Boondocking california for free#
Boondocking in California's Deserts and Eastern Sierra The second edition - completely revised and updated (2017) - is now now available.īy camping for free on most of the 184 nights of our trip, we saw a huge part of California while keeping our costs at a minimum. The information and specific directions to our free campsites on the east (desert side) of the Sierras can be found in my Frugal Shunpiker's Guide for this state. They include lots of photos, including some of our many free campsites. Here are links to our blog entries from the 2011 trip. Randy and I spent 2 months in 2000, six months in 2011, and another 3 months in 2017 exploring the southern part of the state. That's why finding free camping is even more important for those wanting to stay on budget.
well, actually California is so big that you'll usually round a few extra corners between destinations. We were surprised to find inexpensive bridesmaid and flower girl dresses for my sister’s wedding at a mall in Palm Desert.The granite-capped mountains, and surreal desert landscapes mean a different adventure awaits around every corner. You’ll have your pick of restaurants, churches, laundromats, entertainment, and shopping. If you’re boondocking at the south entrance, be sure to head to Indio, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, or Palm Springs. There are no grocery stores, laundromats, churches, or entertainment venues around Joshua Tree so you might want to take a day trip to some of the nearby cities. We were surprised to see tons of tanks as we came upon this museum from the back. Drive east along the BLM dirt road and you’ll come up the back side of the General Patton Memorial Museum. If you love history or are enamored with tanks, take an afternoon to check out this little museum right off I-10 near Joshua Tree National Park. We enjoyed the scenic drive, were able to scope out campsites for a future visit (yes, we’ll be back!), found a small campground tucked back away from the highway and stumbled upon a museum. Spend an afternoon or evening and drive along the dirt roads on the BLM land. While there is not much of anything to do at the campsite other than enjoy the amazing views and relax, there are a few things in the area to do while staying there. Even though the flowers were just starting to bloom, I enjoyed seeing all the colors that were beginning to surround us. With the large wash next to us, the kids enjoyed spending time out there finding bottle caps and rocks.
Here’s a view of our boondocking spot and the amazing views we had while there. We did end up needing to get water, so Brent took our water bladder into the national park and filled up at one of the dump stations located inside the park.Ĭell signal for both AT&T and Verizon were very good! So if you’re like us and need to work during the week, you’ll have a super easy time getting online.
There are no electric, water, or sewer hookups. We finally got to do some boondocking again in our Rockwood 2706ws and this time we tried out Williams Hill BLM, which is right outside of Lockwood, Californ. There are no designated campsites, but follow along the road and you’ll see areas where others have pulled in to camp. The roads getting to the campsites are dirt roads so be prepared for a bumpy ride. Joshua Tree Boondocking: Fees and Campsitesīoondocking in this location is FREE and camping spots are pretty much unlimited. When we were there, it seemed that most RVers would take the road to the left, but you can go either direction and find nice spots. Pull off and find a place down one of these roads to set up camp. Just before you reach the main entrance to Joshua Tree there are dirt roads off to the right and left. What better time to check out our next National Park than on the way to see the Mouse! We had no real plans of visiting Joshua Tree National Park on this particular leg of our journey, but a last minute deal on tickets to Disneyland had us looking towards California. Equipped with solar panels, a generator, a water bladder, and a bigger inverter, we’ve been able to live comfortably for a week or longer without connecting to public water or power sources. We seem to be getting the hang of this boondocking thing. Travel Tennessee: Great Smoky Mountains National Park Cosby Campground.Travel Tennessee: Douglas Dam Campground.Travel Tennessee: Duvall in the Smokies RV Campground.Travel Tennessee: Cherokee Dam Campground.Travel Disney: Our Love Affair with Fort Wilderness Campground.Travel Colorado: Standley Lake Regional Park.Travel Colorado: Base Camp Family Campground.Travel California: Anaheim Harbor RV Park.