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America the Beautiful Pass

Joshua Tree National Park – Ryan Campground

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Joshua Tree National Park – Ryan Campground
February 13th – 15th, 2023 (2 nights)

Joshua Tree National Park is a fantastic place in the high desert to visit in the winter, spring, and fall (too hot in the summer).  The Joshua trees (not really trees but succulents), unusual rock formations, hiking, rock climbing and dark night skies are the main draws.  The best reason for staying overnight in the park is because once the sun sets, the daytime crowds go, leaving quiet peacefulness.  And, the stars are so bright here; it’s the perfect place for stargazing (away from all the city lights).  It’s also not too far a drive for us from San Diego, making it a fantastic mid-week break for rest and solitude.  We chose to visit Ryan Campground (one of many campgrounds inside the park) because it is small and away from the busier tourist areas.  We purchased an annual park pass (America The Beautiful Pass, $80) when we visited Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in September, so we avoided the $30 entrance fee.

Located at an elevation of around 4,400 ft., Ryan Campground has only 31 campsites @$20/night (reservation only) and is centrally located within the national park.  There are also 4 equestrian sites ($15/night) and 3 bicycle sites ($5/night, first come first served).  There is no running water at the campground and only pit toilets.  There is no cellphone reception here, so if you want to be connected bring your Starlink (or be prepared to drive about 10 minutes back toward the entrance where the hilltop overlooks the valley below).  There are some nice hikes from within the campground and exhibits within a close drive.  On our first day, after setting up our Scamp 13’ in campsite #5 (a nice one) and having lunch, we hiked from the campground to Ryan Ranch and then onto Lost Horse Well.  It’s a short hike (only .3 miles) to the decaying adobe walls of the ranch house and bunk house (circa 1896).  Lost Horse Well is just a little farther.  We also walked part of the Geology Tour Rd. trail from the campground (6.6 miles).  Although we didn’t see any Bighorn Sheep (which are known to be in the area,  we did see a number of strikingly beautiful bluebirds (bright sky blue color) called Mountain Bluebirds.   After hiking, we drove to Keys View — a short drive up to the top of a crest of the Little San Bernardino Mountains.  There are benches at the top and panoramic views of the Coachella Valley below– including the Salton Sea, Santa Rosa Mountains, 10,800 peak of San Jacinto Peak (behind Palm Springs), and the snow-covered peak of 11,500 San Gorgonio Mountain.  The San Andreas Fault can be seen below along the eastern part of the Coachella Valley with its jagged slabs of rock and other geological anomalies.

The wind started kicking up strongly on our first night with 20 to 30 mph winds with gusts up to 60 mph.  We had received a Severe Weather Advisory email from recreation.gov when driving into the park without further details (and we didn’t have internet access to research what was coming our way once we arrived at the campground).   Tent campers were having a rough time with their tents sometimes folding up in the wind; many of these campers slept in their cars for shelter.  One man, who is travelling the country by bike, told me he was almost swept off his feet when trying to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  Since campgrounds here have no water, we arrived with our Scamp 13’s fresh tank full (giving us some extra ballast).  Our rear stabilizers were down which also helped weather the gusts.  We were unhitched, but the Scamp handled the strong wind well (with only occasional shaking, despite the wind hitting the Scamp directly on its side – the Scamp’s aerodynamic shape likely helped).  The wind was so loud that, despite wearing earplugs and playing white noise, it was difficult to sleep (it sounded like we were on a boat in a fierce storm at sea).  Meanwhile, temperatures dropped into the 20’s and we cranked up our Scamp’s furnace to stay toasty.

The wind continued to blow hard the next day.  It was sunny, but cool and windy.  We bundled up in our down jackets with wind breakers over them.  We drove to the visitor’s center (about 30 minutes) to see their exhibits and souvenirs and also spent some time on our phones (since we had cellphone reception here).  On the way back to Ryan Campground, we stopped at numerous outdoor exhibits and trails which included Cap Rock & Intersection Rock (including .3 mile nature loop) and Creosote Trail.  We also stopped at some popular rock climbing spots.  Some of the names of these rocks are interesting:  Hemingway Buttress, Banana Cracks, Heart of Darkness, Target Rock, The Oyster Bar, Split Personality Rock, Agent Orange, East Wall Hall of Horrors, Exorcist, Diamond Dogs, and Nurn’s Romp.  We tried to visually connect the names of the rocks with the rock shapes, but they didn’t really match.  We guess the rock names are more aligned with the climbing experiences rather than the rocks’ appearances.  The most epic experience though, was walking along desert trails filled with Joshua trees (sights that cannot be matched anywhere else).  The trees, actually a type of Yucca, were, according to legend, named by Mormon immigrants crossing through the desert in the 1850s.  They saw the gnarled outstretched limbs of the trees as reaching their hands up to the sky in prayer (and/or pointing toward the Promised Land) and, so, named them after the biblical figure Joshua.

The wind calmed a bit in the evening of our last night, only to pave the way for an unexpected snowstorm!  Click here for a short video of the snowstorm at our campsite.  Yes, it was actually snowing!  We sure were glad to have two filled propane tanks on board (although we only used a small fraction of one) so we could run our heater all night.  We were very comfortable inside the warm cozy interior of the Scamp (watching movies and playing Sequence and Backgammon games). Looking out the Scamp’s panoramic windows watching the snow blanket the desert floor was a mesmerizing site.  Equally as captivating, was watching the tent campers scrambling to their cars for supplies during the blizzard.  It was difficult to imagine how they were able to bundle up enough in the cold to sleep in their tents (most likely didn’t have propane heaters and we witnessed some sleeping in their cars).  We heard some scary stories the following morning from tent campers who battled extreme cold during the night (temps in the teens).  People also exchanged hot food and hot drinks the morning after the snowstorm.

Our last morning at Ryan Campground was calm with blue skies (temperatures in the 20’s).  We had a chance to take a nice early morning hike (Keys View Rd trail) from the campground (around a two mile round trip flat desert walk) before heading home.  Because we plan to come back, we made note of a number of ranger programs which look interesting–including, Keys Ranch Tour  ($10 for adults, reservations the day before), All About Joshua Trees, and the Evening Program.  Although we experienced a wild weather ride on this trip, it was really exciting and satisfying.  It was great to see how our Scamp 13’ pushed through the challenges with flying colors.  And, these experiences will no doubt elevate our game for future trips.  Speaking of future trips, our next planned trip is back here next month at Jumbo Rocks Campground!  Stay tuned!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

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Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
September 11th – 18th, 2022 (7 nights)

Visiting Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks in the shoulder season is a fantastic way to experience the parks without heavy summer crowds.  The weather was very pleasant during our visit in September with highs in the high 60’s (perfect for hiking) and lows in the low 40’s (perfect for sleeping) and the trails were fairly unpopulated.  Because of the cool nights, we used the furnace in our Scamp 13’ while sleeping and set the thermostat at 58 degrees, which was very comfortable for a great night’s rest.  Because the drive from our home in Carlsbad to these parks is around 8 hours, we stopped halfway for overnights at Bear Mountain RV Park in Bakersfield to break up the drives both going to the parks and on our way home.  Fortunately, we brought along our portable AC system, because it was in the 90’s in Bakersfield!

When searching for a convenient half way overnight stop, our biggest priority was finding a place which was along the route so we didn’t add unnecessary driving time.  Additionally, since we knew it could still be very hot in the Central Valley in September, we also wanted to make sure the place where we stayed had electrical hookups so we would be able to run our AC system.  Lastly, we wanted a reasonable nightly rate since we weren’t going to have time to take advantage of any extra facilities (like pool, laundry room, clubhouse, miniature golf course, etc.) or location (e.g. proximity to the downtown, etc.).  Bear Mountain RV Park in the Central Valley (Bakersfield) meets all of these criteria; it’s just a few minutes off the 99 Freeway (located in between farmland), about halfway from our home to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, it offers full hookups, and the rate when we stayed was only $34/night (although they just raised the rate to $39/night).  Most of the park is occupied by monthly renters, but the last row of campsites is set aside to accommodate overnight guests.  We were assigned site #17 and our friends, Phil & Claudia, who accompanied us on this trip, were parked right next to us.  It was hot (about 95 degrees) when we arrived, so we set up our portable AC system which chilled the Scamp down very quickly.  The park advertises WiFi, but we couldn’t get a good signal at our location.  However, there is a cell tower close by and we got fast internet and good phone service anyway with our Spectrum/Verizon mobile service.  HDTV signals were also plentiful and crystal clear here.  As an added bonus, we enjoyed evening walks along a farmland path of pistachio trees across the street from Bear Mountain RV park.

Because we were towing a travel trailer, we had to take the longer route, Highway 180, to reach Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.  Driving up the more direct route, Highway CA-198E, is not permitted for vehicles over 22 feet long due to severe hair pin turns (our Volvo XC40 is 14.5 feet long and our Scamp 13’ is 13 feet long = our total length of 27.5 feet).  The road into the park during the last hour of driving is windy, but not too bad.  Because Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks are national parks, a $35 entrance fee is required at the entrance station.  We opted to purchase the $80 annual America the Beautiful Pass instead which allows access to all national parks in addition to other government lands for a year.  We arrived at Lodgepole Campground in Sequoia National Park to a fantastic site (#160, $22/night) right alongside a creek.  This site is spacious and situated in the middle of a beautiful pine forest.  There are no hookups here, but, despite the campground being heavily forested, we were able to get all the electricity we needed by using our solar panels.  We also arrived with two fully filled propane tanks, which provided all the gas we needed to cook, heat our water for nightly showers, and power our furnace to keep our Scamp’s interior nice and warm in the middle of the night.  There is a threaded water spigot close by to site #160 and we used our super hose extender for quick water fills whenever needed!  Also, there is a free central dump station at the entrance of the park (only a few minutes’ drive from site #160) which we used during the middle of our five night stay here (quick and easy).  So, despite the campsites having no hookups here, one can still experience a fabulous long stay at Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks with the right gear and planning.  And, Lodgepole Campground is a great location when visiting these parks because it is right at the center of most of the natural attractions.  Note:  there is no cell phone reception at most places within the park (though, there are payphones at Lodgepole Campground, and Waksachi Lodge – a few miles down the road- offers free very poor quality WiFI [when we visited], but the best value in gifts we encountered within the park ).  A ranger informed us that there is a helipad (perhaps the large overflow parking lot at the entrance to Lodgepole Campground) and there are rangers available 24/7 in case of emergencies.

The highlight of a trip to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks is walking among the giant sequoia trees.  These trees are among the largest and oldest trees on Earth and are magnificent to behold.  What’s amazing too is that they only exist on one place on Earth, and that’s here within a narrow 260 mile path of forest on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (between 5,000 and 7,000 feet in elevation).   Some of these trees are over 3,000 years old!   These giant sequoias are awe inspiring and a trip to this national park should be at the very top of everyone’s bucket list of places to see in their lifetime.  The main trail to see these giants is the Congress Trail.  To get here, one can either hike a 2.8 mile trail from Lodgepole Campground to the General Sherman Tree, or drive to the General Sherman parking area just down the road.  The Congress Trail is a gentle 2.7 mile paved round trip path that goes by some of the largest and well know sequoias in Sequoia National Park.   The trail begins at the General Sherman tree, which is the largest living tree on Earth and stands over 275 feet tall.  Also along the path are the President Tree, Chief Sequoyah Tree, The Senate Group, The House Group, and McKinley Tree.  The President Tree, named after President Warren G. Harding in 1923, is the oldest living sequoia tree at over 3,200 years old (about 250 feet tall).  Curiously, we didn’t see the famous General Lee Tree name on the path.  We speculated that the name was “cancelled” due to him owning slaves and other injustices (which we later confirmed when reading this article).  However, Google Maps still listed the tree and we were able to find it unlabeled.

There are also numerous trails which originate from Lodgepole Campground (some tens of miles long and requiring a backcountry permit for overnight camping in the wild).  One of the most famous is the Tokopah Falls Trail (allow 2 – 3 hours). It’s a roughly 3.8 mile moderately challenging out and back hike which meanders its way up the Kaweah River and comes to a head at the bottom of a 1,200 cascading foot waterfall (although dry during summer and fall months if no rain).  The falls were flowing a little bit during our visit because it had recently rained (hikers previously reported no water flow the week before).  The falls are formed as the marble fork of the Kaweah River slides down a magnificent granite face into the Tokopah Valley.  The trail has areas with sections of stone steps as well as short wood plank bridges.  The last short section of trail is over uneven granite rocks and should be avoided by those with stability issues (the waterfall can still be seen before this section though).  It’s a beautiful hike that passes though forest and meadows.  It’s also common to see bears near the trail in the early morning.  We saw one on our visit.  Sequoia National Park is an active bear area for the American black bear.  It’s mandatory to use the metal bear food lockers to store your food at the campsite.  There are many stories of bear encounters like this one here and this scary one for a camper at Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.  Be “bear aware” and try never to sneak up on an unsuspecting bear since startling the animal at close range could provoke a defensive attack.  Usually, the bears will hear hikers and stay at a distance or move away.  If a bear approaches, make yourself look big by raising your arms (and if you are in a group huddle together) and make a lot of noise by clapping and yelling.  It’s generally not recommended to try to outrun the bear (unless you have some slower hikers with you!).  The same advice applies to mountain lions which like to chase running prey.

Make sure to visit the Giant Forest Museum during your visit.  The small free museum has some excellent displays and information on sequoias and the area (as well as a nice gift shop).  There’s also a nice one mile round trip meadow hike from the museum.  On the south side of the museum is a short paved road which leads to Beetle Rock, a large granite rock which you can climb on and offers nice mountain views to the south and west.  It’s a great place to watch the sunset.  Speaking of sunsets, if you have time, also plan a visit to Sunset Rock.  Sunset Rock Trail can be accessed across the road from the Giant Forest Museum.  It’s an easy mile forest trail that leads to a large granite dome (Sunset Rock) which offers superb western views (best visited at sunset).  And, speaking of rocks, climbing Moro Rock should be on your radar (as long as you aren’t averse to climbing a bunch of stairs – about 350 steps to the top – or have a fear of heights).  It’s considered a moderately challenging hike, but it is fairly short (only about .5 miles round trip) and can be completed in about half an hour without stopping (there’s a parking lot at its base).  No serious rock climbing is necessary as this granite dome has rock stairs along with metal handrails to keep visitors safe.  The 360 degree views at the top are spectacular, offering sights of an incredible mountain range on one side and looking way out over the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River toward the Great Western Divide of the High Sierra and down to the San Joaquin Valley below on the other (highly recommended).

There’s so much to do in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks that we only scratched the surface during out five night stay at Lodgepole Campground in Sequoia National Park.  We noticed some campers left some days to make long drives (over one hour to the Kings Canyon side of the park) to explore areas, such as Mist Falls and Hume Lake, on the Kings Canyon side of the parks.  But, with the windy roads and drive time of over an hour to cross the parks, we decided to spend most of our time in Sequoia National park and touch the highlight of Kings Canyon National Park (visiting the General Grant Tree at Grant Grove Village) on our way out of the park on our last day.  I’m glad we decided to spend the majority of our time in Sequoia National Park, staying at Lodgepole Campground, because there are more groves of the giant sequoias here.  I would definitely consider coming back in the future and staying within Kings Canyon National park to see some of the waterfalls and other natural wonders though (there are numerous campgrounds within Kings Canyon National Park including:  Azalea Campground, Crystal Springs Campground, and Sunset Campground).  On our way to Grant Grove Village, we refueled at Stony Creek gas station (free WiFi that actually works too!).  There is a visitor’s center and gift shop (the most expensive we visited in the park) at Grant Grove Village as well as some RV parking.  We avoided the two mile round trip hike from Grant Grove Village to the General Grant Tree and back by driving down the road and parking in the small General Grant Tree parking lot.  We got lucky and found a couple of RV spaces to park (there are only around 4 bus/RV spaces).  After viewing the magnificent General Grant Tree, which is just right in front of the parking lot, it got a bit crazy on our way out.  A large tourist bus pulled in and blocked the exit path for a little while.  We were fortunate to have been able to plan our visit to stay during the week and were reminded that, even during the off season, weekends can be very busy in national parks.

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly.