Granite Gap Dispersed Camping

- [ ] This is easily one of my favorite spots in the entire US. it’s not just another spot of sandy desert with a mountain ridge in the distance. It’s got lots of personality and as if out of a movie set - different cacti varieties, tons of milky white quartz eve where, plenty of places to walk/hike, beautiful clusters of high rock, and some dramatic mountainous peaks. Sand is soft and easy to dig poop holes. Only a few overnighters have come and gone in the week I’ve been here. The short road past the gate is quite narrow, but I went real slow in my Chevy Astro, and while I heard some side scrapes of lined brush and plants on either side, it didn’t leave any permanent marks on the van. Hang the first left on that dirt/sand road and there’s two sites with fire pits and some trees for shade (and enough privacy in between them) before the road gets a bit rockier (whereby high clearance and/or 4wd might be desired for spots further up yonder). Very peaceful vibe. Noise from nearby local lonesome highway is minimal.

The turn off is just off the side of the road. Just open the gate, it’s not locked. I saw some cows and even a rabbit just as soon as I crossed the gate. The dirt road is not good for any kind of big rig. Nor car/sedan. I wouldn’t take this road in anything less than a compact/midsize SUV. You don’t need four-wheel-drive, but there are a few rocks right in the beginning that are a little bit to get over. I’m pulling a 6 foot wide teardrop trailer, and had no issues, but it is very narrow on this road. Stay to the LEFT! The road will Fork and you want to say to the left. you wouldn’t be able to go straight anyways probably. A couple spots start to open up, after the left. There’s not a lot of places to turn around. Even in the teardrop it was a little tight but definitely manageable. I stayed up right against some rocks and had the whole place to myself. Extremely quiet at night. No one around. But the road is right there if you needed any kind of emergency situation. 2 Bars LTE Verizon, two bars LTE T-Mobile. But if you climb up the rocks (which are very easy to climb up), you’ll have full bars Verizon

Beautiful spot. Just stay left each time the road splits and you’ll find it. It’s tucked into some rocks and shaded by a juniper tree. The desert doesn’t look like much until you round a bend and come across this gem.

No sign of cows or watering trough when I was there.

As others have stated, not for big rigs. I’m 21ft and fit perfectly. No AT&T service when I was there.

As reported by others. Gated but not locked. You will scrape the sides of your rig on brush and you will have to clear some mid-sized rocks that could cause problems for standard street cars. Neither was a problem for our 20-year-old F-350 4X4 and camper. After that it's all gorgeous desert, dark night skies, peace and quiet. Beautiful spot.

We went in the gate, but turned around at the first opportunity. The road is tight, but there was a friendly Border Patrol agent that suggested a nearby spot inside for us to camp. When we declined he mentioned two other places nearby we could stay. Very nice of him! He was also advocating for the nearby town and mentioned Portal. I would probably stay here if we had an older van & I wasn't worried about scratching it up, or had a four wheel drive with clearance & a roof tent. So grateful for the nice encounter with BP.

The reviews were great so I went to check it out, but I forgot to look at the vehicles the reviewers were in. Bringing in a trailer of any kind would be arduous. Once inside the gate there's really only 3 spots, only 1 can realistically maneuver a trailer into. My truck alone took a beating from the washed out road and all the cacti/trees scratching it up. The largest spot is occupied by water troughs and cows, which means flies and cow pies. If you were to get in, the views are great, its right at the top of a pass, has lush vegetation, and in a 'dark sky' area.