A weekend in Joshua Tree has been an annual event with The Crew since its birth, and we reserve campsites one year in advance. The first day is spent driving in, setting up camp, and playing on the rocks till the dinner bell rings. We may be hikers, but we serve up potlucks and eat up like an army. A very bad B movie follows dinner and bedtime is relatively early because the following day is The Main Event, the big hike. Hike reviews are available under the heading of Joshua Tree National Park and Fortynine Palm Oasis.
I love camping here, even though I hang out till bedtime, then head off to the nearest hotel. Indian Cove is far enough from civilization that we don't hear all the hustle and bustle of traffreak, yet close enough that we can see the city lights and is about a 10 minute drive to town. It's where the only sounds you discover are the auditory sensations of nature; owls, coyotes, rodents, and the peeps you're chatting with.
Campsites are empty except for picnic tables, BBQs, trash dumpsters and a toilet. But you don't have to camp, check the website for day hiking requirements.
The camp sites are spectacular and well maintained. The national park staff maintain and patrol the campground thoroughly so sites are clean and secure. We stayed in site #5 and the sites surrounding this section had wonderful views of the rock formations and the campfire backdrop was a large formation making an wonderful evening memory. I believe that many of the sites are equally as great, but that is the only part that I saw. If you are there to climb then you will appreciate the large number of high quality climbs within a short walk of your site and parking area. There are no showers and the toilet is simple. If you must have a shower the sites are close to a town 15 minutes away.
Indian cove is a small but nice place to camp if you want to climb sport routes. There are 8 or so bolted routes and a cool slick rock canyon near by.