Jumbo Rocks (Joshua Tree NP)
Joshua Tree National Park · near Twentynine Palms / Joshua Tree · California Desert
Camping
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Elevation
- 4400
- Campsites
- 124 sites
- Season
- Year-round (best Oct–April)
- Fee
- Varies
Permits and booking
- Reservation required
- Yes
- How to reserve
- Reserve on Recreation.gov (6 months ahead). Joshua Tree's most popular campground, set among giant monzogranite boulders. Vault toilets, NO water — bring all your own. Cool-season camping (summer heat is dangerous). Iconic stargazing.
What is here
- Setting
- desert
- Amenities
- Camp among giant boulders · World-class dark-sky stargazing · Skull Rock trail from camp · Iconic Joshua Tree scenery
- Best for
- Camp among giant boulders
- Features
- Camp among giant boulders · World-class dark-sky stargazing · Skull Rock trail from camp · Iconic Joshua Tree scenery
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Camping detail
- Camp type
- developed
- Intl tip
- Reserve on Recreation.gov 6 months ahead. NO water — bring everything. Cool-season only (Oct–April); summer heat is deadly. Scramble the boulders, hike Skull Rock from camp, and stay up for the incredible dark-sky stars. Combine with the whole park (hiking/climbing guides). Cold desert nights — pack warm. The iconic JTree camp.
The guide
Jumbo Rocks is the quintessential Joshua Tree campground — sites nestled among the park's surreal piles of giant, rounded monzo…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Jumbo Rocks (Joshua Tree NP) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.993, -116.062