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Dispersed Camping

Mojave Cross Dispersed — Mojave National Preserve

20 Reviews

About

National Park Service

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Location

Mojave Cross Dispersed — Mojave National Preserve is located in California

Coordinates

35.3168 N
115.544844 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Available
Verizon
Good
AT&T
Good
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Dispersed

Features

For Campers

ADA Access
Picnic Table
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

Enjoy dispersed camping on government land and leave no trace. Pack in and pack out. No (or limited) services at this camping area. Permit may be required.

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Contact

General Info

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Tanner H.

Guide

Reviewed Dec. 30, 2022

Nice but limited spots for trailers/rv’s

Nice for a night or two. Okay AT&T service, bad T-Mobile service but should be enough for you to keep in touch. Not many spots to be able to turn around with a trailer or larger rig.

Month of VisitJanuary

Emma G.

Scout

Reviewed Nov. 20, 2022

Easy Find

Easy to find. Lots of spots, camped by beautiful rocks and Joshua Trees. My Impreza did fine on the dirt roads.

Month of VisitDecember

Aliza N.

Legend

Reviewed Nov. 8, 2022

Awesome spot amongst the Joshua trees

Superb dispersed camping. This area can either be reached by turning down a dirt track at the Mojave Cross or by going down Kessler Peak road. There are a handful of previously established sites on Kessler Peak road plus a few small pull offs that doesn’t appear to be actual established sites. There are also a few sites on the road from the Mojave Cross. This dirt road connects to the Kessler Peak road after not to far but there are 3-4 great spots on the way. Two port-a-potties near the Mojave Cross as well. Sites are big and have lots of space, only down side is that there are only a few of them. Great for privacy but not great if you are a late arrival and they are full! Pack in, pack out. Stay on designated roads and please don’t create new sites! Such a fragile atmosphere. Lots of previously burned Joshua trees in the area but lots of live ones too! Gorgeous sunset over Teutonia Peak!!

Month of VisitDecember

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Drea M.

Traveler

Reviewed Oct. 8, 2022

Gorgeous!

Such an amazing spot! The road was super easy to find and in pretty good condition. I pull a teardrop trailer and it got in and out super easy! The sunset was unreal. Super quiet and the stars are insane. Even saw a tarantula! Will definitely be coming back!

Month of VisitOctober

(4) View All

Michael D.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 5, 2022

Such a sick campground

Easy to access free campground in the midst of hundreds of thousands of joshua trees. We were there on a Tuesday and as far as we could tell there werent any people around for miles. The sunset was sublime and the stars were even better. Clear skies but overnight some of the strongest gusts ive ever felt that continued into the morning.

Month of VisitJuly

(4) View All

Cameron M.

Guide

Reviewed May. 26, 2022

Awesome spot

I drove in at night and originally passed the campground because I saw people there, and thought it was a solo spot. It’s a beautiful little spot and has a cool history. It is close quarters to other campers compared to most dispersed camping, but you still have more room than your typical campground.

Month of VisitApril

Nack

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 3, 2021

Quiet and private disbursed sites

Easy to find. A pleasant spot with 360 views of burnt Joshua forest. Low clearance vehicle ok.

Sitenot numbered

Month of VisitOctober

Brad C.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 23, 2021

An experience that will never be forgotten

The best camping experience I’ve ever had. Sites are nothing more than fire rings and small clearings among the various desert flora that stretch for miles. Perfect for those who want a truly primitive experience. Rock formations litter the hundreds of miles of flat desert providing countless opportunities to hike and view magical sunsets. Nighttime offers a unique opportunity, devoid of light pollution, to view stars and celestial sites that are usually hidden. Coyotes roam free and it isn’t rare for a pack to venture very near campsites at night. Enjoy, but remain aware. Spiny plants abound, so be vigilant and dress accordingly.

SiteSites unmarked

Month of VisitJanuary

(13) View All

Jenn

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 12, 2021

Quiet desert spot

Pleasantly surprised by the well maintained spots, cleanliness and very quiet. We just stopped for a night while passing through. Easy to find and get to. My son loved all the rocks for his RC crawler.

Site1

Month of VisitJuly

Sean S.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 28, 2021

One of my favs

I love this place so much. It’s far enough from town to have an amazing but close to a gas station if needed.

Not a ton of traffic at night. Sadly this place was victim of the recent fire and a lot of the awesome Joshua trees are black and look dead. I still love it.

Month of VisitMarch

Ashley

Guide

Reviewed May. 10, 2021

Desert solitude

I stayed 1 night (5/7/21) in a roof top tent on my Jeep. I didn’t see anyone else at any of the other sites that I checked out & only had one vehicle drive by in the morning as I was packing up. Very quiet & peaceful, though it was quite windy throughout the night. Lots of burnt Joshua trees making the scenery nothing exciting to look at. I felt safe staying here as a solo female traveler (with my dogs). I stayed at the second large rock site and had enough service to make calls & text.

Site

Month of VisitJune

(4) View All

Daniel

Scout

Reviewed Apr. 14, 2021

Diamond in the Desert

Incredible spot. The coordinates from this page took me right to what I think was the best campsite, although there were several more further up the road. A couple sites have big jumbo rocks, which were great wind protection and perfect to climb up on to watch the sunset. Lots of beautiful joshua trees as well, although as others have mentioned, there is a pretty massive burn scar through the area. The site had a primitive fire ring, otherwise zero amenities. There were only a couple other people camping and I couldn't see them unless I walked a ways up the road.

Month of VisitMay

Hector S.

Scout

Reviewed Mar. 17, 2021

Desert Quiet

I arrived at night and was quiet with only 2 other campers. There is about 7 spots with fire rings. RV's wont be able to make it in deep. Smaller RV's can get creative around the cross mount. Overall, great spot. I will stop by again. Next time I will get in during the day. It can feel a bit like a 90's scary movie scene in the desert-- that's just me, though : ) I need a lay of the land to know I can close my eyes at night.

Sara S.

Traveler

Reviewed Feb. 16, 2021

Hidden Gem

Great place for desert boondocking! Very quiet and amazing stars! Joshua Trees all around. Coyotes howling at night. Watch out for cacti which are enormous! A huge fire left a large area of this part of the preserve damaged but there are still some spots where the Joshua Trees are un damaged. It’s a dirt road with some large-ish rocks to get to the dispersed spots. We made it just fine in our pick-up towing a teardrop. 2WD cars shouldn’t have a problem expect. High clearance definitely makes your life easier for sure. Most sites have a rock fire pit and not much else. We opted for a spot against some jumbo rocks for wind protection. It’s a decently trafficked area but wasn’t at all crowded or trashed. We’d 100% stay here again.

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Helen C.

Traveler

Reviewed Jan. 3, 2021

Wonderful Gem

Stayed here for a couple nights just before the new year. There were many spots with fire rings to camp at when you turn onto the dirt road and a couple at the beginning with picnic tables, but the spots where you really want to be are all the way down the path if your car can make it there. My Outback didn't have any issues navigating the path although there were some areas that were a bit bumpy with soft dirt. We decided to camp at the end of the road where there was a large rocky area. It was COLD and windy, but so beautiful. We even had some snow fall overnight and into the morning, but not enough to actually accumulate on the ground. It was a great, quiet camp with lots of space for my dog to run around. There were a few other campers here and there - close enough to know they were there if you needed any help, but far enough to where you never actually saw them unless you were on top of the rocks. This camping area around the cross is the only area untouched by the fires earlier this year, but most of the surrounding area has been burnt to a crisp. Definitely would stay here again, but maybe when it's a bit warmer.

Month of VisitJanuary

Jake

Guide

Reviewed Dec. 22, 2020

Secluded Star Gazing

Wonderful dispersed free camping in Mojave National Preserve. Find the first road adjacent to the white cross memorial. We arrived after sunset and we reluctant to drive too far down the uneven and non-maintained dirt road, but were rewarded with an outstanding campsite for our risky persistence!

The road has many wash out holes and soft sand, but I was able to navigate successfully (and slowly) in an AWD Honda Element. Higher clearance four-wheel drive vehicles will be able to explore additional camp sites further down the road, but there are a handful of sites near the entrance.

Tip: Stargazing at this site was outstanding. Rock formations provide comfortable platforms for laying on your back and watching for shooting stars. Camped here in December with overnight lows around 30 degrees. Bundle up and enjoy!!

Sara R.

Ranger

Reviewed Nov. 7, 2020

Beautiful dispersed campground with views and hikes!

A perfect dispersed campsite. We stayed here with our 30 ft RV. The road to the camp sites was a bit bumpy but we managed to park just fine even arriving after dark. It’s not too close to the highway and the road next to the campground is pretty quiet. There were about 5 other vehicles when we arrived on Saturday night - just 1 other on Sunday night. Sunset from atop the memorial rock formation was gorgeous. There are Joshua trees as far as the eye can see, and a descent fire scar of scorched brush from the wildfire earlier in the year.

Teutonia Peak Trailhead is right next to the camping sites and was an incredible hike. We didn’t have any service at the campsite (AT&T and Google Fi) but did on the trail and down the road. We can wait to go back!

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Elizabeth

Traveler

Reviewed Oct. 12, 2020

Lots of Joshuas!

Pretty remote, which factors heavily for me as a female traveling alone. I was happy to see 2 or 3 other cars there. Beautiful views of joshuas and the surrounding landscape. Burn scar in some areas.

There are dispersed sites as far as 2 miles in, and maybe more if I had kept going. Lower clearance vehicles probably won’t make it vary far back.

Another reviewer mentioned 2 bars with Verizon, but I had none - FYI if that is important to you!

(4) View All

Nora S.

Ranger

Reviewed Aug. 3, 2020

Beyond Amazing!

We had the absolute best time here, the campground was easy to find and very secluded. We arrived there late as usual, and found a spot just as the sun was finished setting. The dirt road that leads to it is pretty rough, but we made it in our little Camry (2wheel drive) without too many scratches. We set up camp, and there was a little fire pit where we cooked some stuffing. We heard coyotes howling at night and could hear some other little critters which made our experience even more wonderful. I ended up climbing up some boulders in the morning to take some pictures of the view surrounding us, and I couldn’t see a single soul in sight. We had an absolutely fantastic time and can’t wait to go back. The Joshua trees that surrounded us were also beyond cool to look at, and offered us some relative shade in the morning from the hot heat of the desert.

Chanel C.

Legend

Reviewed Apr. 2, 2019

Camp under the stars in a Joshua Tree forest

Free primitive campground great for boondocking! First come first serve.
Right across from the Teutonia Peak trailhead. Perfect for going on a day hike and explore the landscape surrounded by Joshua Trees
Shell gas station about 11 miles up Interstate 15 if you need to pick up water and supplies
Dirt roads with gravel with some small rocks when approaching campground.
Fires are allowed and some sites have firepits. You can always make your own with the rocks in the area.
The land is owned by Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and dedicated to the fallen soldiers of all wars
The best sites are the two right around the White Cross Memorial boulders. The one near the front of the cross (entrance) is great for group camping. It has two picnic tables and is right next to a large Juniper tree. The one in the rear of the White Cross is very spacious and has large rocks that protect from the wind.
Amazing star gazing in the dessert with very little light polution
Some spots may be difficult for vehicles without high clearance. Beware of scraping the underbelly your cars or trailers on rocks in the road.
Pretty secluded and remote camping. There were about 6 other campers near us -- mostly RVs and a few tent sites
No showers, toilets, running water. Practice LNT and pack in pack out.
Wifi is okay -- 2 out of 4 bars (AT&T)

Month of VisitApril

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