Sawtooth Canyon Campground

This is a great BLM campground, FREE, individual sites with varying levels of privacy and levelness, no reservations. Each site has a shade structure, table, fire pit, and grill. There are pit toilets but no other amenities. No water and no trash service- please pack your trash out! We had to pick up after some other campers which is just so dumb to have to do. There was a camper there who looked like they had set up for long term residency, and the sheriff came by and kicked them out.

This is also a big rock climbing destination so you’ll have climbers coming in for the day as well. There are some “dispersed” type sites in the brush area so if you show up and all the spots are taken, you can sleep in one of those spots in a pinch until morning. We were there in late December and there were only a couple of other campers, and then again in early January and it was busy on weekends but quiets down during the week. 

The road coming in is 1.6 miles of washboard and some big dips, but it’s doable. Cell service is very spotty throughout the campground. Parts of decent ATT or Verizon service, and parts have zero. Lots of hikes and trails and places to walk and scramble.

I was lucky to get campsite #9. One of the regular campers told me to keep driving til the end when I could find a spot. So amazed when I got there. I had the entire canyon to myself! The next day I met some climbers from France and one from Ohio. They were the only other people in the canyon. I watched them climb and they invited me to try it. I made it up a 40ft rock that was adjacent to my campsite. Exhilarating!

13 sites, but so many people find other places to camp here that we did too. The next day, we noticed the rule that said you couldn't.

February 10 Rv 23 ft

Sawtooth canyon is a really cool spot. Great rocks and mountains surround you. It is also called new Jack city by the rock climbing community There are only about 20 spots here and it is popular. We arrived at 10:30 on a Friday night and it was only 35 degrees out and we still got the very last spot. So be aware of when you’re going and what time you will want to show up. There are some spots that are a good distance from other folks and some spots that are right next to each other. It’s clean and a very pretty spot. We got two bars with att and were able to stream tv shows decently. Had a few distributions. Can be quite windy at times. I camped here on my motorcycle in late spring and it was pretty windy.

This is truly an amazing spot incredible clean quiet and spectacular views all around Shade covers provided with tables bbq pits and fire pits
Pit toilets are clean lots of open space truly a hidden gem

Showed up at sunset and parked in first site. Noticed one other camper when I pulled in. Walked around with dogs then called it a night. After 20-30 mins in car I rolled over and noticed two light colored figures in distance. I stared for a few mins trying to figure out what they were but couldn't and laid down back down. When I woke up later in the night I looked out again and noticed the light colored objects were gone. The next day I realized it was likely a person(s) in light collred clothing. I debated leaving but stayed one more night bc a couple had parked beside me for the night.

Overall I felt safe bit its a very open space and that makes it a perfect place for someone to creep.

Most sites are beside each other but Campground is spaced out well. No water/trash/electric. There are vault toilets.

Flys were bad when wind doesn't blow - which it does, often!

Overall OK

Absolutely gorgeous. Pretty easy to get back to and find. I had no problem navigating the gravel roads in my rear wheel drive sports car.

Stayed here for the first time recently. Easy to find in the middle of the desert. Plenty of spaces to chose from.

We stayed one night at one of three spots next to a climbing rock face. 🧗‍♀️ a party of climbers took the other two spots. We enjoyed talking with them, and watching them climb the wall. Noting other reviews, took TP to toilets, but found them pretty clean and stocked. Did some walking on trails. Loved the remarkable views of cliffs. Will visit here again.

Was great for an overnight stop, has bathrooms which is always nice. Extremely windy the whole time I was there.

Have to drive down a dirt road to get here but we’ll worth the time and energy. Beautiful spot. Only 14 sites. We arrived after dark and just found a spot on the side. Very comfy and great place to view the stars. Waking up in the morning we were greeted with gorgeous rock views all around us.

This is a lovely BLM camp area, frequented by climbers and especially busy on weekends. 14 designated sites with picnic tables, fire rings and canopies. Lots of other unofficial sites in the area. Plenty of space. Pit toilets were pretty dirty, lots of trash in them and most were out of TP so consider bringing your own. Otherwise area was v clean and although it was busy, most everyone was quiet and respectful.

Pulled in around 11pm on a Tuesday. Only one other person camping but the sites are spread out really nicely. I found a spot all to myself between two huge boulders. Far away from the one other camper. It’s dead silent and the night sky is so clear. Have not seen it in the daylight yet but even at night it’s beautiful. Will definitely be returning here and would highly recommend.

The rock formations, combined with the desert view are astonishing!

We found a perfect spot by the entrance, was very close to one of the popular climbing spots, but wasn’t an issue at all.
30min drive to dump/water/propane & FlyingJ in Barstow. 5 min drive to a cool eatery…will be back for more. Loved this place!

Lots to climb. Lots of spots, some with standard set up (covered table, fire pit) others near big rocks with fire ring. Bring water. Multiple toilets.

Fantastically convenient and minimal approaches to most climbs. Extremely busy on fair weather weekends, it's almost impossible to find a site after 1pm Friday. PLEASE ONLY CAMP IN DESIGNATED SITES!! Much effort and government funds went into creating this Campground in 2003. There has been a lot of disrespectful off trail sites being made that is destroying the wilderness that has rebounded since 2003. Before that, it was the wild west. Dumped cars, gang activity , shootings and a murder. Things are serene and peaceful now. Major dry camping spot for rv travelers. Mid week is almost always near empty. NO TRASH RECEPTACLES. PACK IT IN. PACK IT OUT.

We needed a place to stop on our long road trip for the night not too far off from the highway and found this spot. It was a hot summer day so we were dreading staying in the heat but it ended up being a great spot because there was shade and nice picnic tables by each spot.

I had service on t-mobile. Not great but it worked well enough.

There was one other group of people here but we could hardly tell because of how well spaced everything was. The grounds were pretty well maintained but there was a lot of glass around which wasn’t ideal for having a dog.

When the sun went down, we saw an incredible sky of stars.

We brought our 22 foot airstream. The roads were a bit bumpy coming in but not bad. Parking was really easy to get in and out and with the windows open through the night, the temp was just fine.

This place has a bathroom and many picnic spots. Very pleasant all around

I am here in California getting ready to leave the state by FY22 and had to get outside. I have been exploring the idea of going camping and decided to go this weekend. I stayed a half mile down from the main camping area. Setup my tent on the back of my truck and enjoyed the scenery. It was amazing sleeping under the stars, I had not done that in years

We decided on this campground because it was nearby when we felt we needed to setup camp for the night on our drive from L.A. to Vegas after spending the day at Universal. We’ve stayed at 4 other free camping areas during our roadtrip so far and this is my favorite. Sure it doesn’t provide creeks and streams but it felt safe and was actually really nice. There is cell service which is something that we haven’t found yet while boondocking. There are also bathrooms that we didn’t use as we camped across the way from them. Each campsite has a shaded area on a cement slab, at least one fire pit (our spot had two, one was setup as more of a grill), and a picnic table. The sites were all clean aside from a few small things left by the previous campers. I would definitely stay here again.

How awesome! Covered picnic tables. Nice big fire pits with grate for cooking. Playground, trails and boulders to climb. Nice stop between Joshua Tree and Sequoia. And it's FREE! Well, for now anyway. I showed up late at night and was the only camper but all the others' trash was left behind. Including, inside the vault toilet. Keep partying it up and they'll start charging for the maid service, losers.

This BLM land is set up like a campground with vault toilets and camp spaces throughout, but it’s free. There are some established sites with a shade structure, picnic table, concrete slab, and fire pit, and many, many more open established dirt spots with a dispersed camping feel. 

Possibly due to covid, not sure, but at least half of the dispersed spots are blocked off with rocks and a “No Camping” sign when we were there in early Feb 2021. We arrived on a Friday in early Feb and were able to get a spot but all the spaces were taken by the evening. 

This campground is popular with rock climbers and weekend fun-havers. It was pretty loud and busy on Fri and Sat but on Sunday was blissfully quiet and peaceful. 

ATVs and shooting are banned here. Some nice short trails around the camp area. 

OK Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile cell service, usable, but we needed to run our weboost here to improve the signal.

Wonderful area for dry camping and hiking/rock climbing/relaxing. Very quiet even though the campground was full (spots are spaced out). I was here on a full moon and seeing the moonlight on the rocks all around me was stunning each night.

This canyon is great for a couple of days of climbing. The area is unique from the Mojave topography. Plus, it is free to camp.

Really love this place... the scenery was beautiful!

This campsite is on BLM land, you can stay up to 14 days. There a wide variety of campsites from single to group sites. Restrooms available. Some sites have shaded structures, picnic tables and fire rings. Popular spot for rock climbers, giant rock formations jet out from the ground. Great hiking and awesome spot in spring for some beautiful wild flowers. Would definitely go back in spring or fall months when not too hot.

my wife and I came here to camp and hike for the weekend. This is a nice campground with picnic tables, shade covers and fire rings. We camped here in April and it was already getting warm during the day. This campground is very popular with rock climbers', with several places to climb and several hiking trail.

It‘s always nice that this camp ground is free and that you are pretty much guaranteed a “spot” even if all the official sites are taken. Primitive camping can be set up pretty much anywhere. If you can claim one of the actual sites they have a sweet set up with picnic table, grill, and roofed area. They almost always are claimes by RVs when we arrive on the weekend. biggest complaint: so much broken glass around the campground. Dogs are allowed here, but the whole time we were worried about our dog cutting his feet. If you bring a dog, booties are highly recommended!

Campground review

This campground has really nice features and it's all free! Because this campground is on BLM land there is no formal payment or registration process. You just come in and find a spot. It's more popular here in the fall to spring months. Summer is pretty hot. During busy times most full-feature camp spots are taken by early weekend. The good news is that there are unlimited primitive camping spots for tents. You simply park in one of the dozens of pullouts and set up your tent. If you get one of the full-feature camp spots it includes: picnic table, fire pit grill, and roofed platform. There are a couple fault toilets but no water source. The best part of this campground is its proximity to climbing. Drive down to the end of the camping to find the climbing parking lot. The closest routes are a one minute walk!

Gear review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I sometimes get to test out awesome new products, and during this trip I test drove some sweet Tredagain sandals. I always preferring buying products from companies that are creative in their environmentally friendly approaches. These sandals are a clever solution to rubber waste by using old tire rubber for the upcycled sandal materials. I've been wearing these sandals for a few weeks, and I wore them for the entirety of our camping trip here (except when I wore my climbing shoes). As with any sandals, they took a couple days to break in. Since I've been wearing them though I've gotten no blisters (which I sometimes do with the straps of other sandals) and the rubber has become formed to my foot! They're so comfortable, and the rubber material also doesn't seem to get flattened like some other sandals I've had. The look is classic and people have complimented about the design. These will be my go-to sandals - for outdoor use or casual wear - for a while. Check it out: https://tredagain.com