Hole in the Wall Campground

I've seen the turn off for Hole-in-the-Wall and Mitchell Caverns for years. So glad we finally turned off the Interstate 40 and camped here. The Essex road is paved up to just past the campground. Then its closed with barricades. I'm guessing because of winter rains damage. Weekends are full, really busy and a bit noisy in the evenings at the campground , but come Sunday all the loud ones leave and there's only a scattering of campers left. So I recommend coming here Sunday-Thursday. Its a beautiful, stark desert area you will enjoy if you like such things, and we do!
Great weather in April, a tad windy but thats expected in springtime in the desert. Bring all the supplies you'll need for your stay as there are no stores or gas for a long ways. We will be back for this rustic camping experience for sure.

We originally were going to stay over night because we were going to Mitchell Caverns the next day (Saturday) but when we arrived the scenery was so beautiful, that we stayed for a week. Our cost was only $6.00 because we were able to use our America the Beautiful card. We stayed in campsite #4 which was large enough for our 28ft fifth wheel and F250 truck with plenty of room left over. The campsites were very spacious and spread enough apart that you were not sitting on top of each other and each campsite had a fire ring.. The campground and vault toilets were very clean an well maintained.
We took a couple of walks on the trails and the views were spectacular! The weather was bi polar but did we expect in early March!
The campground does provide potable water throughout the campground as well as a dump station and trash dumpsters. We have put this campground on our list to go back and visit in fall!

This gem of a campground sits at 4400’ elevation in the high desert within the Mojave National Preserve. Access from I-40 is paved, good condition. Access from I-15 not recommended due to washed out roads. Sites vary from tent only to pull throughs. Road within the campground is mostly gravel and rutted asphalt but any vehicle or RV can negotiate it. Starkly beautiful landscape of volcanic mesas looks like you’re on Mars. Dark skies make for star gazing although light from Las Vegas is visible on the horizon. Temps were pleasant mid-50’s to low 60’s daytime in mid November, dropping into 30’s at night. It was really cold and windy during our stay. I’d recommend early to mid October or late Spring as best time to visit. Mitchell Caverns is a nearby attraction but more reservations required. Campground has dump station. Visitor center open weekends only, no food or supplies of any kind, bring credit or debit card. Potable water, vault toilets in campground. Flush potties at visitor center. Cell service is available but spotty. AT&T 4 bars, Verizon zero bars at upper section of campground. Great hikes. Think Joshua Tree without the crowds.

Stayed: 6/2/2022
Cost: $12 (exact change)
Site: 16
Vehicle: GMC Terrain
Equipment: Tent
AT&T and T-Mobile: Slow but usable

We made the trek out to Hole-in-the-Wall at Mojave National Preserve for one night. It was a much longer dirt road than I had imagined and you go up in elevation. It took almost a half-hour to get to the campground from Cedar Canyon Road.

This is a First Come, First Served NPS campground. We started the loop a little worried because every site was tagged, but by the time we got back over to the first loop, we had our pick of sites. We chose 16 because of the great view and it being directly next to the pit toilet. (The cleanest pit toilet I’ve ever seen)! The campground also has potable water, plenty of dumpsters and a dump station.

We wanted to stay here because we were finishing off our trip the next morning at the Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Center. It is directly next door, you can even see the lot from the campground.

This was a great place to stay, but maybe it would have been more worth it to stay at least a couple nights. I definitely didn’t realize the trek it was to get here, from the main part of the park. Everything is super spread out at Mojave.

#DareToEverywhere

Camped here 3 nights; site #19 was large and we had unobstructed view of mountains. We did a couple of hikes, including the Rings Trail. Only $6 per night with Interagency pass. Potable water stations, we filled our jugs to refill the RV. Pit toilets, dumping station. Screaming fast internet - I had 60Mbps with my verizon hotspot; I could not get connection with AT&T. CAUTION: This area is subject to high winds - last night our van was buffeted all night long; gusts had to be 40mph+ (I verified this morning's forecast and it's the same); we lost one of our mats, nowhere to be found; nearby tents were getting flattened by the high winds. The road is paved up to this campground, then turns to dirt. This is a first come first serve campground; we were here during spring break, arrived on a Thursday at 1pm and probably half the campsites were still open. Even on Saturday spots were open. There is dry camping on some side roads also, we noticed RVs during our hike.