Lava Beds has one campground, Indian Well Campground, located 1/2 mile (0.8 km) from the Visitor Center and cave loop. There are 43 sites available on a first-come, first serve basis. Sites can accommodate tents, pickup campers, small trailers and motor homes up to 30 feet. Note: not all sites can accommodate motor homes.
Reviews of Indian Well Campground
19 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 10 users | Last reported on August 23, 2024AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 7 users | Last reported on August 19, 2023T-Mobile 5G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on June 24, 2022Reviews
Lava Beds is a fun place to spend a day or two exploring. I stayed here one night to explore the fantastic caves in the park. I stayed in A loop, site 6. The site is set back a little, which provides a good amount of privacy, but there is no shade if you are visiting in the summer. The sites and restrooms are well maintained and the host was extremely friendly. The dark sky at night was great for stargazing and I will definitely be planning another trip.
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: A6
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
There are 2 loops- A and B. We have a long setup with a 27' trailer + 22' truck. There are a few spots for larger rigs. I didn't see overflow parking. We really liked our spot. Plenty of room, shade, table and fire ring. Close to trash services and flush toilets, no showers. There is water also nearby. Campground looks newly renovated and well kept up. Nice privacy in many spots. 76 degrees during day in July and a bit windy in the evening which makes for quiet evenings as everyone turns in early. Closest campground to the lava bed national monument. No reservations online. Tour the campground to find an open spot and then fill out an envelope with cash and place in payment box at beg of campground. We had cell coverage. 1-2 bars of LTE. We enjoyed our stay.
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: B20
RV Length: 27 ft
Our rate reflects the 50% national park pass discount. The B loop seemed to have bigger spaces, many of which are a bump out off to the side of the road. So if you don't get one on the right side of the road, your door will open to the road. Or you can drive the wrong way down the road to get the door opening off the road (as we did) and hope you can pull out without meeting any cars. All the roads are asphalt, but the rest of the site is pretty much dirt. Lots of small trees and shrubs for shade, and the sites are nicely spaced. The bathrooms were clean and well maintained. We had good cell coverage and actually had TV on the antenna. Very conveniently located for exploring the caves. It's also close enough for a day trip to Glass Mountain.
Nightly Rate: $5.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: -
RV Length: 25 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
Arrived late on a Monday night to a nearly full campground. The host let us cram our 25' trailer into a spot barely big enough for it and park the truck on the side of the road.
Campground is was eerily quiet, except for the crickets.
Despite other reviewer's results, I have no AT&T service at all with my ZTE / Mobily.
Verizon is 2 bars, speed test showed 45ms ping, ~ 10gb speed.
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: -
Site Number: B-27
RV Length: 25 ft
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
I visited Lava Beds National Monument and Indian Well Campground in June. The site I chose was only practical for a tent, but afforded more privacy and a wonderful view of the desert. There are limited sites which will fit an RV and larger rigs will have more difficulty with parking. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and fire ring. As this is the desert, there was only a small amount of shade, but it seemed that most of the tables were positioned to take advantage of the sparse trees.
The bathrooms had running water/flush toilets (no showers) and there were an adequate number of spigots with potable water throughout the campground. The camp host was friendly, attentive and knowledgable about the park and surrounding area.
This is the only campground in the monument, but it's convenient to all the points of interest. Climb Schonchin Butte and walk the historic route of the Modoc defense. Tour the caves to see pictographs and experience near-freezing temperatures in the middle of summer. There are two wildlife refuges nearby where you'll see thousands of colorful birds.
In the morning, deer wandered through my campsite. A raven arrived to have an in-depth conversation of inquisitive caws. I enjoyed a front row view of the red, purple and gold sunset from my campsite table. In the middle of the night, the Milky Way was clearly visible and the display of stars was breathtaking!
All in all, I would definitely return to Indian Well and Lava Beds.
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: A6
RV Type: Teardrop Trailer
Amazing beauty day and night. Hard to draw comparisons to anyplace else. The site was large, comfortable and offered beautiful views. The bathroom was clean and close by. Despite the campground being rather full, it was quiet and calm. But what you'd never expect to find is the real marvel, the CAVES! Caves of wonder, with ice, water and other marvels of nature. Hike them all or just a few and you'll walk away amazed at the beauty, grandeur and splendor. This park was called a secret treasure of the national park system and I agree. So glad we visited and extended our stay.
Nightly Rate: $15.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: B7
RV Length: 17 ft
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Great place to stop on the way through to Yosemite. Bit windy but stunning vista.
Nightly Rate: $15.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: A6
The campground is first-come, first-served -- in early June it was about half full. It's pretty far off the beaten path, which makes it unlikely to ever fill up, but when it does fill up there are not many other options available. From the main road the campground and visitor center for Lava Beds National Monument are about 15 miles on a poorly maintained paved road. There were dozens of potholes that could easily be avoided, but required speeds around 20-30 mph. The Lava Tube Tunnels were fabulous, and I would highly recommend them. An overall great experience. There was some data coverage for Verizon, but it was very spotty. Expected given the remoteness of the campground.
Nightly Rate: $15.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
RV Length: 16 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
The campground is first come, first serve and it was busy. We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon and struggled to find a spot we could park our 24ft trailer. We did find one, but it lacked shade. It is, however, really close to the visitor center and many caves, so for us it was worth it. We had minimal cell signal, but did get some. It was a quiet campground and we had a deer visit our site.
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 23,B
RV Length: 25 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
If you've got a big rig, this oddly proportioned campground is not for you. Tent campers in commuter cars will do well, or those with trailers under 23 feet. We joked that whoever laid this out had never set foot in a campground. Most sites come in pairs, with barely enough room for a Subaru. Those with trailers had better hit it on a sparsely populated day like we did as there are only a hand full of possibilities.
The roadway is freshly paved and each site has a suite (or two) of large bear-proof garbage and recycling receptacles which dominate the Juniper landscape. Seriously there must be a hundred of these deluxe models in this small campground. Maybe some one's cousin had a welding business?
The restrooms are newly remodeled, heated with running water which is greatly appreciated on this 32 degree day in late September.
Road access was fine and smooth as we entered from the north along Hill rd. There are several days worth of trails and caves to explore.
We had great internet service at this site and never needed the booster.
Nightly Rate: $5.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: B6
RV Length: 23 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
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Indian Well Campground
Hours
- Sun - Sat: 12:00 am - 11:59 pm
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Has RV parking changed? Let us know.
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- National park
- Equestrian Sites Count
- 1
- Group Tent Sites Count
- 1
- Last Nightly Rate
- 10.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 31 ft
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 5.0
- Max Length
- 30 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
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Full Hookup
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Equestrian Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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RV Sites
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Trailer Permitted
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Water Hookup
Campground, Restrooms
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