Black Rock Canyon

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  Sleep Under the Stars

  Black Rock Campground

  99 sites. $25 per night. 4,000 feet in elevation. Water, flush toilets, tables, fire grates, and a dump station.

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  Find desert solitude

  Wilderness Backpacking

  Backpacking can be a great way to get out into the park for those who are prepared.

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  Black Rock Hiking

  The Black Rock Area has a network of hiking trails through Joshua trees, mountains, and rocks.

 

Located in the northwest corner of the park, the road to Black Rock Canyon dead-ends at the campground. Campsites are located on a hillside at the mouth of the canyon surrounded by Joshua trees, junipers, cholla cacti, and a variety of desert shrubs. Spring blooms usually begin with the Joshua trees in late February followed by shrubs and annuals through May.

Camping

This quiet, family campground is a good introduction for first-time campers. Each campsite has a picnic table and fire ring with rest rooms and water nearby. If you forget to bring your firewood, shopping facilities are only five miles away in the town of Yucca Valley. Campsites vary in size and can accommodate both tents and RVs. A day-use picnic area and a dump station are also available. For horse owners, a separate area is provided for camping or for staging a ride. To make reservations, visit recreation.gov and apply for a permit.

Nature Center

Campers register and pay camping fees at the nature center located in the middle of the campground. The staff at this small visitor center will help you plan a hike or other activity. Maps, books, nature guides, and children's activity books may be purchased there. The Nature Center is also home the Black Rock Art Gallery displaying the work of featured artists.

Hiking

The hills behind the campground offer a variety of hiking trails including the Hi-View Nature Trail. The interpretive guide for this trail, available at the nature center, identifies the vegetation along this scenic 1.3-mile walk. For those looking for longer trails, Eureka Peak, Panorama Loop, and Warren Peak take hikers to ridge lines overlooking the often snowy peaks of San Jacinto and San Gorgonio. The trailhead for a 35-mile section of the California Riding and Hiking Trail is located at Black Rock. Wilderness backpackers can apply for a permit and make reservations at recreation.gov. To learn more, visit our Hiking and Wilderness Backpacking pages.

Wildlife Viewing

But you don't have to hike to enjoy the Black Rock Canyon area. Wildlife sightings are frequent in the campground. Visitors often encounter ground squirrels, jackrabbits, and cottontails. Frequent bird sightings include cactus wrens, Gambel's quail, great horned owls, scrub-jays, and roadrunners. A lucky birder might be rewarded with a glimpse of a Scott's oriole, pinyon jay, or LeConte's thrasher. More elusive species such as bobcat, bighorn sheep, mountain lion, desert tortoise, and mule deer have all been seen in the area. As the sun sets, listen for the "singing" of coyotes living on the outskirts of the campground. To learn more about animals to look for, visit our Nature page.