Kelbaker Boulders

This is a jewel of a boondocking spot just a few miles off I-40... We checked it out last year ( without trailer) to see if it would be a good fit for our 15 ft teardrop trailer, or not. And it was a good fit, but I wouldn't pull anything bigger past the first campsite. It gets real sandy farther down the road. Beautiful, open skies with primo sunsets and sunrises.
There is a cell tower off in the distance so plenty of Verizon data. Plan on another visitor, or two, around dark. We had a Spinter type van pull in late and leave early, pretty close by. They were quiet, no problem.

We had been looking for sun in an unusually cold and windy April. Happened upon Kelbaker after a number of lackluster campgrounds in kinda armpit areas of AZ and CA. Like some other reviewers said, it’s not totally out in the wilderness, but very convenient off 40, and couldn’t hear the freeway at all, only the local traffic on Kelbaker which was only occasional. Secluded desert camping with stunning views. Had no problem getting into the sites in an SUV with roof tent. Desert wildflowers in bloom made it even more special. Not quite a destination, but a great spot if you’re in need of a nice place to stop. Was the highlight of our trip so far.

Absolutely gorgeous small dispersed dry camping area, especially if you manage to snag the main spot by the big boulder. There are roughly four, maybe five sites total.

We stayed our first three nights a little further down on the left between two smaller boulder outcroppings - and got our truck stuck. Took a few hours to get out, thankfully we were able to carefully back our trailer out after and move to the bigger site which had since vacated.

The first site, with the big boulder seen in most of the pics, is the only one I'd recommend for any trailers based on our experience and observation of the (degrading/washed out) condition of the road past that. I wouldn't try to get a fifth wheel in there, or anything much past 20 feet. The other sites should be good for vans and trucks/truck campers, just proceed cautiously and stop if you feel like the sand is getting soft. The road past the main site gets a bit bumpy because of washouts, and actually got worse while we were there because it rained. Some big sharp stones!

You're not totally out in the wilderness here - the site itself is not very far off the road, and you can see the highway in the distance. There's some road noise, but with few enough cars that it was more a novelty than any real problem or distraction. Makes it convenient for a short stay though, for the most part you can see before you turn down into the campground itself which spots are taken. But otherwise you are "out there" and the sky at night is beautiful.

Overall, I recommend for a few nights tops, excellent if you're passing through, and a nice spot in the Mojave!

Stayed: 6/1/2022
Cost: FREE
Site: Behind Boulders
Vehicle: GMC Terrain
Equipment: Tent
AT&T and T-Mobile: Pretty solid

Not far from the Kelbaker Road entrance of Mojave National Preserve, you will come across some boulders on the right-hand side. Extremely close off of I40, but you don’t hear a thing. This was one of our favorite sites throughout our trip. There was a couple already parked near the “entrance”, so we drove around to the back. We had a sort of private little site, surrounded by the boulders and with a perfect view of the sunset. 10/10 would stay here again!

#DareToEverywhere

Like others have said it’s not good for trailers and big rigs and anything without 4x4. Yeah maybe the main spot is easy to get to but it’s small and if that is occupied and you take any other avenue you will very likely get stuck as it is. Narrow and sandy. Wish I had listened to the reviews more and avoided the unnecessary stress. Great for 4x4 tent campers.

I plan to stay longer but I wanted to leave this review ASAP. Be careful on the sand! Today the third person in a van drove up and got stuck. The sand is far deeper than it looks and the area you can actually camp and drive to is very small. When you come in you’ll see the giant boulders on the right and there’s one spot there big enough for a large RV. Someone there right now has a 30 footer. Then there is a little road that whines behind the rocks with one more space in the right for a van, then a fairly big spot around back but there’s someone who apparently “camps permanently” so nobody can use that area ATM. The person leaves for work every day and asks everyone who comes not to park in the road so she can get out. I am in a truck and 13 foot travel trailer and I turned left instead and went up to the top of a small hill and found a spot that’s probably meant for car camping but worked in my 4wd and tiny trailer. Other than that the views are beautiful absolutely magnificent and it is so quiet. The T-Mobile and Verizon is extremely fast and great for working or teaching online. Make sure you bring enough supplies because there’s no store nearby for an hour. It’s only been a little windy. You can walk down into the old wash and see amazing plants and stone formations. I love this place