Indian Cove Campground

If you like looking at amazing rock formations, and bouldering your way up to scenic views, then this is the place for you. I'm not a climber, but there were lots of people to watch going up the faces.

You're paying for access, not amenities. The only reason I didn't give this place all 5 stars is because you pay $30 for a dry campsite with a hole-in-the-ground type bathroom. We stayed at Indian Cove over the New Year holiday, so it was probably more crowded than normal. However, despite being a full campground, I rarely heard anyone there. Most folks are tent camping there for a night or two to rock climb, then move on. Even though the price feel a little steep, waking up in Joshua Tree National Park quickly makes you care only about your surroundings and how impressive they are. Plus, there is a water pump at the ranger station down the road and you're in close proximity to town, which is nice.

We visited another campground in the park and I definitely recommend Indian Cove. It feels way more remote and is actually closer to town stuff than the others. Overall, a really good experience.

I made a reservation in Indian Cove because it is one of two reservable campgrounds at Joshua Tree. The other campgrounds are all first come first serve, and coming from out-of-town I wanted to make sure I got a site at the park. It is on the north side of Joshua Tree National Park, so you have to drive about half an hour to actually enter the heart of the park. That is the downside to the peace of mind you get with having a reserved site in a beautiful campground. Indian Cove is absolutely worth the drive to the park entrance, and is not lacking in beautiful views. Our site #64 was very spacious - we had our own little cove, with some amazing rocks to climb and explore around us. We climbed up with our coffees at dawn to watch the sunrise over the park - a moment I won't forget! The campground was very quiet and well kept. Sites had a fire pit and picnic table, and the pit toilets weren't bad at all.

Great campground for dry camping. We had site 014 - which is a back in spot, and just big enough for our 22' camper. It is not level front to back so make sure you have enough leveling blocks and a low enough block for your tongue jack. Loved the large rock formation as a backdrop to our camping. Nice to sit around the campfire and watch the super moon. Bathrooms are pit toilets but are well maintained and smelled 'fresh' with some kind of deodorizer. Beware cactus when walking your dog. Ours promptly stepped in some - bring tweezers just in case. Beautiful high desert location, great night sky watching, rugged scenery. Check-in was a breeze, stamped our NP Passport, got our map and found our site. Easy -peasy. Neighbors were far enough away to make us feel very private in our 'cove'.
Water is available at the ranger station, we filled our fresh water tank in our camper and I noted that I did not see a hose spigot for RV tank filling. The water spigot was more for filling water bottles. Glad we filled before we arrived. Check with the ranger station prior to arriving if you are not sure.
Only complaint was that previous campers left their trash behind. Sad because it was about 40 yards to the trash and recycle bins. Overall it was great dry camping!

Amazing Joshua Tree camping (one of two campgrounds that accepts reservations in the park), accessible without officially entering the park. Sites are a little tight, with only a few that can accommodate trailers/RV's 25 feet or more, but the ranger hooked us up with a spot that fit us just fine. There's no water, no dump station, and no cell service. Just amazing sunrises and sunsets, which was fine by us!

We loved our 2 nights at Indian Cove. The campground was quiet mid week. The sites are nicely spaced though not level. The site we stayed in actually slopes to the rear so if you're in a trailer or rv make sure you have what you need to be level. We loved being in the rocks and having close access to Twentynine Palms. Would definitely stay again.

Joshua Tree National Park is amazing. Wasn't sure we were going to get her in but after some maneuvering we did it. We were suppose to stay three nights but had some issues with our solar panels. Most of the sites are pretty small. Glad we got our two nights in.

I think I was just unlucky for my stay and was between a group of 4 college kids who were loud and a vacationing family with three kids who loved to communicate by yelling between themselves. But the camp setup was super easy and accomodating. Beautiful park, with the BLM land to the south being just as nice, I’ll stay there in future.

One of only two campgrounds at Joshua Tree that accepts reservations, so book ahead as this Park is always hard to get a camping spot! The sites here are mostly pretty small, so check with the ranger or use google topos to check your space before reserving. (Also, try to get a site facing south in the winter for the sun, and behind the rocks for the shade in the hotter months.) That said, my site, number 61, fit my Bambi and VW Touareg without unhitching, which was convenient for just one night. Beautiful Nature Hike at the end of the road. A lot of Phainopeplas in the campground for bird lovers.
There were a few loud partying tent campers in the neighboring circle, but luckily far enough away from me not to be a bother. Most people were pretty quiet. Generators were heard in early morning and evening, but not too bad.

Campground is nice and clean and very scenic. Check in is maybe 1.5 miles before campground and ranger was very helpful. We went in thinking we'd have no cell service but sure enough, we did have spotty Verizon. Either two bars or no service at any given time so don't rely on it.
Our site, #49, was a spacious back-in for our 21' RV w/motorcycle trailer. This site backs up to nice boulders giving some shade and privacy. It was also fairly level, only requiring a few leveling blocks. I really feel we lucked out as many other campsites in this campground would not be level for an RV. Also, the roads and sites are, of course, dirt. It was quiet in our loop.
Yes, some campsites are very close. Some sites have some brush and boulders between which helps with privacy. You can climb boulders and there are lots of kids doing that. If you don't appreciate people accessing your camping space, then this isn't the place for you. At an RV park, this would be annoying, however, this is part of the park and everyone can climb boulders as they wish and some of those boulders may be behind or in your campsite. Everyone was polite, though. There is another website that tells which campsites are actual bases for bouldering that you may want to avoid- I think those were sites numbered in the low 40's.
There is a very short (1/2 mile?) hiking loop at one end of the campground with nice views and info about local animal and plant life. We stayed two nights but we saw many one-nighters. Joshua Tree Park is very spread out so it requires many miles of driving from one location to the other. We saw plenty in one full day. It's not a place we'd return to, but we're happy we experienced it.