Best Tent Camping near Trona, CA

General: Smallish (approx. 50-site) campground that does not take reservations. No hookups, one walk-in tent site, and the others are either back-in or pull-through. Some are “double” sites that would be ideal for sharing. 

Site Quality: Varies. All sites (except four, three of which are designated handicap sites) are a mixture of sand/gravel. Not all are completely level, and some accommodate larger vehicles than others. 

Bathhouse: Pit toilets only. Some are open air and some are enclosed; the one closest to our site was clean. 

Activities: hiking, photography. Good night sky area. The nature trail is accessible directly from the campground and the Hagen Canyon trail is ¾ mile from the campground. Red Cliffs is another short trail across the highway; these are the most popular (and short) hikes in the park but there are others. The views are jaw-dropping and well worth exploring. 

Note that although there is a dump station, there is a $20 charge to use it. 

We arrived around 1 pm on a Sunday in late March and had our pick of sites, however, the campground filled in to about ¾ full by the end of the day.

We planned on staying here in our little Toyota Motorhome but when we arrived, we saw a “Tent Only” sign. The camp looked very clean and there were restrooms available.

This is a free campsite for tents only. However, several people brought in their car campers & just set up a tent. You can leave your tent in one of the 10 spots & travel throughout the park during the day but that is not best practice because then others will not have an opportunity to use a site as they come in for their 1st night. This has working toilets that flush & R kept well. There are multiple trash cans that are changed out.

While the ground is hard & filled with stones which make it hard to get a good stake in the ground, this is a good campsite due to location, it is free, & the amenities are quite nice given this. This is a 10 minute drive from Stove Pipe Wells (just SW of Stove Pipe) & you can get gas as well as general store stuff there.

I would advise you come early & get a spot. Many people arrived just before sunset & after dark but were not able to get a spot because this filled up so quickly. Do not be that guy at 10 PM circling the lot & spotlighting everybody.

Finally, while this has good bathrooms & drinking water available, you need to know that those facilities are located a bit off the side. You’ll have to walk, not far, to the structure to use them just so you know.

Forest Fire 2 years ago did some damage resulting in the water spigot being intermittently operating, boiling or filter a must. Spacious, sparsely used, remote tent or car camping, some space for RV but NO hookups. 20 mile dirt road for access. Fire restrictions usually "extreme" so probably not a spot for a campfire. Rattlesnakes common, use caution with kids and pets.

Nearly all these campsites butt up against the Badlands-esque rock formations with mini slot canyons to explore right at your campsite. My son absolutely loved this place. I loved it. We had a great time!

It costs $25 per night and has zero amenities but the landscape makes up for it. Joshua trees and amazing rock formations, Jack rabbits and desert squirrels... it’s just great.

1 bar AT&T if you’re lucky. No water, no electricity, but there’s a dump station near the visitor center. No electric car charging. Lots of tents and small rigs, nothing big. Campground uses narrow one-way dirt road. There are about 50 campsites with a picnic table, fire ring, rocky tent pad and fairly level gravel parking spot. At least 2 spots are ADA with concrete parking spots and nearby restroom.

Now during COVID time it’s self registration, not sure about other times. We stayed one night and never saw a ranger. The campground was about half full and didn’t fill up while we were there.

no one else was there when we arrived later in the evening though we only camped for one night at the end of summer. no one else ever showed up either. just a few cars drove by every now and then. we were exhausted so we just opened a couple windows to the car rather than set up our tent. toilets were within walking distance/next to the parking lot but closed due to bees. port-a-potties were available instead. at night, the stars were absolutely beautiful. it was pretty hot but by opening the car windows and using some battery powered fans, we managed!

My husband and I camped here for a few nights during Thanksgiving with our 2 dogs.  Such a beautiful campground! We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and it was about half full, but looked mostly full by the time we left on Saturday.  It is first come first served.

It was definitely cold at night, which we were prepared for, though not prepared for a very windy day that happened while there.  Lots of blowing sand, even got in our tent.  We luckily got a site away from the road, so less blowing sand from people driving by.

We were right next to the nature trail, which was great to have to get some exercise and nice views.  

Lots of off roading trails in this park, so would be paradise with anyone coming to do that!

Decided to go camp here for a day because it’s omly a 3 hr drive from my home, but it was too windy. Sand/dirt and wind are a terrible combo for camping. Got in the tent, in our food, in our eyes. We went on a Wednesday which was nice because there were so many open spots. You can see the highway from the park which is kind of a bummer, but the canyons are pretty cool to walk around the rim up top. It’s also pet friendly and the dogs loved all the open space however it could get a litttle dangerous if you let them off leash. This campsite particularly was our favorite because it’s the very last one and nobody drives down there unless they’re camping next door. Most private.

This area is BLM and land in trust of Friends of the Inyo. You can set up camp but you need to make sure that you are on proper land and not on private property. 

It is easy access to Surprise Canyon, Middle Field, and some of the remaining mines in the area. We were there for a service trip so we were deconstructing roads created by careless people in off road vehicles that take advantage of the land and don’t follow the rules of protecting the environment. It was cold during our stay and we work up to snow on the mountain tops and frost on our tents in the morning. 

No facilities and the closest town is not super close, so bring everything with you. If you are careful when you wander around you may find native rock art form when the area was a lake shore. You will also find prospecting poles in the area, feel free to pull those out and clean up the site when you see them.

This spot is a bit out there, but it was a great spot to camp out in the desert. There was only one other person there when we went so that was nice that it was pretty vacant and quiet. We stopped here on our way home from Northern California to Arkansas, it was a bit of a random stop but we were tired of driving and found this place. It has great desert scape views and adorable burros! There was potable water available and a pit toilet available as well. The sites had fire rings too. If you follow down the dirt road for a bit too you will find the Wildrose Kilns which were truly a cool sight to see. If you camp here, you might as well go down and check out the giant beehive like kilns. It’s a long dusty rocky trail but worth it!

FREEEEEEE camping, yayy who doesn't love free??? I sure do… anyway, this little campground has vault toilets, tables, and fire rings at each location.

They have handicap spots and access as well.

A few spots were super large perfect for campers or groups.

You have no service so make sure you plan any hiking or driving accordingly and the nearest gas station is about 45 mins away and you have to drive through a very tight windy road that feels like forever. So make sure you are fueled up.

The best part was I saw a coyote.. it was super exciting for me that's for sure.

you can drive up and find about 3 more camp grounds.

Here are my star ratings based on my lifestyle and what I like.

 I'm also a mother, dog mama, and a wife so it's not just me it's my crew and i.

 1 star- AUTOMATIC relocate... the property is no longer there, trashed or/and I could never have my children there and I wouldn't ever think about staying no matter what.

 2 star- Not really my jam, and would NEVER go to again... It probably more of desert life and not really my style for sure...Being from Vegas I can't stand being in the desert and I love the Trees and the Green more than anything.

 3 star- Would stay there again in a pinch, but not really my style, the reason its not is because not enough family things to do, the scenery, or the location... but I would go again and feel safe having my kiddos here but only if I needed to in a pinch.

 4 star- a really good rating for sure, maybe needed some improvements, minor things like being on top of each other, not a lot of privacy, but honestly little cosmetic things that aren't anything to sweat and would be back again for sure.

 5 star- MY FAVORITE... love the location, safety, the surroundings, big camp spots available to fit toys for my kids to play, hammocks to hang, our big family tent, cases of firewood, our suburban or RV, etcccccc..... I would not only come back but would live if I could!!! Anyway thanks for reading and enjoy every moment like it's your last! CHEERS!

So this is the same place as the other wild rose and its FREEEEEEE camping, yayy who doesn't love free??? I sure do… anyway, this little campground has vault toilets, tables, and fire rings at each location.
Trash cans available

 They have handicap spots and access as well. 

A few spots were super large perfect for campers or groups.

 You have no service so make sure you plan any hiking or driving accordingly and the nearest gas station is about 45 mins away and you have to drive through a very tight windy road that feels like forever. So make sure you are fueled up. 

The best part was I saw a coyote.. it was super exciting for me that's for sure.

 It's really just basic but this one is not just flat grounds and overcrowded like in the park, it's alright, I like more trees but that's just me!!!

ok so I saw someone doing this and I figured I start too, everyone has different reasons that they put the star rating so ill give you my break down

Here are my star ratings

based on my lifestyle and what I like.

I'm also a mother, a dog mama, and a wife... so it's not just me, it's my crew and I.

1 star- AUTOMATIC relocate… the property is no longer there, trashed, and/or I could never have my children there. Furthermore, I wouldn't ever consider staying.

2 star- Not really my jam, and would  NEVER go to again… It probably more of desert life and not really my style for sure…Being from Vegas I can't stand being in the desert and  I love the Trees and the Green more than anything.

3 star- Would stay there again in a pinch, but not really my style,  the reason its not is because not enough family things to do, the scenery, or the location… but I would go again and feel safe having my kiddos here but only if I needed to in a pinch.

4 star- a really good rating for sure, maybe needed some improvements, minor things like being on top of each other, not a lot of privacy, but honestly little cosmetic things that aren't anything to sweat and would be back again for sure.

5 star- MY FAVORITE… love the location, safety, the surroundings, big camp spots available to fit toys for my kids to play, hammocks to hang, our big family tent, cases of firewood, our suburban or RV, etcccccc….. I would not only come back but would live if I could!!!

Anyway thanks for reading and enjoy every moment like it's your last!

CHEERS!

Campground had some nice spots for dry camping. I planned to stay on BLM land off the road but this seemed part of the ghost town private property. It was late and I was confused..I need to go back and donate $5.

This is more an rc park for people who actually stay and live there.