Prices not available
Estimated price based on 1 car and 2 persons with a tent, camper or caravan.

Campsite opened from 01 January till 31 December
This campsite can only be booked by telephone. 760-326-7000
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Tents
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4.5 / 5 (17 votes )

Heart of the Mojave West

Kelbaker Road
92304, Amboy
the United States

Heart of the Mojave West is a campsite in Amboy, the United States, located in the California region. Dogs are allowed on this campsite.

On Heart of the Mojave West it's possible to camp with a tent.

Characteristics campsite

Photos

Reviews

Pietro Kunde
English (US)
A broad expanse of gravel, suitable for maneuvering trailers, is situated approximately half a mile south of I-40, on the western flank of Kelbaker Road. The sole drawbacks were the loud sounds emanating from a nearby pipeline pump station and the strong winds that occurred during the night.
1 year ago

Anonymous
English (US)
I stayed here because I wanted to take some night photos of the Milky Way. The sky is super dark, very pretty. I drove east on the dirt road for 3 miles in a Prius and had no troubles while on the road. I turned off into a sandy spot and did get stuck for a bit but was able to get out by sweeping some of the sand away and putting my floor mats under my tires. There isn’t much to do in this exact spot but across the highway there are amazing rock formations and trails and then further up that road is Kelsey Dunes which is an absolute MUST see. Then you can drive down south for around 20 minutes and see Amboy Crater and keep going and end up at Joshua tree. It’s a nice central location to a lot of things. ATT cell signal was enough to stream video.
1 year ago

DesertArab
English (US)
If you come here and have the entire place to yourself, it can be quite enjoyable. I had it all for myself one of the two nights I was here. However, the second night, there were multiple parties who came and parked right next to me. I don't go out into nature to be near people. I had the ranger come harass me claiming I drove over some plants but I didn't. He was just trying to instigate trouble. I get a lot of harassment by the rangers in certain areas due to my complexion despite breaking no laws, being respectful with the noise and obeying Leave No Trace. If you're looking for somewhere private and away from people, I highly do not recommend this place. Also the sand is very deep and there were 3 cars that got stuck here while I was staying. I suggest just driving into the Mojave Preserve and camping there. Plenty of better spots with more privacy and you can take care of your bathroom duties in private, unlike here. The only plus this place had was full cellphone reception. If you are driving along the 40 and need a place to sleep, while planning on leaving as soon as you wake up, this is an ok spot for the night. If you plan on staying for more than that, not recommended. The temperatures here get extremely hot even in the spring. 100F in early April. Very windy and lots of road noise all hours of the night. I'm not sure who travels the road between midnight and sunrise, but there were a lot of people. Can be scary having cars show up at 2am right up to your campsite
2 years ago

Beer Nomads
English (US)
This was our first time boondocking in the desert and now we’re hooked. Easy access, plenty of room for multiple rigs if you’re traveling in a group. If being perfectly level is important to you, you’ll probably be frustrated. Thankfully, we’re not real concerned about that. We had the place to ourselves most of the time. Late in the evening a van did pull in and set up on the other side of the area from us, then left in the morning. We actually appreciated having someone else there overnight since this was our first time desert camping. There’s actually a decent amount of traffic in the adjacent road, but it’s not too loud, and when there’s no cars, it’s a crazy kind quiet. Plus, we’d never seen so many starts looking so bright. We definitely plan to explore more sites like this in the future. This was easily our favorite night of our 3 week road trip. The only downside has nothing to do with the spot, and everything to do with people. There’s a LOT of debris and broken glass around, so watch out for that, especially with pets. Thanks to nearby towers, cell coverage was better than most RV parks we’ve been in, so it’s easy to stay connected, if you choose, and to stream.
2 years ago

Unbound Faith
English (US)
This site has plenty of space for larger RV's but we wouldn't recommend staying here with anything larger than a van. The ground is so uneven it took us three attempts to level. We finally had to use leveling blocks on our back tires in addition to raising one whole side. We aren't new at RV'ing or complicated leveling but the hour it took us to level would have been better spent on the road going elsewhere. There was also some broken glass and garbage around the main parking area. If you decide to stay here be sure to budget extra time for leveling and bring plenty of levelers. The area had some strong winds which helped cool down the RV but also kicked up a lot of dust and brought it into the RV. If you are looking for a location with good cell signal this site did have great service on Verizon. It's also an easy drive to and from the highway. You will hear a road noise from the highway but it wasn't enough to keep us awake at night even with a few windows open.
2 years ago

FloJo Fleetwood
English (US)
Easy access, right off the highway. Some vehicle noise but that doesn’t bother us. As you enter from Kelbaker, there is an area that would accommodate at least 4 big rigs or even group campsites. If you continue to the left, there is one pull through spot off to the side, which is where we camped. That pathway continues a little ways toward Needles Fwy, but those sites weren’t spectacular. We hiked further up the dirt road off Kelbaker, which goes all the way back through the Trilobite Wilderness area. Maybe only a couple sites up there that would be accessible for larger rigs, but there were some gems for vans and 4x4 tent camping, especially the further you get into the wilderness area. Lots of tire ruts from people getting stuck, so definitely be wary of the sand. We couldn’t do it in our Class A, but if your vehicle permits, you can get way far out in the middle of nowhere. We’d stay here again. It was clean and quiet with lots of hiking and privacy.
2 years ago

angela
English (US)
Great spot with beautiful views. Really quiet at night. Loved it.
3 years ago

Ernie & Adel
English (US)
We stayed there last night and have only one thing to add. If you miss the turn-off from Kelbaker Rd, “like I did“. It was a long loong ways before I could find a spot big enough and solid enough to make a U-turn with my 29 ft rig and dingy. The turn off is 1.3 miles from the US 40 exit. And no, I didn’t see the construction vehicles on the right side until we were leaving this morning.
3 years ago

Nancy
English (US)
Plenty of places to camp over here. Don’t get discouraged if the first one is filled, just go down the road a ways and you will find a nice spot. We recommend coming in before dark for two reasons-one, the terrain can be a little soft if you get off the packed ground, and two-you do t want to miss the sunset!
3 years ago

Vera
English (US)
We pulled in in the dark and had no trouble finding the location using the coordinates. It is only a short stretch on dirt road and we had no issues. We found a mostly flat spot. The views in the morning were breath taking! Just as I had hoped there was complete silence and serenity. Totally recommend staying here before heading into the Mojave for the day.
3 years ago

The 34Foot Gospel Bus
English (US)
Easy to get to, arrived at night both times we’ve visited , in our 34ft Class A , amazing views and location, at least one or two other campers every time we went, stone rings, and enough space to drive around and settle in a spot. Only bad thing was having some coffee and breakfast enjoying the outside view then all of a sudden you see a camper pop a squat in plain sight and drop a #2 , other than that, was great a would go back again!
3 years ago

Lesley E
English (US)
Great spot but open. Only one RV in the area several hundred yards from us so pretty private. Soft sand road/track after 0.5 mile. Great mobile reception.
3 years ago

Anonymous
English (US)
Heading south off I-40, we took Kelbaker Rd and drove south for about a mile(ish) and turned left at a dirt road intersection. If you look right, you’ll see some sort of construction site. The turn left sneaks up on you. We drove down about 100m and found a good spot on the left that suited our 5th wheel. There are a few fire rings out there. Be cautious of nails. I picked up a handful, but there’s more out there. Apparently, this is common in dispersed BLM sites because plebs burn pallet wood. This was during the Coronavirus era (hopefully that has passed by the time you read this) and we had a couple Rangers stop by to check on us. They said it’s a fairly quiet area and said the dirt road was called “pipeline rd”...but it’s not marked. We had some other campers nearby, but not within earshot distance. There is another 5th wheel friendly spot if you continue down the dirt road. That will also be on your left and you drive between a couple smaller mountains. It would be a quieter spot. The cool thing about this location is you can drive north for a day-hike up the Kelso Dunes OR drive south to hike Amboy crater. Both are highly recommended! There are no service stations nearby. We made a trip to the Chevron on west I-40 (about 35 miles away) for water. There is a cute diner/small store called Roy’s diner in Amboy on old Route 66. But it’s pricey. Overall, we would definitely stay here again.
3 years ago