Sawtooth Canyon Campground

This was my first time camping on BLM land and it wasn’t bad at all. There is a mile long dirt road to get to the campground that’s well maintained. Several sheltered campsites with fire pits, I arrived late (around 8pm) and still found a nice spot right next to a large rock. Other rvs and tent campers as well.

Cell service was barely much but was able to get a nice boost with my Cell booster. 2 bars of talk only with no booster/2 bars of LTE Data with booster. Stayed in a Thursday night and Friday and was very quiet.. few kids and climbers on Saturday morning. Would’ve stayed longer. The toilet—- yeah let’s not talk about that but it’s there. Bring your own toilet paper.

Stayed at Sawtooth Canyon BLM Campground for 4 nights. The one mile, dirt and washboard access road from California Route 247 to the campground is passable with a big rig. Upon arrival on Tuesday midday there were only three sites available that would accommodate my 38 foot fifth wheel. We were lucky enough to snag a campsite up against a large rock outcropping that was level. Melody and I selected this free camping location for its scenic beauty and it did not disappoint. There are several serviceable vault toilets within the campground. Trash is pack it out and there are no hookups, water, or dump station—dry camping only. Both AT&T and Verizon cellular service varied widely depending on your location in the campground. While I was unable to stream movies at the campsite I selected, a short walk just outside the entrance to the campground allowed me to download movies. Verizon cellular service just outside the entrance clocked in at 48.6 Mbps download speed and 12.0 Mbps download speed. AT&T was also usable outside the entrance, but not as fast as Verizon. An nearby alternative boondocking location is the Slash X boondocking area, a part of the Stoddard Valley OHV Open Area, grid coordinates 34.7673565, -117.0138185. A secondary alternative dry camping location is the Owl Canyon BLM Campground located at grid coordinates 35.0213264, -117.0217384.

Our second time here, hadn’t planned to spend a week but it was so perfect we couldn’t leave. Sparsely populated except on the weekend when the climbers and hikers arrived but still not crowded. Breathtakingly quiet, gorgeous sunsets, and starry starry nights. Lots of ground squirrels/chipmunks/quail to observe, even saw a tarantula on one of our many bike rides. Trails for hiking. Fire rings at most sites so we had a campfire every night. Dry camping at its best. The road into the campground from the main road has minor washboarding with a stretch at the end that’s pretty bad but just take it slow. 19 mile drive into Barstow for provisioning/fuel/etc. Excellent Verizon coverage. Will definitely return.

Stayed here May 19-21.
Decent road in, washboardy but easily navigated in our rig at 10 MPH. We arrived at 6 PM on a weeknight to very limited site selection.
After a couple rings around the rosie, found a site that was old roadbed and settled in near level, with plenty of outside room. It is the most westerly site next to the first loop around the rocks.
No fire pit but easy access to hiking trails, in particular up and along the sawtooth ridge to the south. Views from up there were awesome. Although late spring there were still plenty of flowers. We enjoyed our stay and would go back from anytime between October - May.

Lots of activity with hikers and rock climbers. Our site got a bit party loud on occasion but quiet hours were honored.

Stayed here May 19-21.
Decent road in, washboardy but easily navigated in our rig at 10 MPH. We arrived at 6 PM on a weeknight to very limited site selection.
After a couple rings around the rosie, found a site that was old roadbed and settled in near level, with plenty of outside room. It is the most westerly site next to the first loop around the rocks.
No fire pit but easy access to hiking trails, in particular up and along the sawtooth ridge to the south. Views from up there were awesome. Although late spring there were still plenty of flowers. We enjoyed our stay and would go back from anytime between October - May.

Lots of activity with hikers and rock climbers. Our site got a bit party loud on occasion but quiet hours were honored.

We found this BLM land to be the epitome of boondocking sites. Haul out whatever you bring in. The vault toilets were cleaned every day. The scenery is terrific, and it’s a very popular place for rock climbers. We would gladly stay here again. Our Verizon cell service was excellent and good enough for streaming. The road in was a bit rough, but it’s just over a mile long so go slow and you’re fine. This has to near the top of our favorite spots.

Lot’s of reviews and photos of Sawtooth Canyon, so I’ll just quickly add my 2cents. We loved it here!! Loved parking among the boulders, loved the peace and quiet, loved the spectacular night sky, loved that it was well maintained, and loved that it was free!

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and still managed to snag a campsite with a covered picnic table. Several sites could easily accommodate the largest rigs, others are tucked in among the rocks and would be better for smaller vehicles or tenters. It really looks like someone goes the extra mile to keep the area clean and maintained. Nice little playground for the kids, some ramadas with picnic tables on concrete pads, and pit toilets.

The road coming in was a bit bumpy, but not bad. There is a large area just off Hwy 247 where you can unhitch and scout ahead. Within the campground a few of the roads had some washed out spots, so take a look before committing in a big rig. The only ding (and reason it didn’t get 5 stars) was the amount of broken glass among the rocks – not big pieces that could be easily picked up but lots and lots of tiny shards. The campsites were fairly free of glass, but it made me very careful where we walked the pooch.

We had 2 bars of Verizon 4G.