Belle Campground

Beautiful Campground! Stunning sunsets and sunrises paint the sky with vibrant hues, making each day feel magical. The unique rock formations add a distinctive charm, and the clear night skies create an unforgettable stargazing experience. Highly recommended!

Belle is a first-come campground one of two like that. I got there early 1 pm and by 3 pm it was full. The only hassle is you have to drive to an entrance gate and pay, card only no cash. I was enjoying the beauty and quiet but woke up Sunday morning to a blowing wind, ugh.

Spent a beautiful night at Belle Campground…incredible sunsets and sunrises, the stars are stunning and beautiful rock formations. I’d recommend running into the dessert and climb some rocks and get just a little bit lost. Very cool hearing the calls of the coyote at night, can’t wait to go back

Wish the camp sites weren't basically on top of one another, had some extremely rude camp neighbors that kept wandering through our site and literally just decided to screw around in our campsite in the middle of the night. Like the whole point of camping is to enjoy the wilderness and be alone and instead we had people just wandering INTO our camp and bothering us and some annoying lady and her kid blasting music. Literally trash spots and way not worth the psychotic amount they charge.

Great place to camp! Tons of large rocks that provide a neat view and privacy between sites. Small, and super popular right now (Feb 2021). If you aren't circling the site as people are waking up, you likely won't get a spot. However, we were just car camping so we found a site with one other person and were able to join their site thanks to their goodwill. Clean pit toilets, otherwise no facilities here.

This is a nice campground a bit further afield from the camps near the main entrance. The sites are nicely integrated with the large boulders that characterize most of the park's campgrounds. It was mostly empty (and very hot) when we stayed. But it was nice to be away from the crowded campgrounds, for sure! I think that during clement weather this must fill up too.

This is a stunning no services campground for tents and smaller RVs. Our 27' TC would fit in many, but not all, spots. Many of the sites are nestled into the amazing granite outcroppings in fun ways. The Iron Ranger was fired after excessive abuse (ie theft) from vagabonds and derilicts. Getting a campsite involves leaving your goods on a campsite where folks break into Iron Rangers and steal the contents and driving down to the entrance station (only a touch over 5 miles) to pay for the site. Please don't take it out on our beloved flesh and blood rangers, but the new system is very poor. Other National properties have gone to electronic pay stations.

BELLE CAMPGROUND is best accessed from the town of Twentynine Palms, driving up Park Boulevard, and then turning on to Pinto Basin Road. Once on Pinto Basin Road, Belle Campground (18 campsites) will be on your left. A little further on the road is White Tank Campground (15 campsites), which is also be on your left. I explored the back-country by hiking from Belle Campground over to White Tank Campground, in search of interesting boulders, tors, and inselbergs. What I found in this back country was porthole, a sphere, a heart, and a salami (see my attached photos). The porthole is very close to Belle Campground, while the sphere, heart, and salami are roughly half-way in between Belle and White Tank. The salami is especially worthy of seeking out, because it is so perfectly formed and the sliced part of the salami is perfectly flat. The salami is the size of a bus. Another advantage of seeking out the bus is that it is huge and not particularly difficult to find. ||||For comparison, I am also attaching here my photos of two hearts from White Tank Campground. The two hearts at White Tank Campground are two of the best that I've found in Joshua Tree National Park. A third heart of equal greatness can be found at the west edge of the inselberg located about 300 paces north of Oyster Bar parking lot. ||||In tromping around the back-country between Belle and White Tank, I did not follow any particular trail. Also, it is impossible to get lost in this back-country area, because a steep mountain slope is immediately to the east and because Pinto Basin Road is only a 15 minute walk to the west. Pinto Basin road and the steep mountain slope are parallel to each other. An advantage of Belle Campground is that it is much smaller than Jumbo Rocks Campground (124 campsites), and hence there will not be any disruptions to the desert ambiance caused by tourists playing radios.

Campsites are on a first come, first serve basis. There are some that are reservations only, but we usually go for the Jumbo Rocks campsite as there are tons of spots. This time around, we decided to try out Belle Campground. The process is the same: pick a spot, fill out the form, clip it on your campsite post, and deposit the money filled envelope at the camp fee box (usually located near the info boards). It's a smaller campground with 18 spots at $15 per night. They have vault toilets and trash bins located throughout the area. The toilets are stocked with toilet paper, but it never hurts to bring some, just in case. Each campsite has a picnic table, fire ring, and BBQ grill. There is no water available, so bring enough for each person as well as cooking purposes. Overall, this was a nice campsite. It is a bit smaller than we were used to compared to Jumbo Rocks, but we enjoyed it all the same.

Belle Campground is, in my opinion, the best little campground in all of Joshua Tree National Park. Since there are no addresses inside Joshua Tree National Park, the closest point of reference is Twentynine Palms Visitor Center. From there, take Hwy 62 (Twentynine Palms Highway) east to Utah Trail and take a right. Once you enter the park, Utah Trail turns into Park Blvd. Then turn left on Pinto Basin Rd. Belle campground is located about one mile south of Park Blvd. on Pinto Basin Rd. The nightly fee is typical; $15.00 a night. There are 18 sites, each site equipped with a picnic table, barbecue and a fire pit. As with most campgrounds at JTNP, you will need to bring your own water; and bring plenty of it. There are only two vault toilets available throughout the entire campground, which are usually well stocked with toilet paper, but I always bring my own... just in case. Most of the camp sites are located within a couple of large boulder piles. There are several other large boulder piles nearby which are open for exploration. A short trail (about 400 ft. long) on the eastern edge of the campground leads to the California Riding and Hiking Trail, which winds about 38 miles from one end of the park to the other. This portion of the trail is fairly flat, so long hikes are fairly easy. Arch Rock Nature Trail is just over a mile away from the campground. From the CRHT, go south. Before long, the trail will curve right and you'll be heading southwest. Just before you cross the road (Pinto Basin Rd.) turn left and head for White Tank campground. From there you can locate the Arch Rock Nature Trail trail head. Before the sun sets, find yourself a perch high atop a boulder (preferably near your camp) and have a look around. Now you can fully appreciate the vastness of this unique and otherworldly desert as the sun's light floods over the earth below. But as the sun's light falters and darkness falls... the vastness of the desert is dwarfed by the infinite expanse of the heavens above, and the sky slowly comes to life. Before long the Milky Way flows like a glistening river across the night sky. Ataraxia: "an untroubled and tranquil condition of the soul." "I want to run, I want to hide, I want to tear down the walls, That hold me inside, I want to reach out, and touch the flame, Where the streets have no name." - U2

Nice clean place to camp right next to the rocks, bathroom is clean, no water so make sure you bring some. $15 a night, can get pretty hot so make sure you shade up. Over nice and clean.

BELLE CAMPGROUND in Joshua Tree National Park is best accessed from the town of Twentynine Palms, driving up Park Boulevard, and then turning on to Pinto Basin Road. Once on Pinto Basin Road, Belle Campground (18 campsites) will be on your left and a bit further on, White Tank Campground (15 campsites) will also be on your left. On a couple of occasions, I explored the back-country by hiking from Belle Campground over to White Tank Campground, in search of interesting boulders, tors, and inselbergs. What I found in this back country was porthole, a sphere, a heart, and a salami (see my attached photos). The porthole is very close to Belle Campground, while the sphere, heart, and salami are roughly half-way in between Belle and White Tank. The salami is especially worthy of seeking out, because it is so perfectly formed and the sliced part of the salami is perfectly flat. The salami is the size of a bus. Another advantage of seeking out the bus is that it is huge and not particularly difficult to find. For comparison, I am also attaching here my photos of two hearts from White Tank Campground. The two hearts at White Tank Campground are two of the best that I've found in Joshua Tree National Park. A third heart of equal greatness can be found at the west edge of the inselberg located about 300 paces north of Oyster Bar parking lot. In tromping around the back-country between Belle and White Tank, I did not follow any particular trail. Also, it is impossible to get lost in this back-country area, because a steep mountain slope is immediately to the east and because Pinto Basin Road is only a 15 minute walk to the west. Pinto Basin road and the steep mountain slope are parallel to each other. An advantage of Belle Campground is that it is much smaller than Jumbo Rocks Campground (124 campsites), and hence there will not be any disruptions to the desert ambiance caused by tourists playing radios.