KCL Campground

We were on a 6 week road trip in the Mojave Desert so this was just one of many stops on our way home. We decided "what the heck" and stopped to see the wildflowers.
First time to Carrizo Plains. It was a tad too early in the wildflower season to see much of anything but yellows. We stayed 2 nights in the little campground circle. First come first serve, free BLM and most sites are quite close together. And if the campground fills up, (which it did both nights), it's just way too close to your neighbors for us. However it was dead quiet by 10pm, not party types at all. We were here for a Full moon and the Hooty owls sung us to sleep. Be prepared to bounce down a dirt road to get here.

I had the place entirely to myself almost the whole time I was here. It is out in the middle of nowhere, too, so you can feel extra alone. If that's what you're seeking then this is the place for you!

I had no wifi (Verizon) and a spotty cell signal (AT&T) while I was here.

The road in (from South or North) is pretty beat up, but doable.

ALSO, do be aware there are snakes out here. I just happened to see a giant snake headed straight for my van and was able to bring in my bug netting and get my door closed before it got to me, but just be cautious and aware.

Carrizo Plains is a quietly magnificent setting. Not as jaw-dropping as Yosemite or Grand Canyon but not as many people, either. If you want solitude and quiet, then this is your place (except during a super bloom).

KCL is our go-to camp spot when we are here. Be advised that it is several miles of washboard road to get here but worth the trip.

The camping is free and first-come-first-served. We’ve never had a problem finding a spot, but your mileage may vary. It is primitive camping, no water, vault toilets, but each of the ten or so campsites has a fire ring, table, and lantern hook. When we arrived on Monday the restrooms were gross. Apparently, in the off season, they only clean them on Thursday. Not really a problem for us because we are self-contained.

The road in is 14 miles of straight washboard. Still extremely accessible, but VERY long and rough.

Once we got there the views were beautiful and was extremely quiet. We were the only ones there for most of our stay. If you need groceries or anything really, the closest gas station is 45 minutes away and the closest town with an actual grocery store is 1.5 hours. So be prepared with what you bring and don’t plan on going anywhere because there’s not much to do other than see the views of the area.

No Verizon service but t-mobile surprisingly had 2-3 bars.

KCL was fairly easy to get to. We had a wonderful spot with sweeping views. It was mid-April, still in pandemic mode, and even though dry as a bone with no wildflowers, plenty of people showed up. It's like a clump of people in the middle of nowhere. Still, it's not that big and there are no services. There are some trees and shade here. And owls. Great views. There's a wild west feel to the area. Toilets were fine. There was no water if I remember correctly. I would camp here again.

Surprising nice campground at the base of the hills & edge of a large valley. Clean with vault toilet, picnic benches, fire ring & horse corral. Good views, some nice spaces for walking. There’s a trail up to Caliente Mountain (which overlooks the campground) which starts from Shelby campground (7 miles down the road). Unfortunately there was a large group with generators running all night over the weekend. Not terrible but enough to be annoying when you come out for quiet & peace. Considering the remote location with no guns or ATV’s allowed it was daily busy with all sites full every night I was there. Wednesday-Monday.
No cell coverage for Verizon at the campground but if you go down some dirt roads about 2 miles into the valley you can get a few bars.

If you come in from Hwy 166 it is 14 miles on a fairly good dirt road. There were some sections were you will enjoy the wash board affect. I was pulling a 29ft 5th wheel and had no problems. Coming in from the north (Hwy 58) it is only 7 miles of dirt road. We stayed Thursday through Monday and at most had 4 neighbors at. Most of the time we were alone or had just one other neighbor. Very quiet. Because we were here end of Oct 2020 at the end of a very bad fire season no fires were allowed and for some reason the ONE water spigot was turned off. 75% of the sites half all or partial shade. Also note that the first freeze had not happened so there were LOTS of flies

We stayed here a few years ago with friends - long road dragging trailers (19' & 18'), but we knew that going in. Our site was the one just to the left of the entry - plenty of room for our truck & Rpod. Our friends grabbed the one to the SW of us and they too, had plenty of room. The view was gorgeous! Great hiking and walking and a perfect place to base from while exploring the Carrizo Plain. There is actually a lot to see here and we would love to go back and spend more time.

From the entrance of the park to the camp ground takes 30-45 minutes depending on what kind of car you have. The road is unpacked for about the last 1/4 of the road to the sites, bumpy and uneven but I have a small Hyundai and maid with no scratches! I arrived after dark around 8pm so all the sites were taken but there is additional parking in the back to be able to park stretch and use the port a potty they have. Any road as long as you cannot be seen from the road you can park and camp there! Amazing park! Next time I go early and see if I can get an actual spot! Hope this helps! #happynomading