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Submission
First come / first served primitive campground with no additional fee located in a Pinyon Pine and Juniper forest at 8,200' elevation. Great views down into Death Valley. Located near the Telescope Peak trailhead. Dirt road access requires high-clearance vehicles, often 4x4 required.
Accessible to high clearance vehicles only. 4-wheel drive may be necessary.
This visit was on May 30, 2016 and the temperature at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center was over 110 degrees F. The drive up to the campground was pretty amazing. The Ranger at the Visitor Center said this was doable with a 2WD if you were careful. He was right and I'm glad they didn't dissuade us too much. We made it in our Honda Odyssey minivan, but a 4WD would have made the trip easier. The elevation helped us sleep because of the cooler temperatures. The views were spectacular and the temperatures dropped into the 60's. We were very happy that we made this trek. The sites could use a little more maintenance because the ash had not been emptied from the fire pit in a long time and there were bits of trash and scattered ash around. We cleaned up the trash. I understand that this camping area is out of the way and may not see much attention. There was only one other camper there during our visit.
My 3rd time here since 2015.. I live in Michigan so it's always a treat to break out and experience this secluded and once traveled location by the drummer from Rush Neil Peart, where he came here and hiked Telescope Peak not once but twice! Anyways, it's a fine campground with fire pits, tho no fires from June thru August. The dirt road up to Mahogany Flat can be a little rough, you can make it up in a car but a truck or bigger is recommended.
Best views around, really good stargazing(some of the darkest skies around). Very quiet and peaceful, clean restrooms. Very nice temperature, nice and cool.
Truly a gem of a campground. No fees, crowds, or weird rules. I was able to make it there in my Hyundai Kona, I think if you're brave you could really make it up in any vehicle but I'd say you'd want at least 7 inches of ground clearance.
Great little campground. Each site has a table and a fire pit. There is one, spacious pit toilet and it was relatively clean and stocked with toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Cell phone service is nearly nonexistent. Occasionally I would get a bar but never long enough, or strong enough to send out a text. The night sky was gorgeous and about a mile into the Telescope Peak trail the sky really opens up, free from tree line obstruction.
The only thing I could complain about is that none of the sites are secluded from each other. I expected a little bit more privacy for how remote this campground is. Luckily I had great neighbors. When I went up, there were only 3 empty sites, and the last 2 filled up before nightfall.
The roads leading up to the campground are in decent shape up until the final 9 miles which is just a narrow gravel road. Nothing about it screams “high clearance and 4x4 necessary” but it definitely helps. Just make sure you bring a actual spare tire, NOT a donut spare tire. (A flat tire repair kit wouldn’t hurt either.) The nearest ranger station is about 40 miles away and about 3/4 of that route is extremely remote.
I will definitely consider returning at some point.
