Sawtooth Canyon Campground

On way to Johnson Valley from Las Vegas, and saw this BLM campground. Decided to pull in for the night. It is very easy to follow the signage into the camping area. The camping area is a loop with obvious pull offs. Some have nice picnic tables. There are Vault toilets, although the one nearest my campsite needs servicing. Be sure to bring your own tp. Lots of people in here camping. The spots are close, for a blm campground. Still, I was tucked in between some rocks and felt mostly alone. I can hear other campers from my site as well as see them. There are class B rigs in here as well as bumper pulls. It is a fine spot for a day or two. Wifi at my campsite is att 4g late, 1 bar sometimes 2.

It’s a really beautiful place nice spots and fairly clean restrooms. Be prepared with your own toilet paper. Really loved the level and clean camp spots and the incredible quiet and peace.

Beautiful campground that is free with pavilions, fire rings, and BBQ at the campsites. Pit toilets that are clean but bring tp with you. A playground for the kiddos with a partially buried Dino (cement) that looks like a lot of fun. Rock formations all around for the rock climbers if that's your bag. It's really an awesome campground.

This campsite is absolutely breathtaking. We arrived late on a Friday night and all of the designated spots were taken, but there are places you can pull off to the side and camp. The road in is about 1.5mi of washboard, but it's completely doable (our rented front wheel drive campervan had no issues). Wish we would've spent more time here!

Spent some time at Sawtooth Canyon Campground near Barstow, California, and wow—this spot is spectacular. The BLM offers 13 free, first-come-first-served sites nestled against dramatic rock formations. 🌵 Sunsets glow across the cliffs 🌅, and the moonrise over the rocks is unforgettable 🌕🔥.

The access road is washboarded, so take it slow 🚙💨. Once you’re there, it’s peaceful and wide open. Each site has a picnic table 🪑, fire ring 🔥, and vault toilets 🚻. Plenty of space for trailers and rigs 🚐, and the night sky is breathtaking 🌌.

If you’re passing through Barstow and want a quiet, beautiful free camping spot, Sawtooth Canyon is absolutely worth it.

Very easy to find. Short 1.5 mile dirt road off the black top. You can make it in a sedan, no soft spots. Camp spots are tucked away nicely. Grounds are clean.

Sawtooth was great couple days! There’s pit toilets, picnic tables at each spot. The night sky was incredible there. We got there on a Saturday and it was pretty busy, but everyone left after the weekend. We ended up leaving because it was very windy.

At the end of a mile-long dirt road we found camping spots that rivaled the Joshua Tree park…large rock backdrops, nearby potties, remoteness!

Very popular location with many sites to pick, some have parking pass and cabana but mostly primitive, no hookups

Stayed here for a few nights over New Years. It's free but you must stay in designated spots. Seems to be popular with climbers. 

I stopped in for a night and ended up staying 4. No cell reception, so had to use Starlink. Lots of trails and places to scramble up on rocks.

The road in is pretty washboard, but worth the shaking and rattling for this beautiful spot.

East access. 1.5 miles from pavement. Road is washboarded so keep your speed under 10mph and its a fairly smooth 5 minute drive. Very clean, great a views, almost empty in January.

Lots of camping options here, even if you dont arrive early to get one of the established sites with picnic tables

Beautiful area, but I couldn't drive in.. Road is completely inaccessible and saw many others turning around as well . I'm in a Kia SUV and this road is like Godzilla shaking your rig, and giant waves of the ground make it completely inaccessible. I don't know how ppl drive here, probably are just risking their cars and rigs, that's for sure

I was lucky to get campsite #9. One of the regular campers told me to keep driving til the end when I could find a spot. So amazed when I got there. I had the entire canyon to myself! The next day I met some climbers from France and one from Ohio. They were the only other people in the canyon. I watched them climb and they invited me to try it. I made it up a 40ft rock that was adjacent to my campsite. Exhilarating!

13 sites, but so many people find other places to camp here that we did too. The next day, we noticed the rule that said you couldn't.

February 10 Rv 23 ft

Sawtooth canyon is a really cool spot. Great rocks and mountains surround you. It is also called new Jack city by the rock climbing community There are only about 20 spots here and it is popular. We arrived at 10:30 on a Friday night and it was only 35 degrees out and we still got the very last spot. So be aware of when you’re going and what time you will want to show up. There are some spots that are a good distance from other folks and some spots that are right next to each other. It’s clean and a very pretty spot. We got two bars with att and were able to stream tv shows decently. Had a few distributions. Can be quite windy at times. I camped here on my motorcycle in late spring and it was pretty windy.

This is truly an amazing spot incredible clean quiet and spectacular views all around Shade covers provided with tables bbq pits and fire pits
Pit toilets are clean lots of open space truly a hidden gem

Showed up at sunset and parked in first site. Noticed one other camper when I pulled in. Walked around with dogs then called it a night. After 20-30 mins in car I rolled over and noticed two light colored figures in distance. I stared for a few mins trying to figure out what they were but couldn't and laid down back down. When I woke up later in the night I looked out again and noticed the light colored objects were gone. The next day I realized it was likely a person(s) in light collred clothing. I debated leaving but stayed one more night bc a couple had parked beside me for the night.

Overall I felt safe bit its a very open space and that makes it a perfect place for someone to creep.

Most sites are beside each other but Campground is spaced out well. No water/trash/electric. There are vault toilets.

Flys were bad when wind doesn't blow - which it does, often!

Overall OK

Absolutely gorgeous. Pretty easy to get back to and find. I had no problem navigating the gravel roads in my rear wheel drive sports car.

Stayed here for the first time recently. Easy to find in the middle of the desert. Plenty of spaces to chose from.

We stayed one night at one of three spots next to a climbing rock face. 🧗‍♀️ a party of climbers took the other two spots. We enjoyed talking with them, and watching them climb the wall. Noting other reviews, took TP to toilets, but found them pretty clean and stocked. Did some walking on trails. Loved the remarkable views of cliffs. Will visit here again.

Was great for an overnight stop, has bathrooms which is always nice. Extremely windy the whole time I was there.

Have to drive down a dirt road to get here but we’ll worth the time and energy. Beautiful spot. Only 14 sites. We arrived after dark and just found a spot on the side. Very comfy and great place to view the stars. Waking up in the morning we were greeted with gorgeous rock views all around us.

This is a lovely BLM camp area, frequented by climbers and especially busy on weekends. 14 designated sites with picnic tables, fire rings and canopies. Lots of other unofficial sites in the area. Plenty of space. Pit toilets were pretty dirty, lots of trash in them and most were out of TP so consider bringing your own. Otherwise area was v clean and although it was busy, most everyone was quiet and respectful.

Pulled in around 11pm on a Tuesday. Only one other person camping but the sites are spread out really nicely. I found a spot all to myself between two huge boulders. Far away from the one other camper. It’s dead silent and the night sky is so clear. Have not seen it in the daylight yet but even at night it’s beautiful. Will definitely be returning here and would highly recommend.

The rock formations, combined with the desert view are astonishing!

We found a perfect spot by the entrance, was very close to one of the popular climbing spots, but wasn’t an issue at all.
30min drive to dump/water/propane & FlyingJ in Barstow. 5 min drive to a cool eatery…will be back for more. Loved this place!

Lots to climb. Lots of spots, some with standard set up (covered table, fire pit) others near big rocks with fire ring. Bring water. Multiple toilets.

Fantastically convenient and minimal approaches to most climbs. Extremely busy on fair weather weekends, it's almost impossible to find a site after 1pm Friday. PLEASE ONLY CAMP IN DESIGNATED SITES!! Much effort and government funds went into creating this Campground in 2003. There has been a lot of disrespectful off trail sites being made that is destroying the wilderness that has rebounded since 2003. Before that, it was the wild west. Dumped cars, gang activity , shootings and a murder. Things are serene and peaceful now. Major dry camping spot for rv travelers. Mid week is almost always near empty. NO TRASH RECEPTACLES. PACK IT IN. PACK IT OUT.

We needed a place to stop on our long road trip for the night not too far off from the highway and found this spot. It was a hot summer day so we were dreading staying in the heat but it ended up being a great spot because there was shade and nice picnic tables by each spot.

I had service on t-mobile. Not great but it worked well enough.

There was one other group of people here but we could hardly tell because of how well spaced everything was. The grounds were pretty well maintained but there was a lot of glass around which wasn’t ideal for having a dog.

When the sun went down, we saw an incredible sky of stars.

We brought our 22 foot airstream. The roads were a bit bumpy coming in but not bad. Parking was really easy to get in and out and with the windows open through the night, the temp was just fine.

This place has a bathroom and many picnic spots. Very pleasant all around