Selby Campground

It was almost a 5 mile dirt road drive from the main road. There were some washboard sections but we took it slow and made it in our 36 foot fifth wheel. We lucked out and got a pull through site right before all of the campground filled up and overflowed. Surprisingly, it was super quiet at night even with all of the people that were there. It was supposed to be a super bloom. We saw lots of wildflowers. Soda lake was full of water, and was so great to see. There was a little hike with the boardwalk along one side of the lake that was fun to take and we saw lots of caterpillars everywhere. The campsite was adequate. There are no hook ups at all, but there are pit toilets. From other posts, I read there was no water turned on at certain times, but there was a spicket by the horse corral that worked. There is a 4 mile hike right behind the campground that you can take almost straight up the side of the hill and it is a little strenuous, but worth the hike. If you take the full circle of the hike, it’s 4 miles but if you just come right back down, it’s just over 2 miles. We came here with just the two of us but we plan on coming back with our kids because we had so much fun.

Great stay driving through the Carrizo plain. Gorgeous views of hills, clouds, grassy plain. Our pull-through site was very level. Sites are a little close with no shrubs for privacy but it was quiet even though almost full; it was cold and a bit breezy so that might have made a difference. The gravel portions of the Carrizo roads were in decent shape. Vault toilets were not too bad. No service with US Cellular.

I spent a short week for my first exploration of Carrizo Plains. I stayed at Selby as my base camp for my stay. The immensity of the plains is hard to explain or to capture with a camera. The recent rain filled the lake which is a beautiful site! Selby is at the end of a road, level with concrete pit toilets, clean level gravel / grass sites. No water or power. Great views from camp. Super dark skies great for astronomy.
Selby has elevated views on nearby trails, and views over the valley are spectacular. Lots of wildlife; coyote, fox, rabbits, (found mt. lion tracks,) lots of raptors and shore birds near soda lake. Huge elk herd in the valley near the ranger station.
Highly recommended.

I spent 3 days 2 nights exploring the Carrizo Plains. I stayed in Selby one night and dispersed camped near Selby one night. Two developed campgrounds; Selby and KLM, both offer clean pit toilet buildings and level sites with shade structures. No water or power.
The staff at the ranger station were very friendly and helpful, and provided useful information on wildlife as well as road conditions. Heavy rains made some roads near Soda Lake impassible, but at the same time provided the usually dry Soda Lake with a lot of water. The area has a lot of wildlife; shore birds near the lake, smaller grass and shrug dwelling bird, a large herd of Elk and coyote and mountain lion (tracks) in the hills
This is BLM land and dispersed camping is allowed away from the valley floor (posted.)
Well known for its spring flower bloom, the area is interesting and beautiful much of the year; low visitor season is summer due to high heat.
Keep in mind this is BLM land an hunting is allowed. The days I was there I met two hunting groups going after quail. N

It takes a bit of time on a dirt road to get here. We were in a small pickup camper we were trying out. It's a bit elevated. The spots are small, not far apart, but with some shrubs separating spots. Toilets were fine. There was a working water spigot, which I didn't expect. It was very windy the night we stayed so we didn't hang outside much. Pleasant enough and away from everything. No services nearby. Good views.

We stayed at Selby for one night on Monday, September 28th, 2020, after visiting the neighboring KCL campground for 2 nights.

Arrival is slow going down a 5 miles dirt road off Soda Lake that is bumpy but well maintained. We were the only people at the site. The one other camper was packing up his tent as we rolled in around 9:30 AM.

The site featured:

Pros:
-Clean vault toilets with 1 of 2 working automated hand-sanitizers and plenty of TP
-Fire pits (which we couldn't use due to fire restrictions in the state at this time)
-One semi-shaded picnic table per site. Thanks BLM!
-2 pull-throughs for larger RVs
-Water was turned off
-Fun to explore, low-impact rocks to scramble around just down the proverbial street
-Some nearby trails
-No light pollution whatsoever. You could almost use the moon itself to get around.
-Quiet
-Clean sites. Thank you for Packing It In and Packing It Out and following the principals of Leave No Trace!

Cons:
-Hot. High 90's even in late September. Not much shade to work with
-Was very windy at first, but it died down later in the day

Tips:
-Watch for horse poop. The site has 2 corrals but the pull-through nearest that corral had some leftovers.

It was hard not to like this site. I gave it 5 stars. Given the age of the previous reviews, I was unnecessarily worried that they were dated and inaccurate. They both aged really well, so read those as well.

Be sure you read up on Carrizo Plains before making this trek, while it has a lot to offer it does requires some preparation.

-Airstream Parking Only

This was a nice, free spot to camp and close to Caliente Ridge for hiking the next day. I got delayed and was nervous about arriving after dark, but found the campground easily.

Coming from the North, Soda Lake Road is paved until the turnoff. Then it’s five miles on bumpy but okay dirt road. I made is easily in low clearance sedan.

Each site had a sheltered picnic table and fire ring as well as plenty of parking. There are two pit toilets. There is a faucet but the water was not turned on in early March.

We've been to Selby Campground once before but decided to make the trek again to see the super bloom. Selby is located in Hills above the Carrizo Plain. The campground is at the end of a 5 mile washboard dirt road. Aside from being bumpy, the road is in good condition. Selby is a very rustic campground with pit toilets. There is water available though. The camp ground is first come/first served. The bloom made the campground pretty crowded but crowded is relative. At the busiest the campground still only had maybe 100 people there. Trailers, RVs and tents found spaces wherever they could. We had no trouble finding a spot for our 25ft trailer.
Our last visit to Selby was in May of 2016. We saw only one other car in 12hrs and the campground was empty.
Would definitely recommend a visit but be sure to read up about the Carrizo Plain and be prepared.