Photo: NPSCottonwood Group
★4.8(43 reviews)
High DemandJoshua Tree National Park · Twentynine Palms, California🏜️Desert/CanyonHiking
Photo: NPSBest For
Groups prioritizing southern park access, wildflower season, and dark-sky stargazing — this is the only group campground on the south side and the highest-rated in the park.
3
Sites
No
Hookups
Flush
Toilets
Cottonwood Group holds a 4.8 rating from 43 reviews — the highest score in the entire Joshua Tree campground lineup — and it's the only group option positioned in the southern section of the park near the Cottonwood Spring oasis. Three sites only, which means booking is binary: you either get it or you don't. March is the hardest month with 38.9% of reservations made 6+ months ahead; January offers the most flexibility at 30.8% last-minute. Weekday demand swings wildly (Tuesday and Thursday are Very Low, Saturday is Very High), so mid-week openings do occasionally surface. If your group is chasing wildflowers or the Milky Way, this is the right campground — but you need to plan like it's a permit lottery.
Content from Joshua Tree National Park park guide
October through April is the core visitor season at Joshua Tree, with November representing the single most competitive booking month in the park — 17.7% of November reservations are made 6+ months in advance across 8,472 total bookings. March and April see the highest raw reservation volume (11,352 and 10,250 respectively), driven by spring wildflowers and ideal 70–90°F daytime temperatures. August is the easiest month to find a site with 40.8% of bookings made last-minute, but summer temperatures regularly exceed 100°F in the lower elevations.
Joshua Tree has two main entrances — the West Entrance near Joshua Tree town and the North Entrance near Twentynine Palms — plus the South Entrance at Cottonwood off Interstate 10, which accesses only the southern campgrounds. There is no park shuttle; a private vehicle is required to move between campgrounds, trailheads, and visitor centers. Note that Belle, Hidden Valley, and White Tank campgrounds are first-come, first-served and must be paid for at an entrance station within one hour of occupying a site.
Total reservations in October 2023: 36
Address
Twentynine Palms, California
Coordinates
33.7500, -115.8250
Very high demand - sites typically fill up immediately when the booking window opens. Plan to book the moment reservations open.
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Joshua Tree National Park
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Joshua Tree National Park
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The park entrance fee is $35 per vehicle, valid for 7 days. Nightly camping fees vary by campground and are charged separately through Recreation.gov for reservation campgrounds, or paid at entrance stations for first-come, first-served sites. The America the Beautiful Annual Pass ($80) covers the $35 entrance fee but does not reduce nightly camping fees — it is still worth the investment for anyone visiting multiple federal lands in the same year.
The maximum stay at every campground is 14 days within any 28-day period. Pets are permitted in campgrounds and on paved roads but are not allowed on trails or in the backcountry. No water is available at Belle, Hidden Valley, or White Tank campgrounds, and water is limited even at campgrounds that do have it — bring at least one gallon per person per day. Cell service is unreliable throughout most of the park; download the NPS app and offline maps before arrival. The nearest full-service town is Twentynine Palms, which has grocery stores, gas, and medical facilities.