used near the entrance was well lit, had a wooden path and seemed to be forgotten by most other campers.
Multiple hiking trails led out of camp including one right from next to our site that led to multiple other trails heading up San Jacinto Mountain. The trails were a mix of gravel fire road, dirt trail and a few sandy areas through the flats. They were mostly well-signed, but one sign was down causing us to miss a turn so…bring a map. They're available at stands at the front of camp. Trails are…vertical unless explicitly labeled as short scenic hikes.
There were warning signs for snakes, mountain lions, plague-infected squirrels and bears, but all we saw were deer. They didn't seem to consider bears a serious threat as there were no bear boxes or locks on trash cans. However, having bear-proof (Ha!) food storage is important.
We really have no complaints about this place, and will definitely be back to explore more trails.
Pro-Tip: It is a windy, windy road up into the mountains, and people travel too fast. We saw some serious accident sites when people were traveling too fast, and caught up to a slow moving camper around a curve. Drive carefully.
Pro-Tip: We had full phone/wifi service here. We didn't want or need it, but if we were working from the road this would be an easy stop to set up.
Pro-Tip: Outer ring is more private. Inner ring better for groups.
Pro-Tip: In the summer add 5-10 degrees to the temperature which is taken from a higher elevation weather station.
RangerWe stayed at campsite 50 in October with two young kids (2 and 4). Tent camping.
Pros: the views, the beautiful rocks, clean sites, friendly ranger, rocks that could give you some relief from sun if you’re lucky enough. Great area for bouldering from entry level up. Site 50 had low rocks that were doable for my 2 and 4 yo. The rest were way too advanced.
Cons: no park entrance from here. You have to drive 20/30 minutes out to the main road and back in to get to the main area of the park. The campsite next to us had some nasty anthills. Some of the campsites are set up a bit odd depending on your equipment, could or could not be a big deal. For example we were sharing a parking space with campsite 51 and their site was walking in behind ours. So if they had had an RV I think it would have been impossible. Site 50 was right across from the vault toilet which was great for proximity (and toilet was clean as far as these go) but every once in a while we’d get a whiff of out house which is not pleasant. Wasn’t too frequent so not a big deal but if you want to avoid stay further away from toilets.
Get water at the entrance gate to the cove. That’s the only water hook up near by. Picnic tables and fire ring in each site. Vault toilets. No showers. No Joshua trees here but tons of Mojave yuccas and other desert plants. Beautiful views and sleeping under dessert sky and stars.
TravelerYellow Post #2 – San Bernardino National Forest Secluded, free, first-come-first-served tent site tucked deep in the forest near Hemet, CA. No amenities—no toilet, water, or trash—so pack in and out. Fire ring and picnic table on-site. Shaded by mature trees with a dirt/sand/rock surface. Site fits up to 8 people and 2 vehicles.
Access road is rough and rocky but doable in dry conditions with a careful 2WD. Signage is limited—offline maps recommended. Site sits near a dry creek bed and has a short walk to a west-facing boulder with expansive views of the valley.
Wildlife includes deer, lizards, snakes, woodpeckers, and lots of squirrels. Mosquitoes come out at dusk—repellent is a must. Fire bans usually in effect during summer. Great for quiet retreats, hiking, light climbing, and off-grid solitude.
A rugged but rewarding forest stay for self-sufficient campers.
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.
RangerWe love the jumbo rocks at Joshua Tree and Indian cove campground is settled within a group of the giant rock formations. Our campsite was a bit small, but fine for the two of us and our tent. We had a picnic table, grill and fire pit. Vault toilets were spaced nicely along the campground road. No water in the actual campground, but is at the ranger station. No showers or running water, cell coverage was spotty.
RangerWe camped at site 2 on 6/12 this year and had a great time. We had 18 people and found that there were a ton of different nooks to setup your tent. We even found on one up a little higher in the rocks that would have been cool.
We placed our tent just inside the rock area from the picnic tables and we are really glad we did. The wind on our first night was a lot and this one site was a bit better for wind protection.
There was a tree/bush at the corner of our group site that ended up being great for shade and a hang out place during the day. In the afternoon we spent more time near the tables and grill. The site comes with a large charcoal grill that we used to cook burgers on one of our nights.
At night we ventured off a bit near the camp site and took some night sky pictures. We also we able to see a bunch of owls up in the top of the rocks on one of the nights. During the full moon it was really easy to walk around with out lights.
There is no water and no showers, but the pit toilets that were there were clean and well maintained. They even had some nice candles to light in them. The dumpster was right next to our group site and was also well maintained.
Our only problem during our stay was that on our last night a bunch of people came in after midnight to the site next to ours (#1) and they played music and were loud until 4 AM... We barely saw rangers there and there is no cell signal so it can be challenging to get help for these types of things (assuming you don't feel comfortable confronting a group of drunk people in the middle of the night).
LegendWe stayed at Jumbo Rocks for 4 nights in a tent in late February 2021. Weather was awesome - highs in the 70s in the day and lows in the 30s/40s at night. This was our second time staying here; first time was in a travel trailer in Oct 2018 (see Dyrt Review). We still love the campground, though again it was the inconsiderate nature of our neighbors that bring it from 5 stars down to 4. Here's a review of the pros and cons.
Pros:
Neutral:
Cons:
Site 31 Description: Part of a cluster, meaning you park with others and the sites fan out from the parking area. 31 is a 100 foot walk from parking; we walked past other sites but no one had to walk past ours. It is up on a small rise - had a beautiful view but was more exposed to the wind and sun. Mostly flat and will fit several tents. Closest neighbor was 30 feet away and separated by scrub. Vault toilet and dumpsters adjacent to parking area. Not next to any big rocks, but they are only a short walk away. A coyote walked by us in the night and squirrels frequently raided our camp (keep your food and trash secure).
GuideThis campground was away from the primary campground like Jumbo Rock and therefore less crowded. Campsites included fire ring and picnic table. Flush toilets on premises and away from primary sites. Tent sites were very close together and as we found or a very popular site for star gazing and meteror showers. Required aunt of a drive to get into the primary park area and firewood not available in campgrounds (Walmart is the closest location it was available). Camp hosts were very nice however did not enforce quiet hours. We camp with our daughter (5 at the time) and unfortunately we were surrounded by many college students drinking heavily (not Joshua Trees fault). We ended up leaving a day early because of this. Aside from the other campers we had a good desert camping experience. I think next time we would try a different site to attempt to be more secluded and avoid this issue in the future.
TravelerI spent two nights at Indian Cove with a friend in March 2016. The campground proved to be a quiet place to camp, especially on the end closest to the day-use area. Sites were of varying size and ours turned out to be directly adjacent to the next site over; we set up as far off the "dividing line" as we could while staying a safe distance from the fire ring but it turned out to be a tight squeeze. Pit toilets were fine and there's a water fountain at the ranger station that you can use to fill water bottles at all hours. No camp store on the park premises but there are several options within a 20-30 minute drive of the campground. Overall it was a pleasant place to camp that afforded wonderful views at sunrise.
Tent camping near Thermal, California, offers a unique blend of desert landscapes and outdoor adventures, perfect for those looking to escape into nature.
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Thermal, CA is Box Canyon Dispersed with a 4.4-star rating from 5 reviews.
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