Joshua Tree National Park camping and RV campgrounds.

All 9 Joshua Tree campgrounds, compared.

The short version: book Black Rock or Cottonwood if you need water, since they're the only campgrounds with it, along with flush toilets and a dump station. Book Jumbo Rocks for the most sites, 124, or Indian Cove, off Highway 62 on the north side. For the darkest skies, NPS names Cottonwood. Try Hidden Valley, Belle, or White Tank without a reservation, and arrive early in the week. Figures come from the NPS campgrounds page, last updated August 16, 2026, and checked September 11, with RV details from the NPS campground records. The NPS summer closures page says Belle and White Tank close from June 1 until August 28, so the chart shows them open from August 29 to May 31. Over the same stretch, Indian Cove sites 40 to 101, Black Rock sites 21 to 87, and Cottonwood's Loop B close too. Fees are per site, per night.

Reservations and first-come sites.

Six campgrounds take reservations, on Recreation.gov or at 1-877-444-6777: Black Rock, Cottonwood, Indian Cove, Jumbo Rocks, Ryan, and Sheep Pass, plus the Cottonwood and Indian Cove group campgrounds. You can book the same day or up to six months ahead. Book before you enter the park, because cell service inside is very limited. NPS highly recommends a reservation for a holiday, a weekend, or any day in spring, and its busy season runs from October to May.

First-come, first-served. Belle, Hidden Valley, and White Tank don't take reservations. Find an empty site, set up a tent or leave personal items to show it's taken, then go straight to an entrance station to register and pay $25 a night within one hour, by debit or credit card. If you arrive after the entrance stations close, you can pay the next morning. These sites are full nearly every weekend from September through May, and most weeknights from mid-February to mid-May, usually by Friday afternoon on weekends. The earlier in the week you arrive, the better your chance.

No check-in. With a reservation, just move into your site; the gates never close. Check-in and checkout are at noon. If you'll arrive a night or more late, call 760-367-3001 and leave a message so your reservation isn't cancelled.

Recreation.gov's nine are different. Recreation.gov also lists nine Joshua Tree campgrounds, but not the same nine. It lists the Black Rock horse camp and the Cottonwood and Indian Cove group campgrounds separately, and it leaves out Belle, Hidden Valley, and White Tank, which don't take reservations.

You don't need a reservation to enter Joshua Tree, just an entrance pass. See Joshua Tree fees.

RVs, water, and dump stations.

No campground in Joshua Tree has hookups. Black Rock and Cottonwood are the RV campgrounds: both have potable water you can reach with an RV and a dump station. The dump stations cost $5, paid at any entrance station before or after you use them. Black Rock's is near campsite 6, and Cottonwood's is between the visitor center and the campground. The other campgrounds have no water, though Indian Cove has a bottle and jug filling station at the small ranger station about two miles north. NPS lists that ranger station as closed during its summer hours.

At the reservation campgrounds, length limits are set by site, so filter by your RV's length on Recreation.gov when you book. If your rig is even slightly longer than a site's parking space, it won't fit, and changing sites depends on availability and costs a fee. At Jumbo Rocks, site 84 is the longest, at about 40 feet, and some sites take only short rigs. Hidden Valley and White Tank allow 25 feet combined, and Belle up to 35 feet, though most of its sites fit 25 to 30. RVs and trailers aren't allowed at the Cottonwood or Sheep Pass group sites, and Indian Cove's group sites take small rigs up to 25 feet combined.

A vehicle towing a trailer, popup, tent trailer, or fifth wheel, or a motorhome towing a car, counts as two vehicles. First-come sites allow two vehicles if they fit, and there's no overflow parking in the park, so leave extra cars outside and carpool in. Generators can run only from 7 to 9 am, noon to 2 pm, and 5 to 7 pm.

Camp rules that change your trip.

You can camp 30 nights a year in the park, and only 14 of them from October through May. Set up tents, tarps, and gear within 25 feet of the picnic table or fire grate. First-come sites hold up to six people and three tents, if they fit; at reservation sites, check the limits on Recreation.gov. Quiet hours are 10 pm to 6 am.

Campfires are allowed only in the fire ring at your site. From June 15 to October 1, park-wide fire restrictions ban campfires, open flames, and charcoal fires, barbecues, and grills; self-contained gas stoves and grills are still allowed. The rest of the year, charcoal grills are okay. Firewood isn't sold in the park or at visitor centers, so buy it in town, and don't gather any plant, living or dead.

Keep food and trash in a secure container or your vehicle during the day, or rodents and ravens will get into it. Pets must stay on a leash and never be left alone. Don't tie lines to Joshua trees, junipers, or other plants, and hammocks and slacklines aren't permitted in campgrounds at all.

Accessible campsites are site 1 at Indian Cove, site 122 at Jumbo Rocks, and site 61 at Black Rock, which fits an RV up to 30 feet. None of the campgrounds has showers, and showers in nearby towns usually cost $5 to $30.

Camping and the crowd calendar.

Joshua Tree runs the other way from most parks: it's busiest in spring and quietest in summer, and March is the peak. September averages 39% of March's visits, and October 51%, when the campfire ban ends on October 1. November climbs to 76% and December 83%. January runs 64% and February 72%, and from mid-February to mid-May first-come sites fill most weeknights too. April is still 89% and May 62%. June drops to 43%, as Belle and White Tank close and the campfire ban starts June 15. July and August are the quietest months, at 33% and 34%, and NPS calls June to September the off-season, your best chance at a site. Our pick is a midweek stay in October: visits are about half of March's, every campground is open again, and campfires are allowed. If you come in summer, the park recommends four liters of water per person, and campground water is only at Black Rock and Cottonwood.

Month-by-month tradeoffs are on the best time to visit Joshua Tree page.

When the campgrounds are full.

NPS says all the park's campgrounds are usually full on weekends from September through May. If you can't get a site, you can camp on Bureau of Land Management land outside the park, or stay at a private campground or lodging in the gateway towns; NPS's Camping Outside of the Park page lists some. Sleeping in your vehicle along a roadside or at a pullout isn't allowed and can bring a citation.

BLM dispersed camping. NPS maps BLM dispersed camping areas north and south of the park. There are no restrooms, water, or trash pickup, campfires need a permit from BLM, and you can't camp within 300 feet of a road or where signs close the area. The area north of the park is surrounded by private property where camping isn't allowed, so follow the map.

Backcountry camping. A backcountry permit costs $6 for 1 to 12 people for up to 14 nights, with no more than three nights in a row in one zone, and you can book it up to six months ahead. In most zones your camp must be at least 1 mile from a backcountry trailhead, half a mile from any road, and 200 feet from any trail. Camping isn't allowed at trailheads, along roadsides, or in day-use areas, and NPS says backpacking isn't recommended for unprepared campers who couldn't find a campground site.

Common questions.

Can you sleep in your car in Joshua Tree National Park?

Only at a designated campsite you're lawfully occupying. Sleeping in your vehicle anywhere else, including trailheads, dirt roads, parking lots, and roadsides, is illegal, and roadside sleeping can bring a citation.

What is the 200 rule for camping?

At Joshua Tree, the 200-foot figure is for backpackers. In most backcountry zones, your campsite must be at least 200 feet from any trail, half a mile from any road, and 1 mile from any backcountry trailhead, and you need a $6 backcountry permit. It doesn't apply in the campgrounds, where you camp in your site.

Is there free camping in Joshua Tree?

Not inside the park. Campground sites cost $25 to $35 a night, group sites start at $55, and a backcountry permit is $6. Outside the park, NPS maps BLM dispersed camping areas to the north and south, with no restrooms, water, or trash pickup, and campfires there need a BLM permit.

How do first-come, first-served campsites work in Joshua Tree?

At Belle, Hidden Valley, or White Tank, find an empty site and occupy it, then go straight to an entrance station to register and pay $25 a night within one hour, by debit or credit card. Up to six people and three tents are allowed if they fit. Sites are usually gone by Friday afternoon on weekends from September through May.

Are Belle and White Tank campgrounds open in summer?

No. NPS closes both from June 1 until August 28. Hidden Valley is the first-come campground that stays open all year, and Cottonwood's Loop A usually becomes first-come in summer.

Do any Joshua Tree campgrounds have water or showers?

Only Black Rock and Cottonwood have water, and they also have flush toilets and dump stations. No campground has showers or hookups. Indian Cove has a jug filling station at its ranger station about two miles north, and showers in nearby towns usually cost $5 to $30.

Where these facts come from

Sites, fees, elevations, water, toilets, booking rules, first-come registration, summer status, the campfire ban, group and horse camps, vehicle and occupancy limits, dump and water stations, RV limits for Belle, Hidden Valley, and White Tank, generators, check-in, showers, firewood, and vehicle sleeping come from the NPS Joshua Tree campgrounds page, last updated August 16, 2026. Stay limits, gear placement, pets, and fire rules come from the NPS camping regulations; BLM camping and the off-season from Camping Outside of the Park; backcountry permits and campsite spacing from the NPS backpacking page. Summer closure dates, partial summer closures, the Indian Cove Ranger Station's summer status, and the June 15 to October 1 fire restrictions come from the NPS summer closures page (last updated August 3, 2026). Per-site RV notes, accessible sites, Ryan's sites, Indian Cove's water station, and campground coordinates come from the NPS API campground records; the nine-campground listing from Recreation.gov's park page. Summer water guidance comes from the NPS summer page, and dark skies from the NPS stargazing page. Visit shares are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from NPS Visitor Use Statistics, as a percentage of March, the park's busiest month. Crowd numbers are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package on NPS IRMA Stats. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.