Ryan Campground
6Heads up4 park alerts · 2 fires, nearest 30 mi
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- A night
- $30From, per site
- Sites
- 3730 on recreation.gov
- Season
- Year-roundOpen year-round
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices
In the agency’s own words
Download the NPS app prior to visiting the park – trail maps and more! Ryan Campground lies amid the huge, steep rock formations for which Joshua Tree National Park is known. In close proximity to many boulders and rock formations, it is a popular camping location for families with kids. Ryan Campground is one of four campgrounds in the park that requires reservations year-round. To get the most out of your visit Plan Like a Park Ranger Travelers who enjoy warm, dry winters flock to Joshua Tree from October through May, when temperatures hover between 70-90 degrees during the day and drop to a 40-60 degree range at night. Summer is the park's off-season due to the uncomfortably-high desert heat. Ryan is at an elevation around 4,400 feet. Keep reading
Recreation
Several hiking trails also leave from the campground. There are plenty of rocks and Ryan Mountain to explore outside the facility. Clear desert skies are perfect for star-gazing.
Facilities
This small facility has 31 individual tent and limited RV campsites. There are no hookups or drinking water in the campground, however the town of Twentynine Palms is 17 miles away and provides basic amenities. The park allows six people and two vehicles per site, however, some sites are small and may not accommodate the maximum number of people and vehicles. See site details for specifics.
Natural Features
Campsites are nestled on a flat, sandy surface between large boulders that tower in unique shapes over the campground and rise up from the otherwise uniform desert landscape. The rocks were formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago and have been exposed and shaped by wind and water over time. They brighten with soft pastel hues during the morning and evening sunlight and low with campfire light by night. Visitors may want to keep their eyes out for typical desert inhabitants such as lizards, rattlesnakes, scorpions, ravens, squirrels and desert tarantulas during the cooler months of the year. Bobcats and mountain lions do live in the park, however they are rarely seen near humans.
Nearby Attractions
Cap Rock, Ryan Mountain, and Hidden Valley Charges & Cancellations Reservation Cancellations & Changes Cancelling a Reservation: Customers may cancel their reservation prior to arrival both on-line and through the call center. A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refund for a cancellation. Depending on when you cancel in relation to your arrival day, it may be considered a late cancellation (see below). Changing an Existing Reservation: When changes are made prior to the cut-off window: If a customer wants to switch dates that are entirely outside of the original reservation dates, there is a $10 change fee. There is no change fee if a customer extends or shortens a reservation, as long as the change includes dates from the original reservation. If they choose to depart early, they may forfeit the recreation fee for the day of departure. There is no change fee if the customer wants to switch sites that are the same price with the same reservation dates in the same facility. If a reservation is made that includes dates beyond the maximum booking window, that reservation cannot be changed until 18 days have passed from the original booking date. Late Cancellations or Cancellations within the Cut-off Window Individual Campsites: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. Changes or Cancellations within the Cut-off Window: Once a reservation date has begun, customers cannot change a reservation using the online system or through the Call Center (see below for early departures). If the location is staffed, on-site personnel may or may not be able to assist with changes or cancellations (check with local staff). No-Shows Overnight Facilities: A no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out (noon) time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time (noon) on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night’s recreation fee for a campsite. *Note: the entire reservation will be cancelled for no-shows.
What the agency tells you
Download the NPS app prior to visiting the park – trail maps and more!
Reservations are required year round and can be made the same day or up to 6 months in advance.
No-Shows Overnight Facilities: A no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out (noon) time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time (noon) on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night’s recreation fee for a campsite. *Note: the entire reservation will be cancelled for no-shows.
Everything else this campground posts · 8
Please call 760-367-5554 for information.
The park allows six people, two vehicles and three tents per site, however, some sites are small and may not accommodate the maximum number of people and vehicles. See Site Details for specifics. There is no overflow parking. Trailers count as a vehicle.
$30 per vehicle entrance fee is in addition to camping fee. Passes can be purchased ahead of time here.
Generator use is permitted only from 7–9 am, noon–2 pm, and 5–7 pm.
Cancelling a Reservation: Customers may cancel their reservation prior to arrival both on-line and through the call center. A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refund for a cancellation. Depending on when you cancel in relation to your arrival day, it may be considered a late cancellation. Late Cancellation Fees: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee.
Pets are not allowed on trails but are welcome in the campground, on any dirt road or within 100 feet of any road. Pets must be on a leash no more than 6 feet long at all times. Pets may not be left unattended or tied to an object; leaving pets in unattended vehicles is strongly discouraged – especially on warm days.
STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES. Remove plants, seeds, animals, and mud from boots, gear, pets, and vehicles. Clean your gear before entering and leaving the recreation site. Stay on designated roads and trails, and follow local guidelines for firewood. For more information visit the National Invasive Species Information Center.
FIRE BAN fire restriction are currently in effect that prohibit charcoal fires, wood-burning fires, and charcoal grills. NO Fires! Only gas or propane stoves are permitted. Starting June 15, ending October 1st of every year.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 37 · 10 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 32 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets - year round
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- Stay limit
- 30 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- Hiking
- Climbing
- Scenic drives
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 1051st darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 4
Full this Saturdayread 15:35 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 30 sites on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 7 are free on Mon, Oct 19. read 15:35 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $30 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refund for a cancellation. Changing an Existing Reservation: When changes are made prior to the cut-off window: If a customer wants to switch dates that are entirely outside of the original reservation dates, there is a $10 change fee.” · this campground’s own no-show terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 15:35 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
37 sites
All 37 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 30 of the 37 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| A | 01 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | $30 |
| A | 02 | standard nonelectric | 16 ft | $30 |
| A | 03 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $30 |
| A | 04 | tent only nonelectric | 19 ft | $30 |
| A | 05 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | $30 |
| A | 06 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $30 |
| A | 07 | standard nonelectric | 16 ft | $30 |
| A | 08 | standard nonelectric | 23 ft | $30 |
| A | 09 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $30 |
| A | 10 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $30 |
| A | 11 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | $30 |
| A | 12 | standard nonelectric | $30 | |
| A | 13 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | $30 |
| A | 14 | tent only nonelectric | 24 ft | $30 |
| A | 15 | tent only nonelectric | 18 ft | $30 |
| A | 16 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $30 |
| A | 17 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $30 |
| A | 18 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| A | 19 | tent only nonelectric | 22 ft | $30 |
| A | 20 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $30 |
| A | 21 | tent only nonelectric | 18 ft | $30 |
| A | 22 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $30 |
| A | 23 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $30 |
| A | 24 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $30 |
| A | 25 | standard nonelectric | $30 | |
| A | 26 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $30 |
| A | 27 | tent only nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| A | 28 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| A | 29 | tent only nonelectric | 18 ft | $30 |
| A | 30 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $30 |
| A | 31 | type not stated | ||
| A | 32A | type not stated | ||
| A | 32B | type not stated | ||
| A | 32C | type not stated | ||
| A | 33 | type not stated | ||
| A | 34 | type not stated | ||
| A | 35 | type not stated |
25 of 37 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Sheep Pass GroupJoshua Tree National Park · 2.4 mi
Hidden Valley CampgroundJoshua Tree National Park · 2.4 mi
Jumbo Rocks CampgroundJoshua Tree National Park · 5.3 mi
Indian Cove GroupJoshua Tree National Park · 7.6 mi
Belle CampgroundJoshua Tree National Park · 7.8 mi
White Tank CampgroundJoshua Tree National Park · 7.9 miDriving Directions
Take Interstate 10 to State Highway 62. Turn south on Park Blvd. Continue 5 miles to the West Entrance; Ryan is approximately 11 miles from the entrance. If coming from the east, taking Interstate10, take the Desert Center exit north onto State Highway 177. Continue on State Highway 177 turning west onto State Highway 62 to Twentynine Palms. Turn south on Utah Trail. Continue 3.5 miles to the North Entrance. Ryan is approximately 13 miles from the entrance.
The weather
the next four days
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Indio Hills, CA
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Ryan Campground is in California’s 25th congressional district. Its representative, Raul Ruiz (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 4
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The office that runs itJoshua Tree National ParkNational Park Service unit
- The member who votes the moneyRaul RuizU.S. Representative · California’s 25th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAdam B. SchiffU.S. Senator · California
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAlex PadillaU.S. Senator · California
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks the National Park Service to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up, and to post what that share is.
Subject Hold back a share of sites at Ryan Campground for campers who drive up
To the National Park Service, Joshua Tree National Park: I tried to camp at Ryan Campground in California and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 30 of the 37 campsites the agency files at Ryan Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 30 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Ryan Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m asking for one specific thing: set aside a published share of the sites at Ryan Campground as first-come, first-served, and post what that share is so it can be checked. Somebody who drives up has no way in, and no way to find out whether they might have had one. Sent about Ryan Campground (Joshua Tree National Park, California) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Ryan Campground, Joshua Tree National Park, California
Dear Raul Ruiz, I’m a constituent in California’s 25th district. I tried to camp at Ryan Campground, Joshua Tree National Park, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 30 of the 37 campsites the agency files at Ryan Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 30 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Ryan Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Ryan Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Ryan Campground (Joshua Tree National Park, California) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Ryan Campground, Joshua Tree National Park, California
Dear Adam B. Schiff, I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Ryan Campground, Joshua Tree National Park, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 30 of the 37 campsites the agency files at Ryan Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 30 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Ryan Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Ryan Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Ryan Campground (Joshua Tree National Park, California) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Ryan Campground, Joshua Tree National Park, California
Dear Alex Padilla, I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Ryan Campground, Joshua Tree National Park, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 30 of the 37 campsites the agency files at Ryan Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 30 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Ryan Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Ryan Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Ryan Campground (Joshua Tree National Park, California) via campanac.com