Snaggletooth Primitive RV Camp

We prefer to keep our driving to <300 miles/day so a stop was in order on our way to Phoenix. This BLM dispersed camping area was perfect for a 1 night stay. Using the GPS coordinates listed we found a narrow dusty road to the right. The road heads toward a draw that appears to go down to the valley below. We saw a good-sized 5th wheel about 3/4 mile from the road so we felt safe proceeding. The road has experienced some rutting due to the extreme amount of rain that's fallen this winter. Also the road was firm but would likely be very slick mud in the rain. We carefully drove through a few small "washouts" and found several nice large desert gravel sites with campfire rings about 1/3 to 1/2 mile from the road. There was some minor road noise while outdoors but we couldn't hear it once inside.

The desert is very green right now because of the rain and the sites have a nice view of the valley below. As a bonus, we had 3-4 bars of Verizon 4g service.

There's another BLM "Heart of the Mojave" sign on the north side of old Route 66, west of Amboy, CA. It seems like the area must stretch west from the Colorado River along the south side of the Mojave Preserve. [So is the Mojave Preserve not the heart of the Mojave? ;) ] The road at the time was rather sandy/gravely and soft in patches. I managed to not get bogged down.

We stayed one night in a 36' Class A with toad and a 41' 5ver. There was plenty of room to get off the highway and circle around for a good position. There was a bit of broken glass around, but not too bad. There appeared to be road going deeper into the desert with more dispersed camping beyond, but we just stayed in the large pull-out for overnight. The traffic noise wasn't bad after dark, and we didn't even hear the semi that pulled off the road near us at some point in the night. This is a great stop if you just need to rest.

Right off the highway you’ll see a big dirt section you can park in or drive a little farther back and pick one of the little turnarounds to park by. We arrived right before sunset. Easy to see the turnoff from the highway. Drove back about 100 yards and found a great spot. One semi and one full size rv parked but lots of space so still private. A little highway noise but nothing crazy. Very very beautiful, especially as the sun was setting.

Stayed here the last couple nights, only went to the back of the pull-off section on the road though. Was still quiet enough even with the cars driving past. Scoped out the road leading farther back and it is fairly rutted with dips leading into the pull-off areas. Saw an SUV tent camping about half a mile back. Quite a bit of trash all around, that was slightly disappointing. Would definitely stay here again however.

Snaggletooth is the name given by the BLM for the way the rocky hills look like jagged teeth. It's just one of many campsites and features found within the greater "Heart of the Mojave" region of the Mojave Desert. We stayed here as an overnight stop.

When you get here, you'll see a large pull off by the side of US-95 where trucks tend to stay. But if you take the dirt road into the desert you'll find several areas to park and set up camp. Verizon 4G comes pretty well here, 4-5 bars. You could stay as long as 14-days. You're only about 1/2 hour away from Needles to the north, and about 15 minutes from Vidal Junction to the south.

There's a fair amount of garbage laying around the large pull off by the side of the road, but as you travel down the dirt road, you see only minimal trash. As you venture further down the dirt road, it gets more bumpy and rocky.

Just got here and nobody is around! Really cool rock scenery as a background. A little road noice from Hwy95 but not terrible we parked kind of close to it. I think we will drive further down the road and check it out. Easy enough to find and our kind of Boondocking! Will update if needed. Lots of broken glass everywhere. Will clean up around my camp.

We really enjoyed this spot. Plenty of level sites nicely spread out, very scenic, fun hiking in the surrounding hills, no road noise if you go in a ways. We would have liked another day or two to just relax in the quiet but needed to push on towards home.

There are a few spots and you don't have to travel too far in to find any spaces.

There are a lot of kangaroo rats here. And I did see lots of Northern Rough-winged Swallows.

You can hear the road noise but that didn't bother me.

There was nobody else here for the two days we camped. It's a nice quiet area off the road. We went back as far as possible with our big RV. You can go farther to some nice sites if you have a smaller trailer. It was a bit windy both days but I don't know if that is normal or just this time of year. Temp the first day was 91 degrees and dropped to 82 the next day. I don't think I'd stay here any later in the year since it can get very hot. Some people mentioned road noise. It's not an issue. Almost non-existent unless you are right at the entrance. Very quiet at night and spectacular view of the sky.

We were able to get 28Mbps download but only 0.6Mbps upload with AT&T. 6Mbps download and 2Mbps upload with T-Mobile. Both using our Insty Connect with antenna. It worked for streaming TV just fine but was pretty bad trying to upload anything. Cell signal varied greatly as I walked around so check your connection before you setup camp if that is a concern.

The ranger stopped by and let me know that campfires require a permit in California public land. It's free and good for one year. He gave me one but you can fill one out on the BLM website. Fires are permitted here as long as there are no emergency restrictions in place.

FYI, we spotted a domestic cat on the cliff. If someone lost a fluffy white cat with dark markings on it's face while camping here its found a new home in the cliff rocks. I doubt it could have been here long since there is no water around.