DebbieM

We were here May 2, and the 3 miles in on dirt roads were already washboarded. We were hopeful after previous post but not the case. Not too bad at 5-10 mph pulling our 40’ 5th wheel. The almost empty mid-week campground, gorgeous hike right out of campground and the loop drive made it worthwhile! Bring your own water if in a bigger rig. They have trucked in water to fill jugs, but not RVs. It was a cool week and windy but we had a blast! There are outhouses, gazebos, tables, grills and fire pits.

Water and electric (30 and 50amp). No sewer, but there is a free dump station within a mile. Could use a little freshening up like more trees/landscape/grass around some of the campsites, but for $15, not a huge deal breaker especially with cutbacks etc. It was quiet at night and the hosts are very friendly. There are two entrances, one is for the park/playground and there is a specific RV entrance which is marked as such. Turn in the one marked RV. Don't worry, if you enter in the wrong one (like we did in our 40' 5er) you can turn around. We got 4 bars of boosted Verizon and 4 bars of AT&T. Dog friendly too. Paths for walking and bike riding.

Cantil, CA
Jawbone Canyon BLM
35.3086N 118.0144W

Beautiful canyon with many areas to camp right off paved road. The further back you go the prettier it gets but the cell signal drops. Great place to explore Red Rocks Canyon State Park, Randsburg and the Burro Schmidt Tunnel (cool, google it). 2 bars boosted Verizon at the first pipes. (Pullout).
Best midweek as it’s a popular off road area. Wildflowers at Red Rock Canyon SP were gorgeous and temps were mid 70s. As usual it can get windy here. Gas, DEF and groceries in nearby Mojave.

Nice but $10 to dump snd or fill water. This is a campground.

If you have a large rig I’d check it out first. Bigger spots if you go left. The roads narrow quickly each way. If the first few spots are taken each way turning around a large rig could be a problem. Low branches further back. Very nice area though.

We took a spot not too far from the entrance, maybe 3/4 of a mile. Several nice spots, fairly level, lots of fire rings, easy turn around, even with our 40' 5er. No utilities, pack in, pack out. Felt very safe. No problems about soft soil in rain and light snow. Great Verizon, 4 bars LTE and ATT. Faint road noise from nearby Rt 160 and an occasional vehicle driving by on dirt road. Certainly more quiet than a campground and if you wanted more privacy you could probably drive further back or down other roads.

Dirt road is very drivable in rain or light snow even with our 40' 5er. Great Verizon and ATT. Nice location to do Canyons of the Ancients, Hovenweep and Mesa Verde. No water or electric at campsites, but there is water in each loop that you could hook up to if CG not crowded (as you'd be blocking road or handicap site to use). Nice lake and hiking trails. There is a dump station. Firewood was large bundle for $5. Not too many choices for larger, taller RVs, but there were about 5 we could've used. We were in #5. Tree limb trimming would allow for more access as some limbs were way too low. You may need to get to your site by going in the out or exiting through the handicap site but the campground is very small and we had the place mostly to ourselves. We saw others with very large rigs doing the same thing. Very quiet.

Small park just off the highway. Clean and quiet. Nice host. There are $30 sites with W/E but we chose a $25. No Utility site, #13, backed up to the river. Most looked somewhat level. We were in a cabover camper. Not sure I’d bring in a rig over 32 feet. Outhouse was clean. Only 1 other person here besides us on 4/26/24.

We stopped by to scope it out. Easy access for big rigs. Less privacy between sites but regular campground layout. Dirt road and small creek nearby.

We stopped by Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. About 3/4 full. Easy access for big rigs. We’d definitely come back during mid-week. Free, but donation requested. I gave it a 3 for noise only because it’s obviously a popular place for off-roading, but it was quiet when we drove through.