Hiking

Arizona Oasis

42 RV Sites, 10 Cabins

Arizona Oasis RV Resort in Ehrenberg, Arizona, sits on the Colorado River at the Arizona-California border, directly across from Blythe and delivering a waterfront resort experience on one of the American Southwest's most iconic rivers in a location that combines year-round warm-weather camping with water-based recreation on the lower Colorado's broad, warm river channel. Positioned where the Colorado exits the narrow canyon stretches of the Mohave Desert and widens into the lower desert valley that marks the transition to the lower basin, the resort serves the large population of snowbird and water recreation visitors who make the lower Colorado River corridor one of the most active winter RV destinations in the western United States. The resort's amenities are oriented around the water-centric lifestyle that defines lower Colorado River camping at its best. A boat ramp provides direct river access for motorized watercraft, and the beach allows swimming and non-motorized water sports directly from the property. A pool, hot tub, clubhouse, playground, and dog park round out the on-site facility, while gated access and a laundry provide the security and practical services extended-stay guests need. The resort's full hookup utility connections and big-rig-accessible site layout accommodate the large motorhomes and fifth wheels that the snowbird population commonly travels in. The lower Colorado River's desert landscape around Ehrenberg is the quintessential Lower Sonoran Desert environment—sparse creosote bush and brittlebush flats broken by the river's dramatic green ribbon of tamarisk, cottonwood, and willow that supports the only significant riparian habitat for hundreds of miles in any direction. The river's warm water temperatures—reaching 80-plus degrees Fahrenheit in summer and remaining swimmable through much of the late fall season—create conditions ideal for water skiing, jet skiing, fishing, tubing, and the extended river float culture that defines recreation on this stretch of the Colorado. The lower Colorado corridor provides fishing for striped bass, channel catfish, largemouth bass, and bluegill in waters that receive significant year-round angling pressure from anglers targeting the river's productive warm-water fishery. Off-road recreation in the surrounding desert provides additional activities for guests with OHV equipment, and the Dome Rock Mountains BLM area east of Quartzsite offers miles of designated OHV routes through the desert landscape. Quartzsite, approximately 20 miles north on US-95, hosts the world's largest gem, mineral, and rock show each January and February, drawing hundreds of thousands of vendors and visitors to the desert community and creating peak demand in the lower Colorado corridor simultaneously with the snowbird winter season. Arizona Oasis operates year-round, with winter from November through March representing the peak season when warm Arizona desert temperatures draw snowbird residents from northern states and Canada. Summer brings extreme desert heat—temperatures exceeding 110 degrees Fahrenheit are common in July and August—that significantly reduces occupancy outside of water-focused guests who tolerate the heat for the river access. The resort's Colorado River frontage, water recreation infrastructure, and winter climate position make it one of the most appealing properties in the Ehrenberg-Blythe corridor for guests whose vacation centers on river life in the southwestern desert.

from $41/night

The Palms at River Edge

The Palms at River Edge in Ehrenberg, Arizona, delivers a family-friendly waterfront resort experience on the Colorado River in the Sonoran Desert where the Arizona-California border is defined entirely by the river's course, providing direct beach, boating, and water sports access on one of the American Southwest's most iconic waterways in a gated community environment suited to both seasonal stays and active water recreation enthusiasts. Positioned in La Paz County where the lower Colorado River corridor has developed as a winter snowbird and warm-weather water sports destination, the resort combines resort amenities with the Colorado River's recreational resources. The resort's facility is designed around the water-centric lifestyle that the Colorado River enables—a beach for swimming and launching non-motorized watercraft, a pool for independent aquatic recreation, paddle boarding, canoeing and kayaking access, fishing directly from the property's river frontage, and boating opportunities on the Colorado's broad lower channel. A gated entrance, clubhouse, recreation center, dog park, playground, general store, propane fills, and laundry serve the comprehensive residential and recreational needs of extended-stay guests, and the shuffleboard and swimming pools provide social recreation alongside the river's more active opportunities. The lower Colorado River at Ehrenberg flows through a landscape that represents the Sonoran Desert at its most dramatic geographic expression—a narrow, intensely green riparian corridor cutting through a stark, tan-and-rust desert environment where temperatures regularly exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit in summer and the river's presence defines the zone of habitability in a landscape that would otherwise be entirely uninhabitable. The river's warm water—heated by the desert sun across hundreds of miles of Arizona and Nevada before reaching Ehrenberg—creates excellent conditions for water skiing, jet skiing, and tubing that have made the lower Colorado one of the country's most popular motorized water recreation destinations. Quartzsite, approximately 20 miles north on US-95, is one of the American Southwest's most fascinating community phenomena—a small desert town that swells from a few thousand permanent residents to several hundred thousand during the January and February gem show and winter RV rally season, creating one of the largest temporary human gatherings in the western United States in a remote desert location. The Dome Rock Mountains to the east and the Trigo Mountains to the west provide off-road recreation terrain for guests with OHV equipment, and the BLM land surrounding Ehrenberg contains extensive open desert camping and exploration opportunities. Joshua Tree National Park is accessible approximately 45 miles west through the Palo Verde Valley. The Palms at River Edge operates year-round with dramatically different seasonal characters—winter's mild desert temperatures from November through April make it ideal for snowbirds and casual water recreation, while summer's extreme desert heat concentrates activity in the early morning and evening hours with midday retreat to the pool and air-conditioned facilities. The resort's full-service infrastructure and Colorado River access give it competitive advantages over simpler Ehrenberg riverside campgrounds, and the combination of gated security, resort amenities, and direct river frontage makes it one of the more complete water recreation destinations in the lower Colorado corridor. Reservations during the Quartzsite show season fill early.

Lake Tamarisk Desert Resort

19 RV Sites

Lake Tamarisk Desert Resort sits in the Chuckwalla Valley two miles north of Interstate 10 near Desert Center, California, approximately 70 miles east of Palm Springs in a stretch of the Colorado Desert that most drivers blow past on their way between Los Angeles and Phoenix without knowing what's here. The tamarisk desert resort is a member-owned, adults-only (55+) community of 150 spaces built around a private lake in one of California's most geographically isolated and undervisited corners—a place where the quiet is profound, the skies are dark, and the surrounding desert rewards those who look slowly. All 150 RV sites offer full hookups with 30 and 50-amp service, and the resort's facilities include a heated swimming pool and spa, air-conditioned clubhouse with television, WiFi, a lending library, games, and a pool table, and coin-operated laundry with hot showers. Catch-and-release fishing on the private lake, stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking on the water, and bird watching along the tamarisk-lined shore provide the primary on-site recreation, supplemented by off-highway vehicle access directly from the resort's perimeter—the Chuckwalla Valley terrain surrounding the property opens into extensive desert OHV areas without requiring a trailer and launch ramp. Well-behaved pets are welcome at no additional charge. Desert Center is one of the more quietly extraordinary spots on the Southern California desert map—a community of a few dozen residents in the Chuckwalla Valley, surrounded by Bureau of Land Management and preserve land, where the silence and the distance from ambient light create nighttime sky conditions that desert astronomers prize. The Chuckwalla Mountains rise to the south, the Eagle Mountains to the north, and the broad valley floor between them has the kind of unobstructed horizon that makes morning and evening light memorable rather than merely convenient. Resident and migratory birds—including raptors, wrens, and desert sparrows—populate the tamarisk and palo verde in numbers that surprise first-time visitors. Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, operating on the old Marine Corps Air Station desert floor nearby, hosts club racing, track days, and high-performance driving events that draw motorsport enthusiasts from across Southern California. Joshua Tree National Park is about an hour north, where the transition from the Mojave to Colorado Desert ecosystems creates the distinctive Joshua tree forests and rock formations that have made it one of the most photographed landscapes in the American West. The General Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit preserves the history of the Desert Training Center where American forces prepared for the North Africa campaign in World War II across 18,000 square miles of this same desert. A 9-hole public golf course sits just a block from the resort property. Lake Tamarisk Desert Resort runs on the Sonoran Desert calendar, with winter from November through March delivering the mild, clear weather that makes the California low desert one of the premier snowbird destinations in the American Southwest. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 115 degrees, making the June through September period the least comfortable for extended outdoor time, though the resort's pool, shaded clubhouse, and air conditioning provide adequate relief for short summer visits. Early reservations are essential for the winter season, when the combination of warm days, cool evenings, and the resort's community atmosphere drives sustained demand from repeat guests who return year after year.

from $50/night

Coachella Lakes RV Resort

352 RV Sites, 8 Cottages

Coachella Lakes RV Resort in Coachella, California, offers 352 full-hookup RV sites and eight cottages with 30 and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 75 feet. Lakeside, front row, and K9 Corner back-in categories join a splash pad, hot tub, fitness center, and clubhouse in the Coachella Valley. Three hundred fifty-two sites span back-in, deluxe back-in, front row back-in, lakeside back-in, K9 Corner back-in, and pull-through categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 75 feet. The K9 Corner sites are worth requesting if you travel with dogs, and lakeside is the premium outlook. Eight cottages round out the lodging. A general store, boutique shop, laundry, propane fills and exchange, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side. An outdoor pool and splash pad anchor the warm months, with a hot tub, sauna, fitness center, clubhouse, game room, craft room, and business center besides. Pickleball, billiards, ping pong, horseshoes, and corn hole fill the courts, and a lake supports fishing. Walking trails, a playground, dog park, golf cart rentals, a bar, and live music round it out. The resort also operates as a wedding venue. Pets are welcome. Coachella sits between Indio and the Salton Sea, 40 minutes from the sea itself, with Spotlight 29 Casino two miles away, Fantasy Springs seven minutes, and Palm Springs within comfortable reach. Winter is decisively the season, and April festival weeks fill the whole valley. Book well ahead.

from $49/night

Indian Wells

143 RV Sites

Indian Wells in Indio, California, offers 142 full-hookup RV sites with 20, 30, and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 45 feet, behind a gated entrance in the Coachella Valley. Standard, premium, and pull-through full-hookup categories sit alongside a pool, hot tub and sauna, spa, fitness center, tennis courts, and an on-site casino. One hundred forty-two sites run in standard, premium, and pull-through full-hookup configurations, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 45 feet. Laundry, restrooms, and showers serve the extended winter residencies that fill the resort, and recycling is available. A gated entrance controls access. The amenity set is built for a long winter stay. An outdoor pool, hot tub, and sauna cover daily aquatic recreation, with spa services and a fitness center alongside. Tennis and sports courts, basketball, shuffleboard, and billiards fill the competitive calendar, and a clubhouse, game room, and library serve the social side. On-site dining covers meals, a casino sits on the property, and walking trails and a dog park round it out. A golf course is nearby. Pets are welcome. Indio sits in the geographic center of the Colorado Desert, 23 miles east of Palm Springs, with the Santa Rosa Mountains rising above the valley floor. The Coachella Valley's golf, tennis, and entertainment infrastructure is among the most concentrated in the Southwest. The resort is open all year, but winter is decisively the season — November through April fills with snowbirds. Book well ahead for those months, and expect festival season in April to tighten the whole valley.

from $72/night

Shadow Hills RV Resort

95 RV Sites, 19 Tent Sites

Shadow Hills RV Resort in Indio, California, offers 95 paved full-hookup back-in RV sites and 19 tent sites in the Coachella Valley, with 30 and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 60 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout. A spa, hot tub, fitness center, business center, and library sit behind a gated entrance. Ninety-five paved back-in sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with cable TV, sized to 60 feet. Paved sites hold up better than gravel through a desert season and make setup cleaner. Nineteen tent sites and cabins round out the accommodations. Laundry, restrooms, showers, and a snack bar handle the practical side, with a gated entrance controlling access. The amenity set is built for a long winter stay. An outdoor pool, hot tub, sauna, and spa cover daily recreation, with a fitness center, clubhouse, game room, craft room, and library for the rest. A business center serves guests working remotely, and a pond, walking trails, community fire pit, dog park, and horseshoes fill the grounds. Planned activities run through the season. Pets are welcome. Indio sits at the center of the Coachella Valley's date palm agricultural belt and hosts two of the world's most attended music festivals. Palm Springs' cosmopolitan appeal and Joshua Tree National Park's high desert are both within easy reach, and the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and Art Museum are close. Winter is decisively the season, and April festival weeks tighten the entire valley. Book well ahead for both.

from $45/night

Silver View RV Resort

315 RV Sites

Silver View RV Resort in Bullhead City, Arizona, offers 315 full-hookup RV sites on the Colorado River with 30 and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 45 feet. River view back-in, premium back-in, and pull-through categories join a pool, spa, hot tub, fitness center, and on-site dining directly across from Laughlin. Three hundred fifteen sites span premium back-in, river view back-in, and pull-through categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 45 feet. The river view category is the reason most guests book here rather than inland. A general store, laundry, dump station, restrooms, showers, and personal mailboxes handle the practical side — the mailboxes point to the long-stay winter residents who fill much of the resort. An outdoor pool, spa, and hot tub and sauna anchor daily recreation, with a fitness center, clubhouse, on-site dining, walking trails, and a dog park besides. Pickleball and corn hole fill the courts. Boating runs from the river and a golf course is nearby. Pets are welcome. Bullhead City sits directly across the Colorado from Laughlin's casino resort corridor, which gives guests a genuinely unusual combination: river-view camping on the quiet Arizona bank with a full entertainment strip visible across the water and reachable in minutes. Winter is decisively the season on the lower Colorado. Book well ahead for January through March, when snowbirds fill the river corridor, and expect considerably easier availability through the summer.

from $70/night

Emerald Desert RV Resort

97 RV Sites

Emerald Desert RV Resort in Palm Desert, California, offers 97 full-hookup back-in RV sites across 33 acres with 30 and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 56 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout, open all year behind a gated entrance. Luxury, elite, premium, and deluxe categories join a pool, hot tub, spa, fitness center, and disc golf course. Ninety-seven back-in sites run in deluxe, premium, elite, and luxury categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 56 feet. The four-tier structure gives real budget range within a single resort. A laundry, propane fills and exchange, restrooms, showers, RV storage, and boat storage handle the practical side. An outdoor pool, hot tub, sauna, and spa anchor the property, with a fitness center, clubhouse, craft room, pavilion, and disc golf course besides. Tennis, pickleball, bocce ball, billiards, ping pong, and horseshoes fill the courts, with a dog park and live music through the season. The resort is LGBTIQA+ friendly and operates as a wedding venue. Championship golf, concert venues, shopping, dining, wine and beer tasting, and Joshua Tree National Park are all nearby. Pets are welcome. The Coachella Valley's winter climate is the entire proposition — reliably sunny, warm, and dry from November through April when much of the country is frozen. Winter is decisively the season. January through March fills with snowbirds and festival traffic. Book well ahead, with far easier availability through the hot summer months.

from $68/night

Joshua Tree Lake RV & Campground

Joshua Tree Lake RV Campground in Joshua Tree, California, provides a lakeside and desert camping experience at the gateway to Joshua Tree National Park—the 800,000-acre California desert preserve where the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts converge and the iconic twisted Joshua trees create the alien landscape that has made this park one of the most photographed national parks in the American West. The campground's pond and lake, wedding venue, live music programming, and exceptional dark-sky stargazing access distinguish it from the park's own developed campgrounds, providing resort-amenity camping with the Joshua Tree character—moonlit boulder piles, star-filled desert skies, and the haunting silhouettes of Yucca brevifolia in the desert night—that defines the high-desert camping experience at the edge of one of California's most beloved national parks. The campground's facility reflects the desert environment and destination event character: a private lake and pond for fishing and desert water recreation, planned activities and live music and entertainment programming that takes advantage of the dramatic desert landscape setting, a wedding venue for celebrations in the Joshua Tree destination event market, bird and wildlife watching in the desert tortoise and roadrunner habitat, a general store, pavilion, showers, bathrooms, dump station, pet-friendly policies, Wi-Fi, and mountain and desert views that frame every camping site with the park scenery that brought guests to Joshua Tree in the first place. Stargazing events and the campground's exceptional night-sky access provide the evening programming that no facilities can improve upon in this dark-sky desert. Joshua Tree National Park's Wonderland of Rocks—a concentration of massive rounded granite monoliths that rose from magma intrusions 100 million years ago and were exposed by erosion to create the boulder-pile landscape that defines the park's distinctive visual character—contains over 8,000 documented rock climbing routes that have made Joshua Tree the most visited and most iconic rock climbing destination in North America. The Skull Rock Nature Trail, Keys View's panoramic Coachella Valley overlook, and the Cottonwood Spring oasis in the Sonoran Desert section provide the representative national park experiences accessible on day hikes from the campground's Joshua Tree gateway position. The town of Joshua Tree, Twentynine Palms, and the High Desert arts and culture community that has grown around the national park's western gateway have developed a distinctive creative culture of galleries, music venues, and the annual Joshua Tree Music Festival that reflect the desert landscape's effect on artistic practice in the creative community that has colonized the Morongo Valley's high desert terrain. The Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum in Joshua Tree—a free outdoor sculpture garden of assemblage art created by Purifoy from the debris of the 1965 Watts Riots—is one of the most significant and unusual outdoor art installations in California. Joshua Tree Lake RV Campground operates year-round in the high Mojave Desert's four-season climate, with the fall and spring seasons from October through April delivering the most comfortable desert temperatures for hiking, rock climbing, and boulder exploration in Joshua Tree National Park—the summer months above 100 degrees Fahrenheit make the park's sun-exposed terrain genuinely dangerous for unprepared hikers in the heat of the day, while the mild winter nights create extraordinary stargazing conditions when the desert air's low humidity and the campground's minimal light pollution combine with the Milky Way's winter arc over the park's boulder silhouettes. The spring wildflower season in February and March after winter rains creates the desert bloom that brings maximum visitor volume to Joshua Tree.

from $16 $14/night

Cathedral Palms RV Resort

62 RV Sites, 1 Onsite RV/Trailer, 1 Apartment

Cathedral Palms RV Resort in Cathedral City, California, offers 62 full-hookup RV sites and an apartment with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 55 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout, with EV charging on site. Deluxe and water-and-electric back-ins join the Happy Camper travel trailer rental, with a pool, hot tub, and pickleball courts. Sixty-two back-in sites run in water-and-electric and deluxe full-hookup categories carrying 30 and 50-amp, sized to 55 feet, with site WiFi. EV charging is available — still uncommon at RV resorts and increasingly decisive for guests towing with an electric vehicle. The Happy Camper travel trailer rental and an apartment serve guests without a rig, with check-in for rental units at 3:00pm. A laundry, propane fills, dump station, RV storage, bike rentals, restrooms, and showers handle the practical side. An outdoor pool and hot tub and sauna anchor the property, with a clubhouse, community fire pit, and dog park besides. Pickleball, bocce ball, basketball, billiards, ping pong, and corn hole fill the competitive calendar, with biking from the property, planned activities through the season, and a golf course and national park nearby. Pets are welcome. Cathedral City sits between Palm Springs and Palm Desert in the Coachella Valley, which puts the region's golf courses, spa culture, national park access, and mid-century modern architecture all within easy reach. Winter is decisively the season in the desert. Book well ahead for January through March.

from $65/night

Stagecoach Trails RV Park

115 RV Sites, 17 Cabins, 17 Tent Sites

Stagecoach Trails RV Park in Julian, California, offers 113 RV sites, 17 cabins, and 17 tent sites with dedicated equestrian back-in sites, horse paddocks, and horse pens — the premier horse-camping destination in San Diego County's backcountry. Sites carry 30 and 50-amp full hookups and take rigs up to 100 feet, with an outdoor pool and sports courts on site. Sites run from 30-amp back-ins and pull-throughs to 50-amp pull-throughs and dedicated equestrian back-in sites, all carrying water, sewer, and electric and sized to 100 feet. Seventeen cabins and 17 tent sites round out the accommodations. Horse paddocks and horse pens handle overnight boarding — the infrastructure that makes this a genuine equestrian base rather than a campground that tolerates trailers. A general store covers basics and WiFi reaches the property. The name on the reservation must be present at check-in. On-site recreation serves both the horse crowd and general campers. An outdoor pool anchors the warm months, with sports courts, pickleball, basketball, volleyball, horseshoes, and corn hole across the grounds, plus a playground, dog park, and community fire pit. Planned activities run through the season, and the mountain setting supports strong bird and wildlife watching. Pets are welcome. Julian sits at 4,200 feet, an apple-orchard town with nineteenth-century gold rush roots. Trail riding runs into Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and Cleveland National Forest, and the terrain drops east toward the Anza-Borrego Desert in one of the most dramatic ecological transitions on any Southwest trail system. The four-season mountain climate keeps riding comfortable most of the year. Fall apple season and spring wildflowers are the busiest windows — reserve equestrian sites well ahead.

from $69/night

Blake Ranch RV Park

25 RV Sites, 1 Cabin

Blake Ranch RV Park sits 12 miles east of Kingman, Arizona, along US-66 and I-40, offering 25 full-hookup pull-through RV sites and a cabin with 30 and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 50 feet. Every site is pull-through, horse pens are available on site, and the park operates year-round on paved roads. Twenty-five pull-through sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 50 feet. Pulling through means no backing after a long highway day, and the paved roads make arrival straightforward in any weather. A cabin serves guests without a rig. A general store, laundry, propane fills and exchange, RV storage, restrooms, showers, a library, and a recreation center handle the practical side. The horse pens are the distinguishing feature — genuine equestrian infrastructure at a highway-corridor park, which suits riders moving between events or trailheads. Horseback riding runs from the property, and a dog park serves pets. The recreation center and library give guests somewhere to sit out the afternoon heat, and the on-site laundry, showers, and propane fills mean a longer stay works as well as an overnight. Cable TV and site WiFi reach every site. Pets are welcome. The park sits on the original alignment of Historic Route 66 in Mohave County's high desert, in the plateau country above the Colorado River canyon. It serves both long-haul interstate travelers moving between Las Vegas and the Arizona mountains and Route 66 enthusiasts who prefer the two-lane heritage road's slower pace through volcanic mesas, juniper woodland, and the dramatic western edge of the Colorado Plateau. A river, lake, and mountains are all nearby. Open all year, with spring and fall the most comfortable seasons in the high desert and summer bringing the heaviest interstate traffic. Reserve ahead for holiday weekends.

from $52/night