Furnace Creek Campground

This is a great campground. Some of the sites have trees that you can pitch your tent under for shade. You can use the Furnace Creek Ranch pool and shower for $5 a day.

This is a really nicely-maintained campground that was freshly paved this fall (2014). All sites are well-marked with fire pits and metal picnic tables. There are many dishwashing/water stations throughout the campground, plus a dump station.

If you're in an RV there are several full hook-up sites (both back-in and pull-through) which could be handy so you can run your A/C (we visited in November and could have used this).

Unfortunately we chose a spot that backed up to 2 other spots so it felt a little awkward and cramped, however, if we had been traveling with friends in those spots it would have been perfect (spots 30, 27 and 25).

I would recommend the following spots for RVers:
31, 62, 73, 78, 80 and 87

Bonus: this campground had Verizon 3G coverage quite reliably unlike the rest of the areas in Death Valley we explored which usually had no service at all.

We stayed in the FHU area, which is now paved! Sites were a little close but were angled steeply which made the small space between more acceptable. Each site had a table and fire ring. Park was extremely quiet and very dark.
We stayed here with a 41 ft motorhome and a Jeep. Site was long enough to add another car. Our rate was based on a $9.00 senior pass discount.

Call it supply and demand but $18 for dry camping is a bit pricey but that's the going rate for Death Valley in November. They do have sites with electric and water and those are $36. The price is also a function of being in the center of all the activities and points of interest in the Park. Staying farther out or camping in lesser digs would cost around $12. Each spot was paved and nicely level. They were also close - we could easily hear our neighbors conversations with doors/windows open. There are very nice dish washing stations with potable water and the place was spotless. They also have full recycling. Morning patrols are done by volunteers and they enforce the rules particularly dogs on leashes. This is mostly for the dogs' safety as we saw several coyotes in or near camp. Plenty of room in the space for the trailer and truck but some spaces were very short, check the map and/or call before reserving. No cell service with Verizon, but we did have 3G on the mi-fi...go figure. Generators stop at 7 pm.

We thought this NPS Campground was fantastic. We stayed in a full hookup site for $21.00 a night with our senior pass, $30.00 without the pass. We stayed in both a Back in site (41) and a Pull thru site (75) and were delighted with the length of both sites. The odd numbered sites 39-53 are very deep but close to your neighbor. The offset of these sites make the closeness less of an issue. The pull thru sites 67-77 provide plenty of space between sites but no real privacy. The info above is incorrect, the full hook up sites are 90' deep, I could easily put 2 40' coaches in any of them. We wanted to come back in February but they are fully booked for Full hookup sites, make reservations early. We will come back next December. There is an ANNUAL stay limit of 14 days in this campground but there are other campgrounds in the area.
Watch out for the coyotes, they come right through the campground both day and night! Also the ravens will get into any food or trash you leave outside and make a huge mess.

The Furnace Creek campground is objectively nicer (and even more objectively more expensive) than its paved parking lot brethren to the east (the Sunset campground). There are picnic tables, fire rings, and even a handful of full hookup sites (though they are typically the first to be reserved well in advance, especially during the popular months for the park). Some of the sites are closer together than I would prefer, including the set of pull-thru full hookup sites which do not have any privacy between them. The back-in sites are almost all nicer and more private but none have full hookups and only a few have electricity. Since Death Valley’s weather is often very conducive to getting a full day of solar, the non-hook-up sites will be more appealing to some visitors because they are more spacious and private.

Reservations are often necessary during the busy season (mid-October to mid-April, especially around the holidays), but first-come first-served after that (which also coincides with when the Sunset and Texas Spring campground closed for the season, and the Furnace Creek campground is the only public campground near Furnace Creek to remain open). Most people will not find camping in Death Valley in the summer to be a good option, as temperatures regularly exceed 115F.

For more on cell service, attractions, etc. see our review of the Sunset campground across the street (short version: AT&T is usually good, Verizon is acceptable unless the park is busy, the location in the heart of Furnace Creek is fantastic for most attractions in the park and within walking distance of restaurants and the visitor center).

Managed to get a last minute cancellation for three nights in early March as the temps were going to be hot. We weren't expecting much but the full hookup sites are really long, angled so you aren't looking at your neighbor, and have a nice view. And we had a useable 3g Verizon signal. We liked it so much I went to the check-in kiosk early on the morning of our scheduled departure and we were able to get two more nights, although we had to change sites. It's a great location for exploring the park.

From walking around the rest of the campground, the non hookup area is not as desireable. Sites are closer and most have no views.

The campsites here are very big. We were fortunate to get a pull-through site with full hook-ups. The site was very long - long enough for our 31 ft 5th wheel and truck. The full hook-ups were a necessity as we traveled there in April and it was exceptionally hot on two days. On one day, we ran the AC throughout the day and night with no problems.

There isn't much shade at this campground, unless you have friends in a tent spot. The tent spots have nice shade trees, where you can hang a hammock.

Death Valley is an amazing place to visit, but I think I'd prefer camping there during the Winter as the temperature in April was just too hot for us. I can take the heat, if there's some shade or a pool...but there are none of those here.

Death Valley is huge. It's the biggest national park in the lower 48. Since we wanted to have enough time to explore, we really wanted to stay in the park. Being centrally located made it so we got to see pretty much everything we wanted to in our week there. We arrived on a Wednesday about lunchtime the first week of May, when it's first come, first served on sites. There were several pull-through and back in full hookup sites available. The full hookup sites are an additional $14/night, so $36 normally or $25 with the senior access pass. The sites are pretty level with asphalt roads and driveways, but dirt or gravel patios, except the handicap sites which are fully asphalted. The week we stayed was really hot a few days, really windy with dust storms a couple days and near perfect 70-80's a couple days. All of the full hookup sites are huge and could take nearly any size rig. Some of the dry camp sites are small and near trees for tents to have shade. There are several bathrooms with flush toilets and also sink stations for washing dishes or refilling water containers. You can easily walk to the visitor center from the campground. The stars were amazing and as the moon was nearly full, we took advantage for some night walks. I think the quiet hours were 10pm to 8am, but didn't pay much attention since we had power. Our only complaint was that since we were on the end site near the restrooms, people regularly cut right through our site. We used our cellular booster to get Verizon extended 3G most of the time. Death Valley is an amazing mountain park and we can't wait to come back!

Perfect for exploring the valley. Arrived around 6pm late September, no reservation - paid with the auto machine at the gate and found a site. Loads of spaces available.