Camping in Joshua Tree is an unforgettable experience, no matter where you end up. The stargazing is phenomenal, and sitting around a campfire next to massive piles of boulders or Joshua Trees makes for an unforgettable experience. There are several National Park campgrounds to choose from, but for reasons I will talk about below, Black Rock Campground is our favorite for camping with kids. If you are looking for more info on visiting Joshua Tree with kids, make sure to read this post!
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JOSHUA TREE CAMPGROUND OPTIONS
Joshua Tree has eight campgrounds – five requiring reservations during the peak season of September to May (Black Rock, Cottonwood, Indian Cove, Jumbo Rocks, Ryan).
- BLACK ROCK CAMPGROUND – 99 sites, $25/night, water, flush toilets, fire grates, dump station
- COTTONWOOD CAMPGROUND – 62 sites, $25/night, water, flush toilets, fire grates, dump station
- INDIAN COVE CAMPGROUND – 101 sites, $25/night, water at ranger station, pit toilets, fire grates
- JUMBO ROCKS CAMPGROUND – 124 sites, $20/night, NO WATER, pit toilets, fire grates
- RYAN CAMPGROUND – 31 sites, $20/night, NO WATER, pit toilets, fire grates
- BELLE CAMPGROUND – 18 sites, $15/night, NO WATER, pit toilets, fire grates
- HIDDEN VALLEY CAMPGROUND – 44 sites, $15/night, NO WATER, pit toilets, fire grates
- WHITE TANK CAMPGROUND – 15 sites, $15/night, NO WATER, pit toilets, fire grates
WHY CHOOSE BLACK ROCK CAMPGROUND FOR FAMILIES?
Little “luxuries” can make a huge difference when camping with kids. Safety and convenience factors go a long way, especially with younger kids. You can read more about our favorite things to pack when camping with kids here. We love Black Rock Campground in Joshua Tree for the following reasons.
SPACIOUS SITES
We picked site #30, the campsite at the northern tip of the campground, where several trails begin. Although this campground does not offer the fun rock climbing that the more popular Jumbo Rocks and Indian Cove do, it is the only campground where you can sleep under a Joshua Tree! In addition, site 30 was secluded, a short walk from the bathrooms, and had total privacy!
Some of the middle sites are pretty close together, with nothing separating them. We were thrilled to be secluded and have plenty of space for our set-up, especially during COVID. There was plenty of room for our large tent, and there was plenty of space for another family to have joined us.
CELL SERVICE
So obviously, cell service is not something you expect or necessarily want when getting into nature. Still, the reality of our “always available world” is that sometimes it is necessary to getaway. Due to COVID, our son was distance learning and could check-in via Zoom while setting up our tent. My husband also had to manage any pressing issues at work. It was great to stay where he occasionally could check on email, as Joshua Tree has NO CELL SERVICE. I know this isn’t the point of camping, but when ducking out of town early on a Friday, it was nice to have service to manage school and work issues that came up!
FLUSH TOILETS
Black Rock Campground has real bathrooms with flush toilets and sinks. Real toilets are great for camping with kids. Although some of the more popular campgrounds like Jumbo Rocks, Indian Cove, and Hidden Valley are at the top of the “best campgrounds in Joshua Tree,” they only have pit toilets and no water available. When camping with kids, real bathrooms and sinks are very helpful!
WATER
In addition to bathrooms, Black Rock Campground has running water available throughout the campground. When I was 27 weeks pregnant, we camped here, so I appreciated an actual toilet and running water. Also, a water spout nearby makes washing dishes easier and assures you will have what you need to put your fire out at night. When camping with no water, you need to pack A LOT of water, especially in the middle of the desert. Water available in the campground alleviates this extra step.
LOCATION
Black Rock Campground is located inside the boundaries of Joshua Tree National Park. However, it is not located inside the main entrances. Just a few minutes off of the highway, the campground offers the beauty and quiet of Joshua Tree, with the convenience of 7-11 and Walmart not too far away. Since Joshua Tree is a park you are primarily driving through and stopping along the way, we found this super convenient for picking up firewood and ice each evening. The drive to the main entrance was only about 15-minutes each morning, and then we enjoyed stopping at our favorite places along the way as we looped through the park.
BLACK ROCK CAMPGROUND NATURE CENTER
Several trails leave from the Black Rock Campground, and the campground is home to the Black Rock Nature Center. Although closed during our COVID visit, the Nature Center is fun for families to explore and learn more about Joshua Tree National Park. The Black Rock Nature Center is also an excellent place for kids to work on their Junior Ranger books!
ABILILTY TO PLAN AHEAD
HOW TO MAKE RESERVATIONS
Although we were visiting when sites were first come, first served, reservations are available for Black Rock, reservations are available August-early June. You can make your reservation on Reservation.gov six months in advance. A reservation lets you know exactly what site you have and takes away the worry of “where will we end up?” Spots fill up fast, so signing on at 7 am is best EXACLTY six months before you want to go. Another option is to sign up for a service like Campnab that will monitor cancellations for you in real-time.
FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED SEASON
Due to Black Rock Campground’s entrance being shortly off of the highway, you do not need to go through the main entrance to get there. This saves time when trying to score a great campsite (especially on a holiday weekend). We talked to the ranger on our drive out that said it is always best to try Black Rock or Cottonwood Campground before heading to the more popular Jumbo Rocks, Indian Cove, or Hidden Valley. You lose time driving into the middle of the park and will almost certainly be met with “Campground Full” signs on a busy weekend.
No matter what campground you choose, during first come, first served, all you do is grab a yellow envelope when you enter the campground. Then, pick an available site and begin setting up. Within an hour, make sure to fill out all of your info on the envelope, put your payment inside and clip it to your site marker. The key is finding a site with no yellow envelope clipped to the number- meaning it is vacant!
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN CAMPING IN JOSHUA TREE
Joshua Tree is a beautiful National Park but also an isolated park. When you plan your family’s camping trip, there are several things to consider. First, always remember there is no cellular service inside the park.
FIREWOOD
Joshua Tree DOES NOT SELL FIREWOOD in their campgrounds. Please make sure to purchase your bundles on your way into the park. There are plenty of stores along the highway that sell firewood. Remember always to buy the firewood you burn locally. We found Black Rock Campground the most convenient because we could grab ice and firewood on the way back each evening.
WATER
Unless your campground has water available, like Black Rock Campground, you will need to bring all of your water with you. It is essential to overestimate as you are in the desert. Due to high desert winds, you want to make sure you have enough for drinking, washing up, and putting out your fire each night. You will want to have at least 1 gallon per person, per day, just for drinking. It would be best if you planned to double that in hotter temperatures.
PETS IN JOSHUA TREE
Pets are NOT ALLOWED on the trails in Joshua Tree. The answer to that is not to leave your pet unattended in the car while you hike!! The temperatures in Joshua Tree can soar to 100° plus. We all know that the car heats up much faster than the outside feels.
Pets are allowed on paved and unpaved roads, picnic areas, and campgrounds. You can read more specific details about where dogs are permitted in Joshua Tree here. Pets must be on a leash at all times. All leashes (or camping tie-ups) must be less than 6ft long. We all know you need to clean up after your pet.
CAMPSITE RULES
Joshua Trees are very fragile, and hanging anything from them (hammocks, string lights) in your campsite is not permitted. So leave your hammocks at home. However, generators are allowed during certain hours. This is important for us as our son has Cystic Fibrosis and needs to do nebulizer treatments.
HOLIDAY WEEKEND ADVICE
Joshua Tree is only gaining in popularity. Getting a campsite is becoming harder and harder, especially when competing in the first, come, first served scenarios. Here are my tips for being successful when the competition is intense.
CALL THE RANGER STATION – (760) 367-5522
When we visited for Memorial day weekend, everything was first-come, first-served. News stations reported that the heavily sought-after Jumbo Rocks Campground was almost full by Wednesday night. We had no idea where we were going or what we would do there. So I started by calling the ranger station to ask about the status of the campgrounds.
Calling ahead was a great choice. The ranger gave me an idea of how full the different campgrounds were. It was still early, so the ranger station did not have the current count of sites that were left, but he was able to give me a general idea of what was already pretty crowded and probably full. This saved us a lot of time. The ranger advised us that during overcrowded times, you should always head straight to Cottonwood or Black Rock, whichever one is first on your route towards the park.
ARRIVE EARLY
When things are hectic, and everyone is competing for the first-come, first-served campsites, early arrival is essential. I am not talking about an early morning Friday arrival, but ideally, an early week arrival. Some people send members of their party out on Wednesday or Thursday to scoop up a site for the weekend.
If you can’t pull the kids out of school early, definitely get to Joshua Tree as early as possible. When we left our site and returned a few hours later, the campground was a zoo. Lights circled all night with people driving around looking for a site (don’t be those people)!
OUR BLACK ROCK CAMPGROUND WEEKEND ITINERARY
We left San Diego with our car packed in hopes of scoring a campsite shortly before 8 am. Unfortunately, the whole country was kind of chomping at the bit to get out, as quarantine had been going strong for about 12 weeks. We were initially heading to Mount Laguna but after a call with the camp host, we realized the trip would probably be a waste of time and immense disappointment (who wants to do all the organization/packing for camping for no campsite?!?!). So we quickly turned around and headed north to Joshua Tree. I immediately began finding a campground to target and piece together an itinerary.
DAY ONE – 85°
We were thrilled to find a great site in Black Rock Campground, and we were setting up by 11 am. Our son could even attend his class via Zoom while we unpacked the car. We finished a quick picnic lunch at our campsite, and since we were in the blazing sun and anxious to see the park, we headed in pretty quickly.
WEST ENTRANCE STATION
In non-COVID times, the first stop would have been the Joshua Tree Visitor Center for brochures, Junior Ranger books and recommendations. However, the building was closed, so we headed to the West Entrance Station, where all these materials were available in boxes once you entered.
As we headed into the park, we were all filled with anticipation as it was our first visit to Joshua Tree! It is fun to see the trees surrounding the road as you head into the park. It is impressive how so many of one type of tree can pop up in the middle of the desert. We decided to spend our day driving through the park versus coming back out to exit here again. We could go through east to the North Entrance Station in Twenty-nine Palms or head south towards Indio, to the Cottonwood Visitor Center Exit.
KEYS VIEW
We planned our exploring by heading straight out towards Keys View, the highest viewpoint in that park. It is a 20-minute detour from the main road (Park Boulevard). Panoramic views looking out at the San Andreas Fault, Mt. San Jacinto, Mt. San Gorgonio (the highest peak in southern California), and the Salton Sea. Being from California, you hear so many things about the San Andreas Fault and the earthquakes it has caused. It was fantastic to look out and see part of the 700 miles where the fault runs! Keys View has a short, paved path to the viewpoints, and the entire loop is 1/4 mile long. The park had signs that created one-way traffic on the pathway to help with social distancing. It was a great start to the trip, as we could look out and see how expansive the desert is.
CAP ROCK
After checking out the desert view, we headed back towards Park Boulevard and stopped at Cap Rock. This was a great stop for our son to explore and rock climb. Cap Rock is a short, .4 mile self-guided loop through boulders, Joshua trees, and other plants. Although it is a loop, we took turns taking our son out to explore for a bit while one of us walked our dog around the picnic area, as dogs are not allowed on the trails. There are pit toilets and a picnic area here, and the parking lot is large, which can only be helpful on busy days.
I knew I wanted to check out the Cholla Cactus Garden, a bit of a drive south in the park, so we started heading in that direction. We drove through Jumbo Rocks Campground on the way to check the status (which was packed) and scope out sites we would want to book in a future trip. More on that in my “next time” list. Next to Jumbo Rocks Campground is Skull Rock.
SKULL ROCK
The Skull Rock Trail goes through the campground, so joining it would be easy if you were camping in Jumbo Rocks. We pulled off on the right side of the road at Skull Rock and took turns taking our son in to check it out. I wish we were able to explore this area longer together. I was very cool, filled with boulders, and our son would have climbed all over for hours.
We did get to see the “skull rock,” as it is right off the road at the stop. To complete the trail, you need about an hour or two (depending on how much climbing your little may want to do) as it is a 1.7-mile loop. This was an excellent stop and a trail I would love to hike when we are back without our dog. It is so fun to see all of the kids climbing all over boulders and just LOVING every second of it!
Shortly after Skull Rock, the road ends at a “T,” with Park Boulevard heading north to the North Entrance Station in Twentynine Palms and Pinto Basin Road heading south to the Cottonwood area. I knew I wanted to see the Cholla Cactus Garden in the late afternoon, so we headed south for almost 30 minutes to get there. Sadly, we had to pass the White Tank Campground and Arch Rock on the way. More on that in my “next time” list. In hindsight, we would have stopped here on the way to the cactus garden.
CHOLLA CACTUS GARDEN
The Cholla Cactus Garden is an incredible sight. We took turns taking our son through the 1/4 loop. The cactus garden appears to go on and on, and the colors shining in the sunlight are spectacular. Unfortunately, the needles are sharp, painful, and all around on the ground. The trail and boardwalk keep everyone safe, so stay on the path. The Cholla Cactus Trail is not a spot to let your child wander.
From the Cholla Cactus Garden, we headed north to the North Entrance Station park exit. Since we were camping, we wanted time to explore our campground, take care of our son’s breathing treatments and start a fire before dark. We stopped at a gas station to buy ice and firewood for the night in Yucca Valley. We were back at Black Rock Campground before 6 pm.
SUNSET IN BLACK ROCK
The wind was starting to pick up when we were out! We came back to most of our table set up on the ground. We did our best not to let the wind bring us down, and we enjoyed the evening around our campsite. With our site along the trail to the West Side Loop, we could explore the scenery around us while keeping our dog safe!
The wind started picking up even more, so we started our fire early and grilled some hot dogs quickly! It was an easy meal to make in windy conditions. Making dinner under a Joshua Tree is a memorable experience. As the sun went down, the temperature dropped, and the stars came out. Finally, we were able to see what all the hype is about Joshua Tree stargazing. Unbelievable stargazing. We were surprised to be pulling out the sweatshirts we had packed for the mountains. We capped the night with smores (our son’s camping staple) and waited out the wind while we slept.
DAY TWO – 85°
We woke up and were all feeling a little discouraged about how crazy the wind turned through the night. Weather apps said they were about 60mph, and they kept us awake! Meanwhile, I was pregnant and had to pee constantly. So it wasn’t the best night of sleep. However, when the coffee heated (it took forever because the wind was blowing out the stove) and we took in the views, we were ready to go for another day! So if you are camping, know your wind predictions and make sure you have what you need to be comfortable!
HEMINGWAY
We made a quick breakfast and headed back into the park. As soon as we entered, we could tell that being Saturday, it was far more crowded than the day before. So we decided to stop at a few places we had skipped the day before. We started with Hemingway, which was an excellent spot for rock climbing for our son. It also has an unpaved road where we could walk our dog. We even saw a desert iguana running through the vegetation. Very exciting!
We drove past Hidden Valley and Barker Dam but kept going because the parking was intense. Having our dog with us, we did not have the option to hike the trails. Instead, we headed back to Cap Rock to let our son climb while we walked the dog and enjoyed a picnic lunch. Cap Rock is a less crowded destination but makes for a great time with ample parking. I can see this being great if we were with friends and all in separate vehicles wanting a place to gather for lunch. However, if the crowds feel too much, this is also a great spot to relax.
HALL OF HORRORS
Up next was the Hall of Horrors and my son loved it! My husband took him out on the .6 mile loop so I could stay with our dog. It was an easy loop with lots of rock climbing. Due to COVID, my husband felt uncomfortable with the crowds and had them wear their masks. As I write this in September 2020, it is interesting to think about this now, and masks have become standard. It was just an “idea” that may or may not help back then. They had a lot of fun climbing the rocks and checking out the scenery. Hall of Horrors is an excellent spot for kids.
COTTONWOOD SPRING
From here, we headed south again to check out the Cottonwood Spring Trail. We drove for almost an hour, passing the cactus garden we saw yesterday and several campgrounds along the way. As we turned off the main road, we saw the Cottonwood Visitor Center and stopped to see if anything was open. It was not, but a kind ranger in the parking lot checked our son’s Junior Ranger book and swore him in. It was a sweet moment, as masks were brand new and seemed temporary at the time. I cannot say enough about the Junior Ranger program at the National Parks (more on that here).
We headed out to the Cottonwood Spring Trail, and each took turns taking our son out (again, our dog!). It is a less than 10-minute walk out to the palm oasis. It was easy enough to do, but it seems like the long walk out to the Lost Palm Oasis would give more incredible views. So unless you plan to leave this way to head out towards Indio or other parts of the desert, I would probably say skip anything south of the cactus garden if you are working with limited time.
We left the Cottonwood area and headed north towards the North Entrance Station. It was an hour plus to get back to our campsite, but it was magic when we did. The sun glowing over the Joshua Trees is nuts and obviously why there is so much hype around Joshua Tree.
BLACK ROCK HI-VIEW NATURE TRAIL
Once we got back to our campground, we took a mini stroll to find the Hi-View Nature Trail. We started strong, but our son saw a snake on the trail after a bit. After that, we realized we were going the wrong way, and we headed back to our camp. This trail had a lot of potential, but we were not ready for it. I cannot wait to check it out when we return. As the sun sets, the glow around the Joshua Trees is insane and capped the night with kombucha, smores, and INSANE stargazing.
DAY THREE – HEADING HOME
We woke up pumped on the beauty of the night before. We debated staying another night because it is hard to give up a great spot. But, instead, we decided to make an adventure on the way home. My husband had always wanted to see the Salton Sea from things he had read, so we decided to get a little creative with our day.
PIONEERTOWN
We headed out shortly before 10 am and headed up to Pioneertown. Unfortunately, due to COVID, most things were closed, but we enjoyed checking the vibe and seeing the famous Pappy & Harriets Pioneer Palace. They were serving drinks on the patio, but we were not comfortable yet, so this will hit the “next time” list. This strip looks like a movie set and is worth the 15-minute detour!
THE SALTON SEA
From Pioneertown, we did not take the direct way home. Instead, we headed south to one of California’s lowest points, the Salton Sea. If you are looking for weird, head south from Joshua Tree. The Salton Sea was once a thriving destination. However, the Salton Sea became toxic due to the lack of drainage needed for salt balance in the water. As the toxicity increased, it killed every living thing inside and destroyed the dream of the LA/palm springs lake-side destinations thriving on the salty banks. Coming into town, you can still see the remnants of the heyday. We did a drive-through as the remnants are sad, broken, and not where you are looking to hang out with no destination.
SALVATION MOUNTAIN
In my quest for adventure, I carried us on to Salvation Mountain, a piece of artwork that needs to be seen to be believed. We waited almost 30 minutes to cross the train tracks to get there, but once we pulled up, we knew we had arrived. The message “GOD IS LOVE” can be seen by all from the road not far from Slab City.
From Salvation Mountain, we headed into the Anza-Borrego Desert and Julian (perfect stop for strawberry season). More on these fantastic stops in the linked post!
