Castle Gardens

This is an amazing free BLM campground. It’s about 5 miles off of Hwy 16, gravel with occasional washboarding, but overall doable for most vehicles. We had intended to drive a bit further east before looking for a place for the night, but decided to pull off the road to check out the Castle Gardens, for which we saw a sign on the road. We didn’t even know it was a campground until we got there, and wow. What an amazing, beautiful, peaceful, quiet place. There are 4 sites in a loop, each with a shade structure, picnic table, grill, and fire pit. Spot #1 is better suited for tent campers, as you park your car along the loop and then walk a little bit up to the camp area. #2 (the one we chose) has a long driveway leading to the site, so you feel even more secluded, even though the entire campground is pretty secluded. #3 is a shorter driveway that backs to the campsite, and #4 is a pull through. None of the sites were very level. 

There is a single vault toilet here, but otherwise no other amenities. No trash service so please keep the area clean. 14 day stay limit. Cell service is existent but iffy. Verizon went between zero service to 3 bars. Up on the hill overlooking the campground there’s good service for both ATT and Verizon. We didn’t see a single other person while we were here on a weekday in late September.