Black Rock Equestrian Campground, Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Black Rock Equestrian Campground is part of Joshua Tree National Park in California (31 min northeast of Desert Hot Springs, CA) with an elevation of 4,048 feet. There are a total of 20 campsites. The campground is open all year. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. Each site includes a picnic table and fire ring. Prices start at $20.00 per night. Some amenities include drinking water. Activities include horseback riding, hiking trails.

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Campsite Reviews (36)

4.3 out of 5

5 star		50%
4 star		36%
3 star		8%
2 star		6%
1 star		0%

@christina40933 · Camped on Dec 26, 2024 at Campsite #H

The volunteers have made this an exceptional equestrian campground. It would. Be improved by having a restroom closer - its quite a walk up to the one in the regular campground and those restrooms are small too, but nice and clean. A porta potty or CXT would work in the eq. Campground.

@TamaraR06BC1E6 · Camped on Nov 29, 2024 at Campsite #H

It would be nice if you could provide a Port a Potty in the area. Its really not fair to restrict us to walking 2 blocks in the dark to use the other campgrounds facility. You dont even provide a walkway..

@JoyC4566129 · Camped on Nov 29, 2024 at Campsite #H

One of my favorite horse camps. Used one of the stalls. That was really convenient. I think there are 8 of them First come ; First served. The water and manure bins are a little far away. Packing a 5 or 10 gallon water container and a portable dolly will make your life easier. The weather was incredible and the scenery spectacular. Your horse should have shoes or boots. It can be a little rocky. Carry a med kit. Inevitably, a horse or person will find a cactus. Haven't had an incident in years, but this year we had a green OTT Thoroughbred walk into a Yucca. Not good.This place is magical. We try to camp year once or twice a year. I would recommend March or April because the colors are amazing. Definitely don't do summer, but Fall and Winter are not out of the question. Have ridden here in the snow and it was amazing. Trails are well marked. Be sure to do the Panorama Loop. It has the best views, but there is normally a cold wind at the top so layer up and enjoy.

@PamM1906437 · Camped on Nov 28, 2024 at Campsite #H

Excellent. Camp was clean. Rangers and volunteers came through during our stay.

@VICTORIAM23153 · Camped on Mar 14, 2024 at Campsite #H

The horse trails are amazing, well kept and well marked. We will definitely go back.

@Christina925F6 · Camped on Mar 13, 2024 at Campsite #H

Had a great stay at Black Rock even though the weather wasn't great. It was so nice to have stalls and there was plenty of room for maneuvering rigs. Trails were great for riding, bathrooms were nice and the proximity to town, Pioneertown, etc., was very convenient. Will definitely be back.

@JuneH6703107 · Camped on Mar 7, 2024 at Campsite #H

This location never disappoints. The trails and scenery are awesome. The equestrian camp is very nice. Flat and easy to park. For improvement another water faucet on the other side would be ideal. And restrooms closer with a shower..Then more horse corrals! That's all..lol I love it here and it's only an hour drive from home Thank you

@MayLinnPB3D039 · Camped on Dec 29, 2023 at Campsite #H

The horse camp site has nice facilities for horse camping and ample space for trailer parking and turning around. There is potable water and a dump site for manure, making horse camping quite easy breezy. The trails in Joshua Tree are great for horseback riding. There are a lot of steep climbs around the park, but we seek those out as we train for endurance rides. There are many trails with gentler slopes for those who are not interested in more rugged riding. Sand never gets super deep, and footing is often so good I ride many of the rides partly or fully barefoot. My only negative comment is that all the horse stalls in camp are installed with a relatively heavy slope, which I think can be uncomfortable for horses if they stay there a long time. I get that some of this is probably to avoid water pooling and washing out, but it seems they have been able to make the human camp sites flat for campers without issue. It would be nice if they would make the same effort for the horse camp. There were a lot of different horse campers there at the same time as us, which was nice. When we visited last year, we were told they were making a promo video of the horse camp. Sadly, this video never seems to have been published. I heard whispers that some people in the JT NP want to get rid of the horse camping. That would fit with avoiding to promoting the horse camp. Hopefully these are just untrue rumors, because this is really a great and easy place to get to with horses for camping and some seriously good trail riding. JT NP should really promote this horse camp more, many people just don't know you can camp with horse corrals and most amenities. Many horse riders would not tie a horse to a trailer to go camping, nor do many have enough horse water storage in their rig. At Black Rock you don't need any of that. If you have a small LQ you can even access the dump site when you leave. Win win :)

@CharlesH3D71D7 · Camped on Nov 21, 2023 at Campsite #H

Love it at Blackrock campground. Would be nice to have some more water spigots and a bathroom or pit toilet in the equestrian camp. But always have a great time there.

@KathyU783D5143 · Camped on Oct 15, 2023 at Campsite #H

Nice Facility, good trails

@SheilaR9563770 · Camped on May 5, 2023 at Campsite #H

The only thing that could be better would be to have one of the current manure dumpsters on the other side of the
camping/staging area also.

@VictoriaB13870 · Camped on Apr 13, 2023 at Campsite #H

Super easy parking for the horse trailers, nice stalls, easy access to the trails and great trails.

@RossG8902433 · Camped on Mar 30, 2023 at Campsite #H

We had a very nice time. It would be nice if you provided porta pottys in the equestrian campground. We have to walk over 500 yards to go to the regular campground to use the restrooms.

@CynthiaM916014 · Camped on Mar 9, 2023 at Campsite #H

The facilities are great for a dry camp, the stalls are a great added bonus if they are available. I came prepared with my own stall. The only think I wish was thete and maybe o e day is a bull pen type corral. And also one or two additional water spickets

@TerryJ7595844 · Camped on Mar 7, 2023 at Campsite #H

The corrals at horse camp were much appreciated.

@TeriP9833053 · Camped on Mar 6, 2023 at Campsite #H

The address given is incorrect. I was directed to a private residence. There were no directions to get me to the equestrian campground. When I called the number listed I got a message to leave a voicemail. It was nearly dark, I had my horse in the trailer and no where to stay. Lucky for me I had seen a small shopping center and got directions from a local resident. There was no camp host when I arrived so I didn’t know where to park or put my horse. I was told by whomever I spoke with the week before that there was no one else with reservations that week. There were several trailers there. I was also told that the pens were first come, first served. The people who were already camping there told me that I could not have a pen because they were saving them for their friends who would come the next day! I am very disappointed with the lack of organization and communication. I did get a callback the next day but that didn’t help my situation the night before. Also the trails were not well marked. I would have been concerned about going out alone. The people who were already camping there offered for me to ride with them.

@EmilyF2405059 · Camped on Dec 21, 2022 at Campsite #H

Really great horse camp, wish there was an easier way to dump manure into the dumpster, but otherwise fantastic camping and trails.

@LauraD1350391 · Camped on Dec 7, 2022 at Campsite #H

I always enjoy staying and riding at Black Rock Equestrian Camp. It is so quiet and peaceful. The added bonus this trip was the addition of 5 corrals close to the water bib because there is only one for the whole campsite. Take a hose splitter and long hoses. Otherwise it can be quite a haul from the other corrals. You always want to check the weather before you go...we knew that it was going to be cold and perhaps windy so we were prepared! Blankets for the horses at this elevation and time of year (mid December) are a must! We hardly ever venture out of the park but there are good restaurants, fun shops and a great visitor center in the close by town of Joshua Tree. Additional trails are also close over in Pioneer Town.

@MarkD7704923 · Camped on Nov 23, 2022 at Campsite #H

Many amazing trails!!!, nice fire rings, and a few nice stalls for horse's and hitching post. Adding bathrooms would be nice

@CherylL8048658 · Camped on Nov 9, 2022 at Campsite #H

Enjoyed the new corrals at equestrian campground. It could use more water spickets. It was hard Carrying buckets of water to horses. The campground could also use a potty potty or at least an opening in the fence to the restrooms above the campground.

@CraigN645 · Camped on Jan 21, 2022 at Campsite #H

The horse camp was empty pretty much the 3 days we were there in late January. we Did the Panorama trail but the day we did it was very windy and not a great time on top. The next day we went out the Burnt trail and came back on other trails including the fault trail, we loved that! We did not make it over to the main part of Joshua Tree, but looked interesting.

@HelenK638 · Camped on Dec 18, 2021 at Campsite #H

Very clean. Trails were pristine and lovely sand footing. Having water available was a plus, but make sure to have a way to haul it back to your horses.

@debrad345 · Camped on Nov 23, 2021 at Campsite #H

I have horse camped at Blackrock for many many years and appreciate that the parks have the horse area to accommodate rigs horses and riders. Please continue to reserve the area for horses as the riding is outstanding with well maintained trails. The horse community is grateful to have such a great area to travel to and enjoy thank you 😊

@JanetM825 · Camped on Nov 22, 2021 at Campsite #H

I am so grateful for the park being insistent on only horse campers using the area for overnight usage. So grateful you are calling to be sure campers have a horse. Thank you so much. One of the best places to camp in winter with horses. Would like to know how to make reservations for Ryan Camp

@CandyH340 · Camped on Nov 18, 2021 at Campsite #H

Love the campground and the wonderful trails. There is only 1 water spigot in the horse camp and it would be nice to have more so that it would cover more of the campground. The new signs on the trails are great!

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Black Rock Equestrian Campground, Joshua Tree National Park, CA