Black Canyon North

Great site
I was able to get big rig (40') down the road without a problem...drove slowly to avoid rattling around on the inside...

quite, secluded, open.

Large turn around at the beginning of the road, a small tent spot followed by a larger back in site, and then the large circle site at the end of the road. The final site could accommodate 2 smaller units but is ideal for a large rig like ours.

We set up with back side to the west to avoid hot sun shining in and patio to the south so we could enjoy scenery especially at sunset.

Love this site. Better cell signal then the other 2 free sites on Black Canyon Road. I saw 3 separate campsites on this dirt road, with 4 fire rings total. The end site is large enough to be split into 2-3 different campers as necessary, though only 2 fire rings. Easy set up wide open spaces. Had a lot of fun star gazing at night. Cell signal generally stable if a little slow at times, if you stand up. Lying down in my tent the signal became really unstable and mostly useless.

We stayed here while wanting to check out the caverns just up the road. The road in from highway 40 is all paved, then about a 1/2 mile down a sand/dirt road to the camp spot.

When you pull off the blacktop, there is a large area to park and go scout the camp area. The camping area is at the end of road in a "court" with a fire pit in the middle. If somebody is already parked down there, it will be hard to turn your rig around. (Depending on sizes of rigs, you could fit 2-3 rvs at this location) We pulled off, discounted the toad and walked down to check it out.

Made it fine down the road with our 40' Motorhome. "Manicured" a few bushes before pulling down the road, successfully avoided some desert pin stripping.

Cell service is great, with a booster At&t is pulling in 30+ download speeds. Verizon has 4 Bars of LTE, didn't check speed.

Stock up on supplies, closest gas station is 40 minutes, and they are way overpriced.

We came mid week and didn't see anybody. The fire pit has shards from glass bottles, and left over pieces from clay pigeons. Other than that the area was clean of trash.

The minute I got here I fell in love with the scenery and the quiet, and that feeling hasn't abated in the least.

The spot is about 1/4 mile off the paved road down a dirt track. My 35' motorhome made it just fine, though I did need to take it slow and easy. There's really only room for one rig here; perfect if you like peace and quiet.

The NPS campground is about 4 1/2 miles further up the road, and has a free dump and fresh water fill, as well as dumpsters.

Also has great signal for both Verizon and Sprint!

This area is 30 miles to the nearest overpriced gas station, so stock up with what you need before you come here. It is pretty easy access down a short 1/4 mile dirt road. There were some large rocks that were easy enough to avoid. This short road leads to a turn around area that circles a large fire pit in the middle. This is really a one RV type of spot. You could fit 3 rigs in here if you had to, but you would all have to know each other to make the parking work.

This spot was very quiet. We only saw a occasional car driving on Black Canyon Road which was a couple hundred yards away. It rained pretty hard while we where here and I worried that we might get stuck, or the road might wash out, but it was fine after the rain dried up.

There are cattle trails you can hike for miles that run right thru the camp area, or its a 4 1/2 mile drive North on Black Canyon Road to Hole in the Wall visitor center and campground. There are 4 different hikes that start at the visitor center. The campground is a nice, clean establishment for $12 a night and is a good back up campground if the North Black Canyon Road spot is already taken. There is also a free dump and fill area there. Mitchell Caverns is a 10 mile drive from here if you like caves. It is $10 per car to park then $10 per person for the tour, it seemed a bit steep for what the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area had to offer. If you do want to do the tour you have to make reservations on Monday for a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday tour.

Cell and internet service was surprisingly good out here. Overall a nice quiet spot to chill in the Mojave Desert for a few days with lots of plant and animal life and some cool stuff to explore close by.

Camp is easy to access and large enough to turn a 32ft trailer around. Only about 600 ft from the paved road and there was plenty of traffic every day which was very noticeable. This place isn't a secret...we had people drive into our camp three times. Not many options out here outside the campgrounds which was only 1/3 full when we visited for water and trash. The views and plant life here are great.

If I could give this site more than 5 stars I would. We loved everything about this spot. From the 360-degree views, to the solitude, the amazing variety of interesting plants, the endless opportunities for exploring, the close proximity to a campground with water and a dump station, and the excellent price of FREE, it really doesn't get much better than this. Oh...and did I mention the blazing fast Verizon signal? Yeah, pretty much perfect in every way.

The only potential issue with this site is the size. It is listed here as suitable for "small RVs only" for good reason. First of all, the access road is a bit narrow and lined with potential RV-scratching plants. And if you do make it down the road be prepared for an oval area only *just* big enough to make a u-turn with our 25' trailer. The good news is that there's a large pull-off at the start of the access road with plenty of room to park the rig and scout on foot. Also, the Hole-in-the-Wall campground is only a few miles down the road and makes for a good back-up plan.

One thing to remember is that this area is really remote, which means many miles to the nearest gas station or grocery store (1.5 hour drive to a grocery store). So be prepared and bring more than you think you'll need because you will want to stay longer!