Free Camping in Death Valley: How to Find Boondocking Sites

Death Valley is the largest national park in the continental United States, spanning over 3 million acres. To boot, there are 1,000 miles of paved and dirt roads leading to remote destinations.

Dirt roads are a paradise for boondocking. If you have a decent 4×4 off-road adventure van or truck camper, you can reach distance mountain peaks, hot springs and salt flats.

Free camping in Death Valley isn’t hard to find. In fact, this is one of just a few national parks that encourages dispersed camping.

The one rule you must follow is this: you can boondock in Death Valley National Park as long as you stay 1-mile off any paved or day-use dirt road.

This rule isn’t hard to follow with the abundance of dirt roads in Death Valley. We have an AWD Chevy Astro van, which can make it down some dirt roads, and not others.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to find free campsites in Death Valley, and which apps and maps we use. We’ll also give you tips and tricks for boondocking in general if you haven’t done it before.

Free camping in Death Valley is truly a magical experience. You can even do it in a tent if you don’t have a rig.

How to find free camping in Death Valley

Since Death Valley is open to dispersed camping, you can download a map right from the national park service.

Click here to download the map.

We uploaded this onto our iPad, and I used it to gauge distances, analyze road types, and plan our dispersed camping in Death Valley.

For example, the map tells you if the road is okay for a low clearance vehicle, or whether you need a high clearance 4WD to attempt the road. Many of the roads listed have descriptions of the road and final destination to help you figure out where to go.

We found the map extremely useful and used it in tandem with an app called iOverlander. With iOverlander, you can see where other campervans and RVers parked and read their description and assessment of the road.

We boondocked in Death Valley for three nights and loved the seclusion and beauty of these free campsites.

Cool 4×4 Roads to Find Free Camping

Death Valley is an incredible park to explore – the biggest in the continental U.S. Most of its roads are dirt, making it a haven for off-road enthusiasts and overland rigs.

Here are a few roads of note you might like to try:

• Racetrack Road: This high-clearance road meant for 4×4 rigs takes you to a dry lake bed famous for its mysterious moving rocks. Driving on the lakebed itself is prohibited, but its a beautiful area for dispersed camping.
• Saline Valley Road: This road takes you out to a clothing-optional hot springs in the middle of the desert. The soaking tubs are maintained and there’s a primitive campground to enjoy.
• Upper Wildrose Road: If you’re craving high-altitude desert scenery, this road is for you. This high elevation road leads to historic charcoal kilns, a pinyon pine forest, campground and trailheads.
• Pleasant Canyon Road: This road gives you access to high mountain valleys, mining history and spectacular views down into Butte Valley

What I love about dispersed camping in Death Valley is that there are so many places to enjoy that are far from people. Just make sure you have the right rig, off-road tires and a way to call for help if there’s an emergency.

Tragically, one young couple went down a dirt road, punctured two tires, tried to hike out and one didn’t make it. A truly tragic story that’s a reminder to always have water, food and a satellite communicator like a Garmin InReach.

Where you can’t boondock in Death Valley

While there are hundreds of miles of backcountry roads to drive down in a rig like a Jeep camper, there are still many places that are off-limits to dispersed camping in Death Valley.

Luckily, the national park makes very clear where you can’t camp.

This list is directly from Death Valley National Park’s website:

Camping is NOT allowed on the valley floor from Ashford Mill in the south to 2 miles north of Stovepipe Wells, on the Eureka Dunes or in Greenwater Canyon.

Camping is NOT allowed on the following “day use only” dirt roads:

• Titus Canyon Road
• Mosaic Canyon Road
• West Side Road
• Wildrose Road
• Skidoo Road
• Aguereberry Point Road
• Cottonwood Canyon Road (first 8 miles only)
• Grotto Canyon Road
• Racetrack Road (from Teakettle Junction to Homestake Dry Camp)
• Natural Bridge Canyon
• Desolation Canyon
• Pinion Mesa Road
• Big Pine Road (22 miles inside of Death Valley National Park)

Camping is NOT allowed at the following historic mining areas:

• Keane Wonder Mine
• Lost Burro Mine
• Ubehebe Lead Mine
• Skidoo Mill
• One mile from all standing mining structures. Generally camping should be avoided in mining districts for personal and resource safety.

Other than that, Death Valley National Park is your oyster when it comes to finding free campsites.

The best time of year to camp in Death Valley National Park

While Death Valley is the hottest and lowest national park in the United States, you can still visit in summer!

How, you might wonder?

Yes, it’s true that Badwater Basin is 300 feet below sea level, but it’s surrounded by towering mountain peaks. The highest mountain overlooking Death Valley reaches over 11,000 feet.

So during the sweltering summer months, you can take dirt roads up to higher elevations to find free camping in Death Valley.

When we were there in March, it was still too wet and muddy to take West Side Road up into the flanks of the mountains rising on the west side of Death Valley, but this route would be amazing in drier months.

You can drive up a variety of canyons into the high mountains and find camping near old mine sites, in Juniper-Pinyon forests, and near crystal clear springs. Many of those roads require a high clearance 4×4 to get high enough in elevation to escape the heat.

During winter, spring or fall, you can also camp in Death Valley. Some of the free campsites we found were around 1,000 feet, which work well during the cooler months.

💡Boondocking tip: No matter the time of year, you must be aware of the weather to boondock in Death Valley. There are flash flood risks, and it can be very windy or cold. In one of our campsites, we stayed in the van all evening due to wind, and even cooked in the van. Know your weather!

We use a Garmin inReach satellite device to download weather, check our elevation, and have on hand in case of a backcountry emergency. Cell reception is VERY limited inside the park!

Which types of vehicles can boondock in Death Valley?

We saw all sorts of people finding free campsites in Death Valley! While you do need a 4×4 high clearance rig to go down many of the dirt roads, others are accessible to all vehicles.

We even saw people pitching tents next to their cars to take advantage of free camping in Death Valley.

My suggestion would be to use the Death Valley backcountry camping map and read road descriptions. You can always head partway down a road and turn around if it isn’t right for your vehicle.

Our Chevy Astro van found perfect spots in the Lee Flat area down a dirt road west of Father Crowley Point. We also spent the night down the road leading to Cottonwood and Marble canyons. Another night we drove down the dirt road leading to Echo Canyon and Eye of the Needle.

Some people even drove Class C RVs down these dirt roads to glory in the solitude and beauty of Death Valley.

As long as you do your research and understand your vehicle’s limits, you can find free camping in Death Valley.

Equipment for boondocking in Death Valley

It’s really important to have the right equipment when you’re boondocking in Death Valley. Weather conditions can change rapidly and its good to be prepared.

Having enough water when camping in Death Valley is essential.

We usually fill up with water for camping at the Death Valley Visitor’s Center in Furnace Creek, but there are probably other sources of water as well.

The type of gear you bring will largely depend on your vehicle. Some RVs have built-in boondocking gear already like solar panels and large water tanks.

A small campervan like ours needed a lot of gear to make boondocking truly comfortable.

Here are some of the things we have in the van:

• A Garmin inReach Mini satellite communicator for weather, maps, texting and SOS in case of emergency
• Two collapsible water containers, including a 2-gallon and a 5-gallon
• A one-burner camping stove for meals – we use this JetBoil Half-Gen, which I can’t say enough good things about.
• A 6-quart stovetop pressure cooker for quick and easy meals
• Since we spend so much time outside the van, we rely on a tiny foldable camping table for cooking, making coffee and setting drinks.
• We just love these little camping chairs by Moonlence, perfect for a small van. They are surprisingly comfortable, too!
• This portable handheld bidet is amazing for “going” out in nature. Trust me on this one!
• Solar panels and an inverter power our 37-quart ARB fridge, which we can’t imagine boondocking without

Finding campgrounds in Death Valley

If you need a break from boondocking like we often do, you might want to head to one of Death Valley’s many campgrounds. Keep in mind that some of these campgrounds are closed during the summer months when it’s too hot to safety camp in the valley. However, you can still go to the higher elevation campgrounds like Mesquite Spring and Wildrose.

Death Valley campgrounds at 1,800′ elevation and higher are open year round. You can see a list of campsites here on the National Park Service website.

However, if you like to read reviews and quickly see amenities at these campgrounds, you might like to head to The Dyrt app like we normally do. You can quickly look at campground photos and read reviews, which will help you decide where to go.

Keep in mind that The Dyrt app won’t work unless you have cell phone signal. But if you sign up for The Dyrt Pro membership, you can download an extensive campground map you can pull up even when there’s no phone signal.

Click here for a free 30-day trial of The Dyrt Pro.

Conclusion on finding free campsites in Death Valley

If you’re new to boondocking, Death Valley is the perfect place to start. Using the map provided by the national park lets you find free campsites with ease.

Plus, you can camp fairly close to main roads, so if you have a problem, you know help isn’t too far away.

Once you experiment with boondocking, you can take your 4×4 rig deep into Death Valley National Park to find free campsites in remote wilderness areas.

I hope you enjoy finding free campsites just as much as we do. Happy boondocking!