Desert Shores

Find & reserve the best barns near Desert Shores, California. Tent, cabin & RV camp on private & State Parks, on local farms, vineyards & nature preserves.

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Deep Creek Hot Springs

Joshua Tree National Park

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The Star Bed. Closest site to the outdoor kitchen, shower and  outhouse. 

The Lovelight Ranch

The Lovelight Ranch is our 5-acre hippie paradise, centrally located in the Coachella Valley. We are near the amazing 1000 Palms Oasis and Coachella Valley Preserve for great day hikes and wildlife viewing, and also near the splendors of Joshua Tree and the high desert.  
  We are happy to offer fun & relaxing activity Experiences such as the Tepee Sound Bath experience,  DrumCircle and Didgeridoo experiences, Artistic Endeavor experiences. Sharing makes us Happy and we hope you will choose an Experience or two to enhance your visit and interests.

      We are within a half hours drive of Palm Springs, recently voted the hippest mid-sized city in the country  and Coachella, home of the Coachella and StageCoach Festivals and not so far from the ever amazing Joshua Tree Festival . 

We are also very near Sam's Hot Water Spa, a chemical free  hot springs soaking experience which is the perfect ending to a day of hiking, climbing or just sight-seeing.  We have a Pool & Deck , A Horseshoe Pit, Nice Shady Hangouts and plenty to look at in every direction.

We offer accommodations ranging from Elevated SkyDecks to SubTerrainian Glamping spots RV spaces as well as Basic Tensite camping . - Please check out our offerings for your Desert camping visits. 

Guests love staying here: "We had the most amazing time at Mikey’s place. Spiritual, reflective, and beautiful. The dogs and Rocky were the best! Mountain Views didn’t hurt (; we will definitely be back; Mikey was a welcoming and generous host. We stayed in Desert Isle and had a mystical time. You won’t regret staying here!"

so many friendly dogs ready to play fetch

Joshua Tree Private Campsite

One mile from Joshua Tree National Park southern entrance. Beautiful desert landscape nestled in by mountains. Private serene and spiritual land. Come get enlightened. 

Campers have a choice of several campsites.

DragonflyHill Desert Farm

About

Welcome to DragonflyHill Desert Farm & Wildlife Habitat where you can experience desert magic, starry skies, and natural mineral water from our private well. Remote enough for a quiet retreat yet easy to get to and only a short drive to amenities and outdoor adventures!   Please review our rules and read our entire listing description prior to requesting to stay here, to assure we’re the right space for you. Copies of our rules, registration documents, liability waiver and amenities are provided in our photos. Guests must agree to adhere to our rules and honor our cancellation policy to book with us. If you have any questions, please make an inquiry and we will get back to you very quickly. We really do love this work.

LOCATION:

We are located one mile down a well maintained and navigable dirt road, 20 minutes to Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs and Palm Desert, and 15 minutes to the 10 freeway.  We're near the Cabazon outlets, 2 hours to Los Angeles, San Diego, Disneyland, mountain areas, and  beaches. Nearby there are local wildlife preserves, hiking and outdoor activities. We are 45 minutes to Joshua Tree and a half hour to Coachella. We truly are in the middle of nowhere and the center of everything. For folks traveling in winter, we’re considerably warmer than Joshua Tree and the High Desert.  In summer we are cooler than Palm Springs. Immediate neighbors are small farmers and ranchers. Local spas and resorts are available for day use and access to their pools and ponds for as little as $10 a day ($5 seniors). We can provide space for events and entertainment for a small fee.  

ARRIVAL:

Upon approving your reservation we'll send you a welcome message with information we need prior to your arrival to process your reservation, prepare for your arrival and provide you with check in information and accurate directions as gps apps to our location are often wrong.  Please answer that initial email as soon as possible. 

 We'll follow up with check in information and driving directions. 

Once in the gate, stay on the driveway and meet us on the patio with the blue shade sails.  We will provide you with an approximately 15 minute orientation and tour,  register you, check identification and show you to your campsite. Guests are required to fill out a liability waiver and a simple registration form. (See photos for copies of these forms.) 

OUR SPACE:

Our land is 130 feet wide by an eighth of a mile deep in a residential neighborhood with lots 2.5-10 acres. We can see and hear our neighbors.

We maintain a very quiet space but occasionally our neighbors have their own activities and events. Let us know if the neighborhood gets too noisy and we'll try to mitigate those situations. We can also provide free earplugs for those very rare occasions. Guests wanting a totally isolated experience may want to book elsewhere. 

DragonflyHill Desert  Farm is a working farm in a wilderness area. Guests should check weather forecasts prior to arrival and assure that they have the right equipment. We have a moderate cancellation policy that allows guests to cancel 3 days prior to their arrival date to receive a refund.  This allows enough time to check weather reports.  There are occasional heavy rains and frequent high winds. It can get very hot in summer and reach freezing temperatures in winter. Despite our proximity to the freeway and nearby cities, and our location in a residential neighborhood, this is very much a wilderness area. DragonflyHill is not responsible for the weather. 

We are not a resort. Expect dry plants and patches during summer and into the fall. As a farm, we may be a bit more rustic than your typical farm to allow for shelter for local wildlife. Our cultivation methods encourage biodiversity and though we are growing food, many of our crops resemble landscaping or natural habitat rather than garden patches. Currently we have habitat viewing areas, an herb garden, an orchard, an outdoor classroom, a sheltered social distancing patio, an outdoor kitchen, meditation gardens, our (seasonal) mineral pool, community library, game boards and toys, and a tree bath. Plant varieties, wildlife and presentation may vary by season. Our farm specializes in herbs, fruit trees, desert and native plants, and edible flowers. We also grow some sprouts and microgreens indoors. We cultivate community and share what we grow with our neighbors and our guests. Guests have shared access to the outdoor kitchen and BBQ area, the orchards, gardens, patios, and grounds of the Desert Farm and Wildlife Habitat, and (for safety reasons) limited access to the pool pond and spa -both unheated. The pool pond is filled with local mineral water from our own well. The pool pond is cleaned regularly & is chlorinated. The pool pond is not cleaned daily and is shared with wildlife.  including bees and birds who drink water pool side. Debris from high winds and wildlife may contribute to the pool pond environment. Currently neither the pool pond nor the spa is heated. We also have wheelchair accessible hot water outdoor showers and wheelchair accessible porta potties. 

The pool area is accessible to guests year round but the pool itself is winterized and unavailable from mid October through mid to late April. 

We work hard to keep the home well maintained &  clean; we're vigilant & do due diligence with professional quarterly visits from Truly Nolen 4 Season Pest Prevention (a green company.) We doubt you'll see any unwanted critters inside or near the house or other structures during your stay, but if you do, please advise us &  we will promptly address the situation. DragonflyHill Desert Farm and Wildlife Habitat is in a remote area of the desert with lots of wildlife. To help us keep wildlife OUT of the house and campsites, please keep food out of reach of critters & clean up after every meal.

We affirmatively welcome children, but as this is a working farm in a wilderness area, parents will need to be vigilant of their child's safety and activity while here. We are constantly adding activities and features for children and adults. 

We are child friendly and we are a good location for groups. (Just message us with your details and we can tailor your stay to meet your needs.) 

We have 1 cat and 1 service dog. Other guests may have pets or assistance animals.  Neighbors have chickens, farm animals and pets. There are a few feral cats in the vicinity as well as a variety of desert wildlife. At night you can hear the coyotes though we’ve never seen them or their tracks on our land. Common sightings of road runners, rabbits, hares, lizards, snakes, hawks, doves, desert wrens, migrating ducks (in the Spring), scorpions, mantises, crickets, mockingbirds, insects and spiders.  

WHO WE ARE:

DragonflyHill is a community of artisans, activists, craftspeople and farmers, working together to cultivate community, develop methodologies for living and working together in ever increasing paradigms of social justice and sustainability. We are a safe and sober space that is disability and LGBTQIA affirmative, anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-imperialist and de-colonialist, because anything else is just a bandaid. Core values of our work include attention to detail, fine craftwork and cultivating community. 

Some members of the Dragonfly Team live on the premises at all times and will be here for the duration of your stay. The rest of the team are community members. All Team members work at DragonflyHill Desert Farm and Wildlife Habitat in different capacities, in cooperation and collaboration with each other.  It should be noted that we are not a museum community and our collective is not on display. Only 2-3 members of the community are currently responsible for hosting guests. Community members are autonomous and, much of our community functions virtually. There are also occasional community events at the farm, including farming, though many activities are just coming back after the pandemic. We hope to offer activities in the Fall. All activities will continue to be held outdoors and social distancing is required. 

We speak: English and Spanish. We can communicate somewhat in French, Italian and Portuguese.

DRAGONFLYHILL CONSEIRGE

We love to hear about your travels and share our knowledge of our community and Southern California with our guests. Our library, located on the Blue Patio, offers children’s books, local history including indigenous history, farming and gardening, wildlife guides, hiking trails, entertainment and tourist attractions. We can recommend activities on and off site including places to go with children, local hiking, museums, restaurants and shopping.   

In addition to campsites, for additional fees,  we offer reiki, a private jacuzzi hot water mineral bath, farm tours, firewood, tutoring, tax preparation, vehicle storage, event and space rental, and classes. Three of us are licensed to officiate weddings.  

RULES, DOCUMENTS & AMENITIES

Carefully read our listing description and our rules to determine if we're the right space for you. We know we have excellent reviews but take the time to assure that we offer what you are looking for.  Each Hipcamp host is autonomous and has their own rules, amenities and features.  Hipcamp does not provide guests a copy of the house rules until after you have selected a location and then requires you to agree to the house rules before finalizing your decision. There is not enough space in the listing description to include the rules so guests can see them prior to booking. If you would like to see our rules, registration documents or a list of amenities please find them in our photos or  message us prior to booking and we will send you a copy.

We welcome guests new to Hipcamp but please take the time to familiarize yourself with the Hipcamp platform. Hipcamp travel is very different from public campgrounds. At DragonflyHill Desert Farm and Wildlife Habitat you will be guests in our home. We welcome and encourage guests with service and support animals to stay with us.  All animals must have current vaccination records.

The view from our land. Windmills on the nearby surrounding hills. (It gets windy here.)

The Vardo has its own outdoor patio, private gated garden, fire pit and parking space. 

Good morning. The view from the front patio early in the day. Desert landscape, distant hills and mountains, wildlife, mesquite trees.

Vardo Caravan and fenced in private patio. 

Vista Del Mar

Learn more about this land:READ ALL (SOFT GROUND!!!) 1/2 acre flat desert primitive campground with soft course sand and rocks in Salton City.  Nearby attractions are Salton Sea Beach, Coachella, Palm Springs, Anza Borrego (International Dark Sky Park), J-Tree, Slab City, Bombay Beach, and the off-roading Mecca of Ocotillo Wells OHV. Walking distance to Johnson’s Landing Cafe and the powered para-glider glide port in Salton City. 1 mile to fuel and eateries.  Perfect for those accessing Truck Haven and Tierra Del Sol, and other off-road events. No shade provided on property. Nearest neibor is 1/4 mile away. Keep an eye on your pets, as there may be predators and stray dogs in the area. 

SOFT GROUND, if unaccustomed to driving on sand, save yourself a recovery and park on the street. AWD does not mean you won’t get stuck. Otherwise, use 4 wheel drive if on the property, minimum 8” ground clearance for rocks, alley access is recommended.  Air down tires for traction (aggressive tread recommended) and do not enter from Sea Wind Ave to avoid sinking. Otherwise, street parking okay to prevent unnecessary vehicle recovery. All proceeds go to organizations with efforts in saving the Salton Sea, local wildlife habitats, and preserving bird sanctuaries.

NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THEFT, PETS, BELONGINGS, VEHICLE DAMAGE or INJURIES.

Congrats to you though, camping here donates $$$ to organizations with efforts in wildlife refuges, preserving bird sanctuaries, and migration routes. Such as Ducks Unlimited, the Audubon Society, and the Nature Conservancy. See patches, stickers, and certificate in the photos representing the $$ donated out of proceeds from campers like you :)

Bombay Dirt -  Park N Play

Learn more about this land:Great base camp for your visit to Bombay Beach.  Designed for campers and Vanners who need a private spot to camp, cook food and take in the scenery.
Comes equipped with Porta-John, outdoor shower, fire-pit and 2 bikes.


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