Mojave Narrows Regional Park

We were heading from Mojave National Preserve out to the coast and just needed a place to crash for the night. We followed directions for this campground off the highway and got more and more concerned as we approached. The surroundings are pretty dumpy. Once through the gates of the regional park, things looked a little better but just kinda unimpressive basic rows of sites. We chose the full hook up sites (but didn't hook up or even put down the stabilizers) because the tent area was on the far side of a pasture and just looked sketch. The lady at the kiosk had mentioned that there were trains that go by. Yep, they do. And they're loud.

We were leaving the desert and needed a place to spend the night. This worked out perfectly. It's a large park with an unimaginative campground. Medium sized sites lined up in a row. It was fairly clean. The bathrooms had an inch of water on the floor, unclear it it was due to recent rains or a plumbing issue. The most prominent feature of this campground are the train tracks nearby. Trains roll by constantly. In our truck, it was manageable. In a tent, you'd never sleep.
We'd stay here again, but only for a night.
Also, their winter hours: the office is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The gate is locked. Plan accordingly.

We stayed here a few years ago on our way to Arizona - always looking for new places to add a night to our trip. They close the gate early, so be prepared for that. It's just a semi-dusty old campground along a little lake, BUT it was good walking the dog, sort of quiet except for the trains that are literally right there (that doesn't bother us though) and it was find for us. Certainly not a campground destination for us, but could very well be for families to fish & play on the lake. Old Lab was sad she couldn't go in the water...

Relatively speaking, the park is beautiful with its little lake and wildlife, though there are trains passing within 100 yards of the campground about every 45 minutes or so. We’ll signal was fine, but throughout was poor on both AT&T and Verizon (something like 2-4mbps down and 1 up).

This is the 24th facility we have stayed out this outing. It is absolutely the lowest rated largely because of the trains. Lots of trains. We chose a back-in site along the water. Be advised that the online map of the campground is a mess. It doesn’t delineate the difference of the width of back-ins along the water nor does it even show that there are pull-thru’s! Using a white noise apparatus, the trains did not disrupt our sleep. A quick glance at my past reviews will attest that we strive to stay at the very highest rated available. So why Mohave Narrows? A family member lives near by. While the very immediate area is pretty nice, the overall Victor Valley has deteriorated considerably. The area is severely lacking in short term decent parks to stay at. This park is a fair drive off the freeway on an ever congested Bear Valley Road. Our site was great; probably the most aesthetically pleasing of our 2 month trek. In the future, we will probably use the facility overnight, but only on a weekday. Knowing the demographics of the area, the weekend has the potential to be . . . disturbing. I will say, that $40 a night, with a $7 reservation fee - arrived on a Monday at 3 without reservations to choose a site we wanted without reservations - is . . . high.

Camp was sparsely used this time of season. Very nice park. Make sure to hear/watch the birds in early AM. Pelicans are very fun to watch. We would stay here again but the park is a little tired from what appears to be heavy use at times. Facilities were clean but older and worn.
If you arrive after regular hours beware that the coded entry if covered by old trees with branches about 12' clearance..

First things first, the pull through spots are mere feet from busy railroad tracks. If you can get past the noise, it’s a nice campground. Lots of open space, two little lakes, lots of hiking/walking trails, frisbee golf, and fishing are some of the amenities. The pull through sites and most back-in sites have plenty of room. We’ve been coming here since 2005 and we keep coming back.

This regional park offers a nice setting overall and has great potential to be an outstanding facility. It is apparent that some money needs to be put into the facilities but the structure is there and it is comfortable in its current state. The utilities appeared stable and easy to use. The price is right at $40 per night and there are trees and some grass around the sites. The sites are nicely spaced so you feel like you have ample room to spread out without invading your neighbor’s site.
The negatives for this property are that there is a main line RR track adjacent to the park. Many trains per day use these tracks and you might need ear plugs for sleeping. While this fact can be annoying, it’s not the fault of the parks department that the RR exists in that location.
What is a big issue in my opinion is their access management system to the park. This park is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday and the ONLY way in is to have and use an access code. When we arrived on a Wednesday, the gate was locked and no one around to assist. We were told from a recording on the parks department phone message that a code was sent to us with our confirmation. After searching repeatedly on our confirmation, I could find no code. I found a number on the building to call and I reached the County Sheriff department. The very nice lady at the Sheriff’s department jumped in to help. While on hold with her, I logged into my account with the parks department (fortunately I took the time to set on up) and found my reservation and an access code. I tried it and it did not work. The Sheriff finally got in touch with someone and we got in with a code.
I spoke later to the security guard and he told me that the code changes weekly. The code I was issued was given to us in October! It is now February so the code was NEVER going to work for us. This system has to be addressed and resolved as it clearly failed to work for us and I cannot believe that we are the only ones affected by this.