Tent Talk

  Check out our “Vlog” video from Jumbo Rocks. Special Thanks to The Perks , a small band out of Southern California, for the soundtrack, as well as Lowepro, who generously sent us their new Rover Pro 45L AW camera bag to use! Jumbo Rocks is aptly named, and is the biggest campground in Joshua Tree National Park . If you’re looking for a campground full of great sites, easy access to trails, and big huge boulders to climb when you step out of your tent, this is the place to be. Spot Jumbo Rocks? It may be a little difficult – Joshua Tree encompasses almost 800,000 acres, or over 1200 square miles. However, navigating the park is relatively easy. Most will enter from the north, at either the town of Joshua Tree or Twentynine Palms. For those traveling from Arizona or other areas of southeastern California, the best entrance is from the south, off I-10 near Chiraco Summit. Arizonians – don’t exit the 10 at Desert Center, unless you’d like a long, boring detour around the park to th...

Mather Campground is the main campground on the West Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, located right outside Grand Canyon Village. With over 300 sites, Mather is one of the biggest campgrounds we’ve been to, but it’s usually full every single night, and is open year-round. We’ve already been to Mather twice, once in the heart of winter and again in the peak of summer. This review will focus on what the campground is like in the summer, but check out the video below of our winter trip, where we stayed the first night at Mather before backpacking through the canyon. As you can see, the campground is open year round, although there are only a few loops open during the winter months. The campground sits at just a few hundred feet below 7,000ft., so prepare for biting cold and snow in the winter, with more moderate summer temperatures usually around the 70-80’s. The main attraction here is tent camping. RV’s are welcome, but there are no hookups inside the campground, although Trailer Vill...