Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Twentynine Palms, CA

Jumbo Rocks Campground is truly one of the best desert getaways. The rocks around the campground are fun to climb on and explore, plus they create an amazing show of light and shadow from sunrise to moonrise. This campground does have a bit of a party vibe and people stay up late, but everyone was friendly and respectful about it.

This is a clean campground with plenty of toilets and dumpsters, the toilets were cleaned daily. There is no water here, so bring more than you think you need. Also, not much shade, so plan ahead in case you have a site with direct sun all day.

Each site provides a charcoal grill and campfire ring. Unfortunately, fires were prohibited while I was there. Bring your gas stove just in case.

Hidden Springs picnic area is about 20 minutes west of the campground, we used it as a day camp. There is plenty of shade at some of the tables against the rocks. We hung out there during the hottest part of the day to have lunch and stay cool. Twentynine Palms is closer than Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley for groceries, but the drive to Joshua Tree is much more beautiful.

Dogs are allowed, but you can't hike with them anywhere in the park.

Words truly can not do this place justice. Joshua Tree National Park is such a beautifully preserved mosaic of nature and human history. We only had two short days here but we can not wait to return and explore more. The ecosystems of the wetter Mojave Desert and the low desert of the Colorado yield differing plants, water canyons, twisted rock formations, and towering monolithic rock formations that are both beautiful and fun to climb. This is a boulderer, hiker and climbers dream. The Joshua trees in and of themselves are both dreamy and mystical. Although there are other camps in the park which seemed to be more remote, we liked the idea of securing a reservation instead of worrying about a first come first serve situation. Because of this, we found this to be an ideal camping spot for location, and proximity as well as eliminating the worry of not getting a site.

For us, the unseasonably warm weather for October affected the hikes we chose to do as we were not acclimated to the extreme and dangerous heat. Despite this, there are plenty of shorter hikes as well as an amazing 18 mile Geology self driving tour ( note you need four wheel drive) exposing you to diverse and gorgeous desert landscapes and even a hike up an extinct volcano.

We found Jumbo Rocks campground to be well kept, and clean. There are 124 tent sites and some RV sites. There are no hook ups or drinking water in the campground so all provisions must be brought in prior to entering the park. There is a small town called Twentynine Palms which is about 10 to 12 miles away where you can get water, firewood and your basic amenities. The campsites were rather close together but because of the beautiful rock formations it seemed like you were more isolated than what you were. As long as the neighboring tenters remembered that others were close by and kept voices down it was peaceful. The most amazing part of this park were the stars at night. They were unbelievably brilliant!

As an additional side note, any type of hanging lights, hammocks, clothes lines, bunting, etc. is forbidden in the park. Hefty fines are awarded to those who violate the rules and attach to vegetation, Joshua Trees, or the Junipers. Lastly, there is little to no shade here and the temps can get extreme. I’d suggest bringing an additional canopy tent for shade as until the sun sets the tent is a sauna sand does not provide relief from the heat.

Not a very attractive drive in. Lots and lots of trash in the shrubbery and fields along the highway. Reservation and check in was easy. Staff were very friendly and accommodating. The RV park itself is attractive and seems to be fairly well maintained. It seems there are two rv areas. A lower older area and an upper newer and more attractive area. We were in the older area. Site was gravel with a small concrete area. Unfortunately, no one there seems to care about the dog poop everywhere (not exaggerating!). We and the people behind us parking had to clean dog poop off our site before we could set up. When walking our dog we saw poop everywhere. Dog park was ok, but on the small side and would be better with a gravel base instead of the dirt (very, very dusty and results in a dirty, dusty dog). There is a huge field adjacent and owned by the rv park that you can walk and or run your dog. But also full of poop. Bathroom smaller, older in the lower area. Much nicer, more modern bathrooms in the newer area. Two laundry rooms but no front loaders and the older laundry room only had two washers and two dryers. Can use quarters or an app. Pool and spa seemed pretty popular but we didn’t use. Area could really use some lighting at night. Very dark with minimal lighting in the older section. Trash is picked up every morning if you leave outside your site.