Furnace Creek Campground: Reservations, Hookup Sites and Summer Rules

Furnace Creek is the busiest campground in Death Valley and the only park campground that takes reservations. It sits next to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center at 190 feet below sea level, with 136 sites on open ground. Some have trees, but most get no shade. From October to April it is the most convenient place to camp in the park and usually full; in summer it is mostly too hot to enjoy.

Furnace Creek at a glance

How to reserve

• Reservable season: October 15 to April 15. Every site is reservable, booked on Recreation.gov or by phone at 877-444-6777 up to six months ahead. Book at least a few days before you arrive: the park gives a minimum of 2 days on one page and 5 on another.
• The campground fills to capacity most days in season, and last-minute openings from cancellations are rare. The 18 hookup sites are often booked six months ahead.
• Check in at the campground kiosk when you arrive, even with a reservation. If it's closed, go to your site and check in the next morning. A reservation is marked a no-show if you haven't checked in by noon on the second day.
• To arrive a night or more late, call 760-786-2441 or email the campground. Recreation.gov charges $10 for some changes and cancellations and $20 for a no-show.
• The NPS can hold reserved sites back at any time for management needs.

Site types

• Full hookup (18 sites): 30 and 50 amp electric, water and sewer. Nine are pull-through (67–69, 72–77) and nine back-in (39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49–52).
• Standard sites: RV or tent, with or without electricity on the site list. Your rig, trailer and tow vehicle must fit the site's total driveway length, all wheels on the paved pad. One RV per site, and the park can cancel your reservation on arrival if it doesn't fit.
• Tent-only drive-in (100–110) and tent-only walk-in (115–150): no campervans, pop-ups or RVs. The walk-in sites are generator-free and you can't sleep in your vehicle.
• Group sites (tent only): sites 3–5 for 9–15 people and up to 4 vehicles ($40); sites 1 and 2 for 9–40 people and up to 10 vehicles ($60). They are in the walk-in tent area: no RVs, campervans or pop-ups, and no sleeping in vehicles.

There is no EV charging. The park warns that plugging an electric vehicle into a site outlet can damage both the car and the campground's power system. Power surges happen; protect your own equipment.

Fees and pass discounts

• Standard site: $30 a night. Senior and Access pass holders pay half.
• Full hookup: $44 a night, which is the $30 site fee plus a $14 utility fee. The pass discount applies to the $30 only.
• Group sites: $40 or $60, with no Senior or Access discount.
• Every vehicle also needs the $30 park entrance fee (7 days) or an America the Beautiful pass. Show your pass at check-in.

See the Senior Pass guide for the lifetime and annual senior options.

Furnace Creek in summer

From mid-April (after the reservation season ends on April 15) to mid-October the campground reduces to 41 sites, all first come, first served, and some loops close. The kiosk isn't staffed: take a site, then pay at the fee machine by credit or debit card. First-come sites are rare and fill fast, and their availability doesn't show on Recreation.gov.

The park's own advice is that Furnace Creek is too hot for most campers in summer, with many nights that may not drop below 90°F. For cooler camping, head up to Wildrose (4,100 ft) or, when the road is clear, Thorndike and Mahogany Flat. All three are free; see our Death Valley camping guide.

Campground rules

• 8 people and 2 vehicles per site, or 1 RV with a tow vehicle, or 4 motorcycles.
• 14 days a year maximum stay. Check-out at noon.
• Generators 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., never left running unattended. Quiet hours 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
• Fires only in the site's NPS grate. Barbecue grills are not allowed; gas stoves are. Firewood collecting is banned; firewood is sold at the resort nearby.
• Waste water, including dishwater, goes only into a dump station.
• Store food in hard-sided containers or your vehicle: coyotes and ravens raid campsites. Never leave pets unattended.
• All vehicles must be California highway legal; ATVs are banned in the park.

If Furnace Creek is full

• Sunset Campground, across from the visitor center, has 230 first-come sites and rarely fills ($18).
• Texas Springs, in the hills just above, has 106 sites and no generators ($20). It fills on weekends and holidays.
• Fiddlers' Campground at The Ranch at Death Valley, also in Furnace Creek, is private and takes reservations. It has no hookups. See Death Valley RV parks.

Sunset and Texas Springs are seasonal; in 2026 the park scheduled both to open in mid to late November.