Jumbo Rocks Campground

the park has made the campground “reservation only” from October through May

We pulled into this National Park on a whim in October of 2016 on a Sunday afternoon, and were directed to Jumbo Rocks campground by one of the rangers. We have a 32ft fifth wheel and a long bed truck, and headed in through the West Entrance Station (we were driving eastbound on the I-10 and we followed the signs for Joshua Tree NP, which took us to the West entrance, when we left we drove down all the way through the park an exited at Cottonwood Springs, which you could just as easily enter through as well). It’s a bit of a drive and the map they give you is a hair confusing - but just stick on the main road until you see the signs for the campground. There are a TON of sites in this spot and the views are AMAZING!!! The map they give you doesn’t actually show you the layout of the campground but everywhere you go does eventually end up a loop or circle, so figure you can drive around for awhile and find the perfect spot without getting stuck (there are a lot of gorgeous sites). There were also a lot of other smaller campers and tons of people in tents! It did take us awhile to find a spot that would fit our entire rig (we eventually settled in site #71) and wow are we glad we decided to stay. We barely fit into this spot though, so if you’re bigger than we are you may want to look into Cottonwood Springs (the RV specific camping area which you can reserve ahead of time online some months of the year for $20/night). This is a first-come, first-serve campground where you can’t reserve anything ahead of time. Jumbo rocks costs $15/night (make sure you have exact cash as you will put your money in an envelope at the front of the campground, and a pen to fill out the envelope with) gets you an amazing view with a fire pit and no hook ups, it was worth every cent! They have some pretty stinky pit toilets, no showers and no water. It was so quiet in the park, it’s a big enough area that there you can walk all over and see so many gorgeous rocks and views. Skull Rock Hike also begins right in the campground with amazing views and a fairly flat walk (we wore our toddler on our backs and it worked great). Lots of pavement for bike-riding, huge rocks to climb and a lot of fun areas to explore. Amazing dark skies and night filled with stars under a campfire made this campground one of our favorite spots to go, we are already trying to plan our return trip! I highly recommend it here!! Check out our video RV Reviews here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKmZqsaeydzPKNgZ3ilx_gA