BLM Campground Review – Owl Canyon, Rainbow Basin, Barstow, CA

Biking around pretty Rainbow Basin

A lovely $6/night BLM campground in colorful Rainbow Basin in south-central CA.

Link to campground here: Owl Canyon, Rainbow Basin, Barstow, CA
Link to map location here: Owl Canyon, Rainbow Basin, Barstow, CA

1. Site Quality = 3/5
   Typical simple BLM sites here, but with some nice touches. All sites are basically firm dirt clearings with  no hookups and wide variations in both size and levelness. However there is decent separation and a good choice of sites for bigger rigs esp. towards the very back (#22-25) and the right-hand loop (#16-21). Lovely, brand new ”sitting areas” with shelter, picnic table and firepit/grill. Great views all around of both the pretty Rainbow Basin rocks and down towards the valley.
2.  Facilities = 2.5/5
   Simple, but very nice facilities. Large, clean pit toilets at several spots plus several playground areas. There is a “limited use” water spigot at the campground, but it’s sometimes dry and recommended to use it sparingly (so fill up before coming). NO dump station.
3. Location = 4.5/5
   As a pure nature stop this is simply lovely. You’re right in the middle of the gorgeous Rainbow Basin with lots of biking/hiking/exploring all around. Also within 10 miles of Barstow for shopping needs. Only slight ding is there is a 5-mile dirt road (excellent, wide, flat and graded but nonetheless dusty) to get into camp.
4. Pet Friendliness = 5/5
   Wonderful pooch park yet again. Lots of space to hang out in camp plus lots of lovely hiking trails in Rainbow Canyon.

Overall Rating = 3.75
BONUS ALERT = Camp in the midst of colorful Rainbow Basin!

Summary: This little campground is definitely a bit of a hidden gem. It’s a simple BLM campground with dirt clearings and no hookups, but it’s got all kinds of nice little touches. The entire spot appears to have been completely renovated recently so there are truly lovely “sitting areas” with brand-new shelters, picnic tables, fire-pit/grill plus very nice pit toilets and even several playgrounds. Sites have a bit of variation in size/levelness, but there’s a decent selection for “beast”-size. All the sites are tucked into the lovely and colorful Rainbow Canyon so you have gorgeous rock views as well as a deeper view south into the valley plus miles of hiking, exploring and biking. The only slight ding is that it does take 5 miles of dirt road (Fossil Bed Road) to get here. However the dirt road is very wide, flat and very nicely graded (probably the nicest dirt road I’ve ever driven!). On a dry day it’s dusty, but an easy drive for just about any-sized rig. On a wet day it might get rougher plus there is a “dip” into a wash just before entering the campground that can get flooded so check conditions before going. Overall a rarely used and simply gorgeous little spot. It’s well worth the drive and we’d definitely stop here again.

 Extra Info:  Mostly 1X on Verizon here, but we were able to get voice and a slow, usable data signal using our external antenna/amp. 37 total sites costing $6/night no hookups, all first-come-first-serve. Limited-use water on-site, but NO dump station

 Extra, Extra Info – BOONDOCKING? Turns out Barstow is an OHV-riders paradise and there are large tracks of OHV (off-highway vehicle) BLM land just south of the city along Hwy 247 in Stoddard Valley that allow free dispersed camping with a 14-day limit. When we drove past it looked like easy access with large, dirt roads (Stoddard Wells Road) and we saw quite a few toy-haulers and big-rigs sprinkled around the valley. Just be prepared for noise (motorbikes/ATVers) and company.

View of our site #22 near back of campground

View of back of campground. We're in #22 on left. Alex's rig is tucked into #24 at very back.

View of nicely isolated site #16 in right-hand loop. This looks toward the valley.

Another neat site tucked into the rocks #21

View down entrance of campground. Site #9 on right behind the joshua tree.

View down other side of entrance (site #29 on left)

Typical "sitting area", site #23 shown

View of one of the playground areas

The very nice graded 5-mile dirt road that takes you into camp.

Off The Beaten Track – Rainbow Basin, Barstow, CA

The hidden Gem of Rainbow Basin

Since we were driven out early by high winds from our glorious spot in Lone Pine, our “pack” decided to wheel it out and head to shelter down south in the grand Mojave desert. We were looking for the best of the best -> solitude, beauty, views, trails. In other words a spot where no “beasts” have gone before. So, of course we took the back-road to Barstow, CA and stopped there ….. ????

Shadows of Joshua Trees in the canyon

Now those of you who know Barstow may be surprised. For those of you who don’t I’ll paint a little scene. Close your eyes and imagine if you will a desolate desert plain stretching, well…to infinity. Raise your thumb, twirl it around and plonk it randomly anywhere on this dreary landscape. Add-in several enormous truck-stops, a few sad strip-malls and an ad-hoc town and voilà, there you have it. Barstow has emerged like a single stubborn weed in a huge dusty back-yard. NO-ONE vacations at Barstow, at least no-one that I know.

So naturally that’s where we went. And naturally we found everything that we were looking for, because as everyone knows there’s a hidden gem in everything….somewhere….and right here the fabulous spot is called the Rainbow Basin.

Biking into the Miocene era...

Just ~10 miles out of Barstow on a long dirt road it rises from the desert like a diamond in the rough. Rainbow Basin is an ancient formation deposited in the middle Miocene (16-13 million years ago). Tectonic motion, compression and erosion raised the earth over many millions of years and sculpted the rock into alluring curves of mineral deposits. From neon green to deep red the layers roll like rock petals of a giant rose blossoming to enclose you completely. Add-in a sprinkling of picturesque Joshua Trees and you’ve created the painting of a masterpiece.

Some pretty country out here

And there’s more than just pretty rocks here. The site is a paleontologists dream with over 368 sites and 17 new species of mammals discovered right here including the very first record of a mastodon in California. Camping is on BLM land right in the midst of the colorful painting, surrounded by miles of hiking and biking. It’s simply stunning!

Entrance to the Rainbow Basin area

Our “pack” hunkered down within the protective rocks for several days while the winds passed by up north, enjoying pretty much complete solitude (we were literally the only folks there the first 2 days) and gorgeous surroundings. A worthy and unexpected little stop  off the beaten track….and all of it in Barstow too.

Sunset in camp

A pretty view of the rocks from the trail

Deep in Rainbow Basin

Blue sky and rainbow rocks