Owl Canyon | Established Campground

April 12th, 2024 by gawo

Nice area with lots of campsites and level ground. The whole area can be windy. Bring your own water as BLM no longer provides it.

November 18th, 2023 by georgel

Awesome spot. Plenty of open campsite even with late arrival. Good stargazing a neat little one-way canyon loop for anything crossover or above.

October 23rd, 2023 by mnswamp

Scenic, but very very windy (30g45mph) when we got here! Level campsites, some with Joshua trees, but basically little protection from the wind. Clean pit toilets, however being your own TP, and while the legend suggests water, I'd consider that wishful thinking (I think it has to be trucked in?).
Also the entrance road is a long dirt road, but well graded and easy to drive if you keep your speed down.
I know this sounds like I'm dissing the campground, but far from it - I really like it, but it's good to be realistic about what to expect!

September 1st, 2023 by brooke.miller29

Great little established campground. Had put toilets but they were pretty nasty. Try not to get a camp spot too close to them or you will smell them. Really enjoyed the cover tables as it rained when we were there. A bit windy but not too bad. The road was good to get there.

May 11th, 2023 by hourlesslife.com

What a great find not far off I-40. (Make sure you go to Barstow then north because Google Maps has another crazy route it might send you on.) $6/night or $3 with an access pass. Sites are nice with a covered picnic table, fire pit with half grill top, and separate charcoal grill. Pit toilets are fine. Water spigots didn’t work while we were there. There is a trailhead right off the campground. But the views from the sites are spectacular, especially as the sun set. We had a great view of Mars and loved when the bats came out. Another camper said the bees are bad in late summer, but we didn’t have biting anything.

April 10th, 2023 by deltawhiskey2016

Nice enough BLM campground, lots of room for tent or vehicle camping. No one from the BLM had been there in a while, and the pit toilets were pretty gross and they were completely out of fee envelopes. About 20 minutes north of town.

February 16th, 2023 by johndelaney2008

BLM camping area, $6/night.
Nice walk in the canyon.

February 10th, 2023 by travel2u.de

Nice Campground, quiet, dark, perfect with dogs, almost empty at this time. But better don’t use the pit toilets, they are very dirty. No water at the moment. Beautiful trail in the canyon about 2 miles one way. Road to get here is washboard but not bad ! Easy to drive, just don’t be too slow :)

December 15th, 2022 by mohaack

4.5 miles of heavy wash boarded dirt road to get there. Slow going if just need a stopping site. Campground as described elsewhere.

November 12th, 2022 by krisscraig

This place was such a great find! Washboard road, 4 miles, will definitely shake up your beers on the way in, but it’s do-able. Last night, there were some road closed signs & 3 big washouts / dips. Manageable in our van but probably no fun for a car.

Plenty of space between sites, gorgeous sunsets, wonderful hike through Owl Canyon. There are picnic tables, fire pits & grills at each site, plus several put toilet huts. The toilets were pretty gross, no toilet paper or hand washing / sanitizing facility, so bring your own TP if you’ll plan to use them. 2 bars ATT, able to watch tv with the mobile hotspot!
Great stargazing. Will definitely come back!

October 20th, 2022 by youtube.com

ok place. pit toilet. water faucet was working.

May 2nd, 2022 by shaderfx

Really nice campsite. Has water and toilets. I had great AT&T cell reception, but only one bar on Verizon. The site costs a small amount of money per night but there were no envelopes/licenses.

April 29th, 2022 by bm.aroundtheworld

Very nice Campground in the middle of the canyon. If you take the left side at the end, there is a 2miles walk to do. Pit toilets (not really in a good shape), level spot, good t-mobile signal!
Bm.aroundtheworld from Switzerland

December 31st, 2021 by craftsandtravels

Wonderful views. Picnic tables, pit toilets, and small trash receptacles. Big Rig friendly.

November 12th, 2021 by piedraloca

Stayed here on a Friday night in November and there were still open sites on Saturday.

Still $6, but there weren't any payment envelopes. Trash cans had new liners, but all pit toilets were out of TP and had not been cleaned in what looked like A WHILE. It was bad enough that I took my can of Lysol over to the one nearest our site to render it usable.

4G on Verizon.

Fun to walk up the wash and see the different shades of dirt. Plus a shy tarantula!

November 11th, 2021 by gvb1940

Very nice quiet CG. Very few people during the week. Washboard rd getting in from the pavement but if you find the right speed it’s not too bad.
Sprinter 4x4 with lift. Never had to use 4x4.

November 2nd, 2021 by andrebacon

Looks like free.
lots of parking place with Picnic tables.
bathroom.
check the pictures.

April 10th, 2021 by smmc4

Nice campsite, pretty crowded on the weekend, but there were still about 6 or 7 open sites. Visited mid April. Only one college there due to covid. I think a normal year would have more universities on the Weekends. Rainbow Basin is a textbook geologic site. I really enjoyed the ancient ripples

April 8th, 2021 by ozymandias.steiner

A very nice place to be, not crowded, clean, trash collection. Cell reception in some places.

December 28th, 2020 by bigwill

Nice campground with fire rings and a separate high grill for charcoal. We pulled 5 vans around a single site!

August 15th, 2020 by Joseph

Very isolated and quiet area. True desert vibe with great basin views. There are bathrooms and tables but not much else. Cell phone signal in the area is pretty good (Verizon + AT&T)

March 20th, 2020 by riptyd64

Nice quiet spread out campground improved sites pit toilets are well maintained

January 21st, 2020 by johanroos1961

One of the nicest places in the wild. Nice hiking and great views!! Only 2 RVs. 3 dollar with annual pass otherwise 6

October 9th, 2019 by alexmannucci

Awesome spot! Great view. However we got very bad winds (50 mph during the night).
Not very busy while we were there.
Playground for kids. Says central water but notes saying out of order while we were there.
Bad road but worth the view!

heard some very very loud detonation very strong deflagration. fairly close to Fort irwin Air Force base ... must be some kind of tests

December 23rd, 2018 by vanaardennen

Spread out and comfortable. Has bathrooms.

November 3rd, 2018 by Tsavo Touring

Great spot. Clean vault toilets. Playgrounds for the kids.

May 5th, 2018 by prettylittletravels

Nice & clean campground and 6$ is well worth it. The road leading to the CG is a 4,5mile gravel road, it does take a while to get there if you dont have a super sturdy vehicle.

April 6th, 2018 by Make Like An Apeman

BLM fee campground at Rainbow Basin Natural Area. $6 per night. 31 campsites with covered picnic areas and grills. Lots of pit toilets and play areas for kids. Supposed to have potable water, but didn't during my visit. Beautiful site with nearby hiking trails.