Belle Campground

This is a very cute, small campground. I think there were around 16 sites, all first come first serve. All the campsites are nestled into the rocks and the campground is very central in the park and is a short hike to the neighboring campground where arch rock is.

The best sites are in the back, but you're lucky to get one! We stayed for 4 nights and noticed that the turnover in the campground is pretty high every day even on the weekend and the spots fill quick. Most people only spend a night or 2. The best time to get a site is probably around 10 or 11, but its all about luck and timing, people were constantly driving through the campground and leaving. We stayed at the beginning of March and the campground was full every day.

We were in site 7, sites 6, 7 and 8 are pretty awkward and don't have much privacy, especially between sites 7 and 8, its hard to tell where site 7 ends and were site 8 begins. It was really cold and really windy so most people were in their campers anyway.

All sites have a grill, campfire ring, and table.

All in all, I'd stay here again. But next time I'll try my luck at Ryan campground!

We didn't dare come to JTNP without reservations with a 35' RV so had made some for the Black Rock Canyon campground but didn't want to be that far away from the center of the park. We stayed on BLM Red Cloud Mine Road S.E. of JTNP in order to be able to get into the park before noon on a weekday. The Red Cloud Mine Road was a mistake but positioned us well to get into the park in the morning. We pretty much had our pick of the sites on that Wednesday morning and settled on #17 which was roomy for our RV and toad and put us in the back loop so there was less traffic. Belle Campground is set off the road and is essentially 2 piles of rocks with half of the 18 sites nestled in around each pile. There is good bouldering in addition to Belle within an easy hike south to the White Tank campground. Except Black Rock Canyon, Belle is the closest campground in the park to civilization and is approximately 10 miles downhill to 29 Palms, CA. We could get no Verizon service until we drove out the north entrance to the park.
This campground provided us a great location for exploring the eastern and southern parts of the park as we had reservations for 5 nights at Jumbo Rocks campground following to use to reach out further to the west with our hiking and discovery. Our last 2 nights saw the campground fill up for the weekend but it remained quiet and pleasant.

We had a great camp at Belle. Beautiful view with perfect star gazing.

Beautiful campground with only 18 sites. Sites are somewhat private due to the rock formations. Dry camping and no water or dump station. Dumpsters are pit toilets available. Fire pits and picnic tables at each campsite. Park rangers drive through often. Safe and quiet. Incredible sunsets and views. This is camping at its finest right in the middle of Joshua Tree National Park! A few sites can fit big rigs and easy to maneuver around the campground but most sites are for tents and smaller rigs.

Nice campground with about 18 sites. First-come, first-served. Got lucky and grabbed an open site on a holiday weekend. Sites further back are quieter.

Spent a windy night here. Beautiful!

Please don’t be fooled.
The park now requires reservations for camping September-May.
Sort of...

We did some research and found that Bell, hidden valley and white tank are all first come first serve.

When we arrived the volunteer informed us to make a u turn because all camping was full.
I explained we just wanted to drive thru.
When we arrived at Bell campground it had 5 empty spots(not bad for the Sunday after thanksgiving at 2pm!)

Absolutely beautiful sunsets.

No cell service (Verizon)

Great for a spontaneous weekend getaway. Front campgrounds are tight and busy with rock climbers. Back campgrounds are larger and can accommodate RVs and trailers.

First come first serve site but very nice. We first drove in about 4pm on a Monday and it was full but when we returned the next day got a spot in the back at 7.30am. Mid day Tuesday the camp was mostly empty but filled again by about 3pm. Wednesday we left about 9.30am and already the spaces had turned over.

Loved camping around these boulder piles. My kiddos spent hours exploring. Picnic table and fire pit. No hookups. Would stay here again. In February it was cold and windy but could of hit a cold snap.