Amboy Crater
Mojave Trails National Monument
Write a Review Crater Road Amboy, CA 92304 760-326-7000 Official WebsiteGPS: 34.5577, -115.7769
Overview of Amboy Crater
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads. Learn more: Boondocking 101
Last Price Paid: $0
Reported by Jennifer on 5/7/2023
Longest RV Reported: 39 feet (Travel Trailer)
Reported by Arkaneinc on 1/16/2021
Pad Type asphalt
Elevation 656 ft / 199 m
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Q&A - Ask the Community about Amboy Crater
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 760-326-7000
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Reviews of Amboy Crater 29 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 12 Users
Last reported 4/1/2023
Confirmed by 11 Users
Last reported 5/1/2023
Confirmed by 2 Users
Last reported 5/1/2023
“Great Boondocking Spot! ”
Reviewed 5/7/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| RV Length: | 33' (Fifth Wheel) |
Overall Rating
Two paved parking lots. Lower lot is pretty open. Upper lot has info about the crater, a covered viewing platform, vault toilet, and trash. Two other Rv/vans when we were there. Very quiet and dark - great for viewing stars! Waking up to the crater was fun!
Jennifer would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Old Route 66 Gem”
Reviewed 5/1/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Overall Rating
Very quiet and peaceful. The road in is curvy and fun but easy to manage in a big rig. The lunar landscape was wonderful to wake up to and though a few miles off the beaten path, it was well worth the adventure. We’ll be back in the winter to hike the crater. It may be busier in the winter months but we and a class B were the only ... more
Very quiet and peaceful. The road in is curvy and fun but easy to manage in a big rig. The lunar landscape was wonderful to wake up to and though a few miles off the beaten path, it was well worth the adventure. We’ll be back in the winter to hike the crater. It may be busier in the winter months but we and a class B were the only ones around. T-mobile hotspot had 2 bars but consistent ~30mbps down.
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AT&T 4G
T-Mobile 5G
Meeesh would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“First time out with my van had a great stay! ”
Reviewed 4/1/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 3 |
Overall Rating
Arrived on a Monday. Lower parking lot was busy. Everyone very friendly but kept to themselves. Works for me. Wind came up overnight with a little rain not a big deal all but one RV left. Next three days were a little windy but not bad. Hiked up the volcano. Nice hike but rocky. Went into Amboy on my way out to grabbed a couple souveni... more
Arrived on a Monday. Lower parking lot was busy. Everyone very friendly but kept to themselves. Works for me. Wind came up overnight with a little rain not a big deal all but one RV left. Next three days were a little windy but not bad. Hiked up the volcano. Nice hike but rocky. Went into Amboy on my way out to grabbed a couple souvenirs. Neat place. Not a whole lot there though. Looking forward to going back. Clean camping area. Everybody picks up after themselves. Great place if you want to get out in the middle of nowhere.
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AT&T 4G
Verizon 4G
T-Mobile 4G
camper-795577 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Exactly What We Needed”
Reviewed 3/16/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
After severe flooding in the area, driving down a dirt road for a spot was worrisome. So, the paved lot was a perfect high ground option to avoid being washed out. The occasional train was a great sight and sound ambiance enhancer. Beautiful sunrise and sunset. Besides trains only sounds were occasional distant birds.
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AT&T 5G
Verizon 5G
mhendon22 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Paved parking lot”
Reviewed 11/21/2022
| Days stayed: | 1 |
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Overall Rating
Was correct for one night. Pretty quiet except several trains during the night. But it was ok for us.
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AT&T 4G
Yves Brault would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice Public Lands Layover”
Reviewed 10/28/2022
| Days stayed: | 1 |
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Overall Rating
This area is nice for an overnight stay. There are two parking lots one closer to the crater and one overflow lot. The lot closest to the crater has pit toilets but no trash receptacles. It is a quiet undisturbed location with very little traffic except for major train activity in the early morning and all day. The hike to the crater i... more
This area is nice for an overnight stay. There are two parking lots one closer to the crater and one overflow lot. The lot closest to the crater has pit toilets but no trash receptacles. It is a quiet undisturbed location with very little traffic except for major train activity in the early morning and all day. The hike to the crater is about a mile and a half and totally worth the effort. This is a gorgeous formerly volcanic preserved area. The night sky is intensely dark and great for stargazing.
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AT&T 4G
Steve would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Overflow parking lot is large, level and paved. Perfect for an overnight stop.”
Reviewed 2/6/2022
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | N/A |
| RV Length: | 33' |
Overall Rating
We parked in the lower, overflow parking area. The lot is level and paved. We had it completely to ourselves, although there is plenty of room for several rigs. No amenities at the lower lot, but there appeared to be vault toilets and a shade shelter at the upper lot. (We didn’t make it that far.) The hike to the crater looks like fun,... more
We parked in the lower, overflow parking area. The lot is level and paved. We had it completely to ourselves, although there is plenty of room for several rigs. No amenities at the lower lot, but there appeared to be vault toilets and a shade shelter at the upper lot. (We didn’t make it that far.) The hike to the crater looks like fun, but we didn’t have time on this stop. Maybe next time! Beautiful spot although the train traffic was nearly constant. No horns, just the rumble as they passed by so the noise wasn’t bothersome.
Note: we came in from Bakersfield area on Route 66. The RV Garmin had hissy fits and we figured out why when we came to a bridge over a small dry wash marked for 3 Tons. There were many, many bridges over similar washes marked 9 – 39 tons depending on the type of vehicle. No place to turn around, so we just kept going. No problem, just a little weird.
We had 2 bars of Verizon 4G.
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Verizon 4G
Teddi & Roger would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Peaceful stargazing ”
Reviewed 5/10/2021
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Beautiful area. Large, very level parking lot. If you want quiet and away from city lights for stargazing this is the place. There are some covered picnic tables and two bathrooms (pit but reasonably clean) toilets.
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Verizon 4G
GrammaJake would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“We loved it”
Reviewed 3/30/2021
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| RV Length: | 34' (Class A) |
Overall Rating
We stayed here specifically to hike the crater, which was fantastic and totally worth it, but only this time of year (February). Do not attempt the hike in summertime; many people have died from the heat and lack of shade. This spot is essentially the overflow/ large vehicle parking for the day use area. It was smaller than we expe... more
We stayed here specifically to hike the crater, which was fantastic and totally worth it, but only this time of year (February). Do not attempt the hike in summertime; many people have died from the heat and lack of shade.
This spot is essentially the overflow/ large vehicle parking for the day use area. It was smaller than we expected but still large enough to point in the direction of the wind and have plenty of privacy. There was one other big rig, a sprinter van, and a group of California Conservation Corps workers tent camping. The lot is within reasonable walking distance to the trailhead, where there are pit toilets and trash cans. No water.
We love trains, and there were some huge ones rolling by. You could hear the sound of the rail, but there were no horns while we were there. We used to live across the street from train crossing, so even if the horns were blowing all night, it wouldn’t bother us. Our cat also loves trains, so he was in heaven.
We found it very relaxing and quiet. Very cool hiking for rock hounds. The geology is like being on another planet. We’d definitely stay here again.
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Verizon 4G
FloJo Fleetwood would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice to visit but trains too loud at night”
Reviewed 2/9/2021
Overall Rating
I stayed here one night and enjoyed the darkness as an astronomer. The skies were plenty dark and mesmerizing. The crater is amazing and definitely worth checking out. The landscape is beautiful if you can appreciate the desert's beauty. This place had plenty of places along the road in to just pull over and camp and two parking lots. ... more
I stayed here one night and enjoyed the darkness as an astronomer. The skies were plenty dark and mesmerizing. The crater is amazing and definitely worth checking out. The landscape is beautiful if you can appreciate the desert's beauty. This place had plenty of places along the road in to just pull over and camp and two parking lots.
My issue though that really ruined the camping experience were the trains. We're out in the middle of nowhere and they're constantly blaring their horns to scare animals off the tracks. It is loud from the parking lot bathroom. You could hear them all hours of the night. If you're a light sleeper this isn't the place to camp at.
I would only suggest coming here to visit. If you plan on sleeping here just be ready for train horns to blare all night waking you up constantly. The crater is definitely worth the hike though. Just don't be another statistic and make the mistake of hiking this in the summer. Every year someone dies trying to do this hike in the summer. Death by heat is very painful and totally preventable. Don't do this hike if it's over 85F. You will suffer immensely
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T-Mobile
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
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1 review
noted 1/11/2021
People were treating it as a dispersed campground with campfires! Bathrooms were in good shape though.
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Go Around the Bend: Quartzsite Here We Come!
Before we launch into our desert adventures, I want to do a little housekeeping. Many of you got both my email with a link to our last post AND the automated email with the blog post. Let me just say,...
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