Andre V.

Los Angeles, CA

Joined June 2019

It’s Big Sur, you can’t go wrong .

If you are looking for great car camping, the campground in the park is a great place. It does get a little crowded and you will need to book a few months in advance. But there are plenty of hikes in the park and you are pretty much right there. We saw a lot of wildlife and shooting stars on the clear nights. Most campsites are reasonable size and the campground is huge

Beautiful campground just outside main park

As one of the few reservable campgrounds in Joshua Tree, Indian Cove is a great option for camping. Unlike some of the more popular campgrounds in Joshua Tree it is located outside the main park so it’s a bit of a drive to the main attractions. But if you want to make sure you have a place to camp it is a beautiful campground with plenty of rocks to climb or camp within. I stayed here for a night, got up early and moved to Jumbo Rocks inside the park.

It’s a parking lot

I would be giving this campground one star but it is right on the beach and you can walk from campground to beach and to the infamous rock formation. Morro Bay is beautiful and you can watch a myriad amount of sea creatures from the shore including sea otters. So being so close to the main attraction of Morro Bay is nice but the campground itself is nothing more than a parking lot with bathrooms. The sites are so close together that I felt like I was camping with strangers. My fire ring was about ten feet from my neighbor’s fire ring. I was lucky to find a spot on the edge of the campground property to put my tent overlooking the beach. At night I could hear every word of every conversation being had in sites next to me. The sites are that close.

Just OK but close to LA

I have camped here many times over the years. It’s an absurdly expensive campground. It’s close to LA so I assume that is why they feel they can charge so much for a mediocre campground. The sites are close together and I camped here once when it was almost empty but they blocked off half the campground so you couldn’t get away from even just a few neighboring campers. There is a lot of cool stuff in the park like the old MASH set and a rock pool to swim in. But the campground itself is just OK.

Just off the highway

It’s a pretty lame campground. The sites are close together and you can see and hear the freeway from the campground. The lake is also not within walking distance to the campground. It’s relatively close to LA but there are far better campgrounds within the same distance. However, if you are headed somewhere else and need a spot to stay for a night to break up the drive, you could do worse.

Desert Sunsets

Jumbo Rocks is a central campground in Joshua tree so you are pretty close to most main attractions. Skull Rock is actually in the campground. You can’t reserve a spot at Jumbo Rocks like most campgrounds at Joshua tree so I suggest arriving early to find a spot. The camp sites are fairly close together but that is to be expected in most campgrounds in National parks based on my experience. I would recommend finding a nice spot on top of one of the campground’s notorious jumbo Rocks to watch the sunset. Joshua tree sunsets are magical.

Beautiful area with lots to do.

The campground is in a very pretty area with lots of decent sites and wildlife. Wild turkeys roam around the campground. There are trailheads in the campground along with plenty of nearby trails. The campground is just a few miles from the lake where you can boat, fish or eat at the restaurant. Julian is also not far away, a quaint little town known for their pies.

Massive Park

The campground is pretty remote and there are a good amount of sites with tree cover and shade. It’s a gigantic park with plenty of hiking trails. You can buy firewood on site but you might want to bring some. When I arrived store was closed but I found a ranger to open it and sell me some. There are signs warning of ticks in the area so be aware but I had no issues.

Beautiful but pricey

Ventana Campground is nestled among a gorgeous Redwood forest. I stayed at campsite 38 and a small creek went right through my campground and ran off onto a small waterfall. I slept like a log every night listening to the sound of the flowing creek. However, the campground is part of a resort and although the showers and bathrooms were always very clean it was a very costly campsite. The sites are also pretty close together. I stayed for four nights and had only one night of peace and quiet. I think you can probably find much better sites inside the park but Ventana is a nice option for a reservable site and a pretty campground.

Nice area.

Lopez lake campground is a pretty area surrounding a nice lake. There is an abundance of wildlife. I came here back in May and the bountiful rain this year led to an abundance of green vegetation. It’s a really nice, clean , and large campground. It wasn’t too crowded but with a water park, bar, and restaurant all on site, I am sure that it must be very crowded during busy season. It’s a great place fishing and for families but I personally prefer a little more solitude in my camping experiences. Staff was very friendly as well.

Pretty Lake and decent campground

I came here in July of 2018. It was extremely hot and I made good use of their pool. Campground is decent but spots are close together. It’s a really pretty lake though. There is a camp store, showers, and pretty much anything you need on site.

Best Campground off the 38.

One of my favorite campgrounds within a two hour drive from LA. There are some really great sites to choose from but once the sun begins to set, they’re all great. It doesn’t have showers so it doesn’t get as crowded or overused like Barton Flats.