Mahogany Flat Campground — Hotel in Beatty

Great little campground. Each site has a table and a fire pit. There is one, spacious pit toilet and it was relatively clean and stocked with toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Cell phone service is nearly nonexistent. Occasionally I would get a bar but never long enough, or strong enough to send out a text. The night sky was gorgeous and about a mile into the Telescope Peak trail the sky really opens up, free from tree line obstruction.

The only thing I could complain about is that none of the sites are secluded from each other. I expected a little bit more privacy for how remote this campground is. Luckily I had great neighbors. When I went up, there were only 3 empty sites, and the last 2 filled up before nightfall.

The roads leading up to the campground are in decent shape up until the final 9 miles which is just a narrow gravel road. Nothing about it screams “high clearance and 4x4 necessary” but it definitely helps. Just make sure you bring a actual spare tire, NOT a donut spare tire. (A flat tire repair kit wouldn’t hurt either.) The nearest ranger station is about 40 miles away and about 3/4 of that route is extremely remote.

I will definitely consider returning...

I camped here a couple of nights in early May of 2021 for a hike to Telescope Peak. Given thag the Telescope Peak Trailhead is right outside the campground, this is THE best place to stay for a hike up Telescope Peak.

The weather was pretty much perfect - not hot like the lower altitudes. Highs were in the upper 60s-low 70s with nights in the 40s. Also, unlike the lower altitude campsites, this one is wooded, which makes campsites more private.

As others have said, the bathrooms are kept pretty clean, which is amazing considering the location. I was also surprised to see that they actually pick up trash here. Most campsites THIS remote require you to pack it out.

Finally, you will see and hear to no end that you need a 4x4 to get here. Ignore this. I made it just fine in a Honda Accord. Unless you are trying to get up there in bad weather or there is snow on the road, you can leave the gas...

This visit was on May 30, 2016 and the temperature at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center was over 110 degrees F. The drive up to the campground was pretty amazing. The Ranger at the Visitor Center said this was doable with a 2WD if you were careful. He was right and I'm glad they didn't dissuade us too much. We made it in our Honda Odyssey minivan, but a 4WD would have made the trip easier. The elevation helped us sleep because of the cooler temperatures. The views were spectacular and the temperatures dropped into the 60's. We were very happy that we made this trek. The sites could use a little more maintenance because the ash had not been emptied from the fire pit in a long time and there were bits of trash and scattered ash around. We cleaned up the trash. I understand that this camping area is out of the way and may not see much attention. There was only one other camper there...