Cerro Negro Lava Field | Established Campground

March 27th, 2024 by Päsci&TineOnTour

Great camping spot, right in front of the volcano.
The drive from leon is fun an doable with a 2wd (soft sand and sharp stones) you‘ll need some driving skills, but if you drove to Nicaragua you will manage this ;)

January 29th, 2024 by PerfectAdventures.com

Great location to camp off-grid! Fun & easy drive in from the Leon side. Sandy but with high clearance & good driver you can do this. Watch for dogs, motos & cows of course on the drive in. Visitors center was under construction. We paid $5 usd a person to camp up in the lava fields. Two old school buses were there taking the tourists for hikes & sand boarding down huge dormant volcano. Totally fun to watch. Bus groups watch sunset then leave. After that you have entire place to yourself. Windy & cooler at 1500 ft than lower elevations this time of year. Wind died down during the night. Epic sunset & lots of photo ops. Have fun!

January 27th, 2024 by kileyoshields

Came here on my Honda 190 motorcycle from Leon for a day visit and some boarding. Info on prices below. Wanted to note that as of January 2023, about half of the route here is really deep sand. It sometimes thins out, but really about 6-8 miles are quite sandy. I was OK on my light moto, but definitely got frustrated at times during the drive. It look a fat hour to get here from Leon. Recommend leaving Leon no later that 1:30 for a late afternoon visit, since you’ll want to leave Cerro Negro by 4:30 to make it back and out of the sand pits before sunset.

Prices were $5 to enter, $10 to rent a board, and managed to get a guide (which they said was mandatory since it was my first visit) for $10. The guide was nice and helpful and took photos and videos. You are required to carry your own board. The board rental comes with goggles and a suit to protect against the sand when coming down. Was a fun experience!

November 14th, 2023 by sonny jadun

Stayed here for the night after late sand boarding. After all the tourist buses left it was nice and quiet.
The price is still $5 to enter the park, $5 to stay overnight, and $10 to rent equipment. I was solo so I needed someone to take my photos and videos so hired the porter (Louis) to carry my board. He knew exactly where to take photos. After dark, we had to walk back to the trailhead, so he guided me back to the car, too. After hike, you can go to the entrance of park where you paid the fees and use the showers. You can purchase drinks there too.

October 30th, 2023 by expeditionsyncro

Really cool spot standing right on the lava field! Be careful from which direction you are coming in. There are 2 ways: From Leon (easiest way where also all the tour buses are coming in) and from the north Matagalpa (bumpy and narrow dirtroad through little towns) where we already scratched some branches with our tiny VW Vanagon (T3). The road (from the north) however is not too difficult and also doable with 2WD, but high clearance is recommended. Enjoy!

September 19th, 2023 by poudredescampette.com

Superb place to sleep at the foot of Cerro Negro, the wheels in the lava! The night is very pleasant, it is calm and there is wind to cool off. Once the tourist buses are gone, chances are you are alone. I strongly recommend going to see the sunset at the top of Cerro Negro, the spectacle is incredible! The hike to the Hoyo volcano is also very pretty. Entrance costs US$ 5 for adults, free for children. The campsite costs US$ 5 per adult, free for children, we asked if we could spend a second night, they agreed to stay for free. Showers and toilets at the entrance are fine. To come here 4wd is not mandatory.

NB: Do not park next to the firepits, here are the places "reserved" by the tours to party next to their techno bus and toast marshmallows after the sledge. We had the misfortune to encroach on their "territory" and they did not hesitate to start a fire 2m from our vehicle! Once they are gone (30 minutes after sunset) everything becomes calm again.

August 5th, 2023 by chasing.vida

Our AWD Ford Transit got here with no problem. Not great clearance, but enough.

This spot is amazing, beautiful sunsets and sunrises. Gets hot during the day, but with the wind it is manageable. Stayed 2 nights. This pin is where you want to park, and it only adds a few minutes to the trail. Follow the yellow arrows on the rocks.

Paid $5/pp to camp and $5/pp to enter. $10 for a board, suit, goggles, gloves.

When we returned, they didn’t charge us an extra $5/pp for the additional night camping. 👍🏼

June 12th, 2023 by 2marmosetsautourdumonde

Very nice and quiet place to spend the night. 5$ per person to enter the volcan area + 5$ per person to camp there.
Just a few steps from the start of the trail.

May 8th, 2023 by ed30003

Beaucoup de place pour stationner à plat, le vent, la solitude et le désert de lave la nuit. Très beau bivouacsauvage.

July 7th, 2022 by pascal.la.croix

Bel endroit pour passer la nuit paysage un peu lunaire et belle vue sur la vallee. Le chemin de 15 kmsvpour yvacceder en venant de leon est sablonneux mais dans les traces c est dur. Facile meme sans 4x4 juste deux petites cotes dans les 3 derniers kms Aucun service

June 2nd, 2022 by MeatAroundTheWorld

Please note that it isn’t possible to camp in the lava field during rainy season. We camped at the main visitors center. You’ll still get to see this beautiful terrain when hiking and/sandboarding though and may we add that this moon-like scenery is well worth the 45 minute hike!

May 28th, 2022 by k3osek

Perfect spot for camping on the lava field. 5usd entrance fee and 5usd for camping. Not easy to get here on the loaded motorcycle due to deep sand but if you have patience you can do it without good riding skills.

March 3rd, 2022 by chris.newton94

Awesome place to camp up for the night, the people at the entrance are friendly and helpful. 14000c (40 usd) to camp, park entrance and board and suit rentals for two. Made it to this location in a Honda Odyssey, low clearance 2wd just gotta send it.

February 12th, 2022 by Myysliexpress

Spectacular place the spend a night. We had the hole lavafield for us. To get there is on sand street, but no problem with 2wd ford e350 right now. High clearence is necessary and the last 20m are very steep with sharp rock and holes. Alternatively one can drive until the entrance and also stay there. We paid 5usd pp entry but nothing for camping. Very windy. The sledge is only rentable at the entrance, 10usd.

October 24th, 2021 by hannokolvenbach

Awesome spot to camp (need to pay entrance once, $5pp and then $5pp per night camping). You are in the middle of the lava field at the end of the volcano boarding track. 4x4 not necessary to get here, but clearance and driving skills. Our friends in a lifted 2WD VW Kombi did it, just some sharp rocks on the way in. The sand is solid up to this point. If you want to go further and drive through the valleys, you need 4x4.

You can use the showers and toilets at the visitor center, but it's a kilometer walk.

LTE 4G, 3 bars.

Big rigs can fit (if they make it through the trees on the way up), but you need clearance. Wouldn't do it with a standard clearance sprinter, especially not a long one.