Best Campgrounds near Yucca Valley, CA

Giant Rock is a popular location. There is plenty of space for individual or group camping. A steady flow of visitors stop by for pictures, but overall, it's quiet during the week. Weekends can be busy.

We absolutely love Cottonwood BLM Dispersed Camping! We've stayed here a couple of times now, and it's become a reliable favorite for our desert adventures. We had a great stay over Thanksgiving and then came back again this past January. It's proven to be a perfect spot, especially when our plans include heading into Joshua Tree National Park – the location is super convenient for getting to the park entrance. If you're looking for a fantastic and convenient dispersed camping option in the area, we highly recommend Cottonwood!

Stunning rock formations, lots of space but it rattles your teeth out getting there. We have a AWD sprinter which managed deep sand well.

I would give this 5 stars if we had been given the option to move to one of the tent sites that had more of a wind block. Instead the campground was pretty empty but they put us at the back of the campground completely exposed to the wind. Unfortunately the desert is somewhere where it is always a little windy. Now I am familiar to camping in the wind so was able to make do but there were more sheltered spots that would have been preferred

Drove up on Saturday and saw probably 6-7 other vehicles total. 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. It had a good breeze going. Campsite had fire ring with grill and a wood table that gave out splinters every time I touched it haha

If you’re driving towards the park from the freeway, we parked on the left side of the road. There were plenty of other people and it felt like a very safe site just outside the park! The ground was pretty soft and it didn’t get too cold overnight. Easy to access and lots of space.

Jeff & Steve really went out of their way to make me feel comfortable, even though I arrived late for a brief overnight on a ling roadtrip. The views are lovely in all directions, note: no shade

The campsite has a nice view. From some spots, you can see the lake. The toilets are clean and there is a designated area for setting up tents. The only downside is that the staff starts cutting trees at 8 a.m., making a lot of noise.😥

This is a great spot for me to stop between Palm Springs and Quartzsite. Good cell reception, easy access and pretty views. 

Nothing fancy here. No amenities, but with a national parks pass, you can drive into the National Park about 5 miles to fill your water and dump your tanks. 

Close to the highway, so some noise.

The campsite is great, quiet and tidy. The surrounding environment is very nice and suitable for stargazing.

The main road was a super easy drive, definitely doable 2 wheel drive but 4 wheel is recommended. Plenty of sites and pretty quiet (especially considering st pattys day.) we had no issues finding a spot. Road traffic was quiet until hikers started to show up in the early AM. Lots of sunning views and a cool trail system with ropes and ladders at the end of the road.

Such an amazing spot to tent camp! Definitely narrow spots for bigger vehicles, but for car-camping with tents, it was perfect! Scored this site on a busy weekend using Dyrt Alerts - the pictures say it all: secluded site, epic sunrise & sunset viewing from scaling the rocks in the campsite, beautiful star-gazing. I will say that despite the "secluded" feel, our neighbors were still really close and noisy late into the night, but the greatness of our site honestly outweighed that disruption for me personally.

We did have a coyote visitor twice in the morning, so don't forget to keep your food/trash locked up from critters!

Originally booked this site because it is a good endpoint for the California Riding & Hiking trail though the national park, so if you’re looking to run or complete the traverse, it is a good spot to campout and/or leave a car. There are also great hiking trails right next to the campground. The campground is also super close to the towns of Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree for picking up supplies, enjoying the local Luna bakery (we went 3 times in 2 days!)

Only downside was sites felt really close together (particularly site 56, although some looked better), so noise levels were a little rough.

We were able to score this site on a Saturday night during the spring break season using Dyrt Alerts!