Amboy Crater

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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