Agency-listedBLM · dispersedFree
Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area
Drive-up · Bureau of Land Management · CA · 34.67567, -115.39806
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →Bureau of Land Management lists this site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,887 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife AreaNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area · Bureau of Land Management · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel16 mi
- GGrocery16 mi
- EVEV fast charger16 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- WWater20 mi
- @Mail21 mi
- DDump26 mi
- +Urgent care46 mi
- LLaundry49 mi
- HHardware49 mi
- ShShower52 mi
- RxPharmacy54 mi
- PPropane56 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 16 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
Bureau of Land Management · dispersed
Elevation
1,887 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
34.67567, -115.39806
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area · Bureau of Land Management · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townEssex · ~9.6 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelRoy's Gasoline · ~21.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~25.5 mi
- Groceriesnone within 30 mi
- Mapping is thin out hereAn empty row means nothing is mapped within that radius — not that nothing exists. Small stores, seasonal resorts and single fuel pumps out here often never make it onto the map. Treat these as unconfirmed and ask locally.
EV charging — from Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area · Bureau of Land Management · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger15.6 mi straight-line NE — Najah Hi Sahara Oasis (Essex Fenner, CA) · Electrify America · CHAdeMO, CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 6 within 50 · 128 within 100 · 508 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)45.6 mi — Needles, CA - Tesla Supercharger, Needles
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)52.0 mi — 73663 Manana Dr, Twentynine Palms, CA · LOOP · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-07-15 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Mojave Desert Heritage & Cultural Center - Tesla Destination, Essex, 25.3 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 218174 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area · Bureau of Land Management · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaJohn Wilkie Eastbound · ~13.7 mi NE
- Highway rest areaJohn Wilkie Westbound · ~13.8 mi NE
- RestroomKD Kelso Dunes Vault Toilet 220 · ~22.7 mi NW · NPS
- Vault / pit toiletAmboy Crater -Vault Toilet · ~23.3 mi W · BLM
Open Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area elsewhere
Other camps near Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Clipper Mountain Wilderness~3.6 mi
- Camp Clipper Divisional Camp -Patton~9.6 mi
- Chambless Rock Collecting Area ~10.5 mi
- Trilobite Wilderness~11.2 mi
How we know this — Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area
Source
Bureau of Land Management recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
USFS/BLM authoritative: free & dispersed. Access not field-checked (assumed drive-up).
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Hot-weather camping →How to read this page →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →