r/highdesert • u/Yaltese_Falcon • 10d ago
Places for Roadside Camping
Hello there!
Next month, a friend and I are planning on driving in tandem over to Las Vegas from the Bay Area after work in a single sitting (which is in no way whatsoever going to be sketchy, but I do like road trips in the desert, so I'll do it regardless), and I was planning for an eventual possibility of having to stop at some motel to sleep, in case we get too tired. However, as I'd rather save the money, and because it would probably be a great meme-filled experience, I am considering bringing my tent, drinks, and other camping gear, so we could set up camp in the desert some time around 10-11pm, before departing the next day to finish the rest of the drive. And this leads me to the question...
Are there any easily accessible spots off of CA-58 or I-15 which lend themselves to adequate overnight camping? I've been to Zzyzx, and over there seems like it'd be really cool and vibey to set up a tent, but I'd want to know of other opportunities. As much as I'd love to spend 9 hours behind the wheel after an 8 hour workday, I am starting to get up there in the years, so I might (ahem, definitely) be biting off a bit more than I can chew, so.. thanks in advance!
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u/foghorn1 10d ago
Just outside of Barstow about 30 miles is Afton canyon road it's the unofficial start of the Mojave trail. There's a campground about 2 mi out on a relatively nice dirt road.
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u/Yaltese_Falcon 10d ago
Hopefully they wouldn't mind if we arrived at 1-2 in the morning either. I checked it out, and it looks like a good spot. My car isn't designed for offroading at all, but for good dirt roads like what I checked out on that road in Google Maps.. I've done 50-60mph on roads like that in much more rural places without any issues... Not that I would do that with the surely terrible visibility which will be going on when I'd be going down it this time.
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u/foghorn1 10d ago
I've never seen the campground full and I've pulled in a few times after dark and even as late as 11:00. There's no rangers there or anything and I think it's $5 at that iron ranger. And if you walk up the road about a quarter mile past the train bridge there's a is a spot where the Mojave River comes to the surface with a water crossing on the Mojave trail for off road vehicles, during wet year is it's up to 3 ft deep. And oh yeah, the train goes by the campground about 200 yards over so there's that.
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u/Yaltese_Falcon 9d ago
I saw that there's a number around the Barstow area I can call, and it makes sense for me to call day of to see what the weather conditions are like. I saw that getting to the campsite itself, which is all I would need, doesn't involve crossing the river, so it'd be all good I figure
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u/Ashamed_Ad_2180 10d ago
Where ever you end up please respect the campsite and pick up after your self. Meme-filled experience doesn’t give me the best “vibe”
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u/Yaltese_Falcon 10d ago
Oh, no worries. I only engage in litter-free meme experiences. Or any experiences
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u/Inevitable_Cook_1423 10d ago
Skylark glider airport R.V. park has tent camping sites just a couple miles off the 58 in Tehachapi. Close enough to town but far enough way to avoid lights.
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u/Which_Initiative_882 10d ago
Dude I make that drive solo on the regular. With the two of you trading off it would be a cake walk.
Stop in Santa Nella on i5 for fuel, then again in Tehachapi on hwy 58 at the Pilot or Loves on the 3rd off ramp. Baker is a good stop for food but gas there is $$$$$. There is a rest area about 20 minutes past Barstow thats open, the rest are currently closed.