Banning Stagecoach KOA

You’ll have an easy drive to the Mount San Jacinto State Park when you are camping at Banning Stagecoach KOA. Mount San Jacinto itself is the second-highest peak in Southern California at 10,834 feet. It can be accessed by the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which goes from Valley Station to Mountain Station. Mountain Station features a snack bar, a restaurant, a gift shop, and the state park visitor center. Other activities at this state park include hiking, biking, horseback riding, historical and cultural exhibits, picnic areas, environmental education, guided tours, interpretive programming, Vista Point, nature and wildlife viewing, museums, family programs, and geocaching. Restrooms, showers, and drinking water are also available. The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens has been recognized as one of the country’s ten best zoos by Conde Nast Traveler, and you can explore it when you are camping with an RV in the area. Animals here include the African wild dog, the Amur leopard, the caracal, the dromedary camel, the island fox, the meerkat, the Nigerian dwarf goat, the striped hyena, and the warthog. Educational programming and special events for all ages take place throughout the year. Guided and self-guided tours, hiking trails, animal encounters, and a petting zoo are available, and there is a discovery center with interactive exhibits. You also have easy access to Joshua Tree National Park when you are camping at Banning Stagecoach KOA. The park is named after the iconic Joshua trees, native to the Mojave Desert. It covers over 790,000 acres and includes parts of two deserts and a mountain range. The park’s nature trails include Hidden Valley, Indian Cove, Cholla Cactus Garden, Boy Scout Hiking and Equestrian Trail, Contact Mine, Fortynine Palms Oasis, Lost Horse Mine, Lost Palms Oasis, Ryan Mountain, and Warren Peak. Other outdoor recreational activities include climbing, astronomy, and bird and wildlife watching. Native species include the greater roadrunner, cactus wren, northern mockingbird, LeConte’s thrasher, verdin, and Gambel’s quail. There are also lizards, ground squirrels, snakes, bighorn sheep, kangaroo rats, coyotes, lynx, and black-tailed jackrabbits. The Joshua Tree National Park Association operates bookstores at the Black Rock Nature Center, the Cottonwood Visitor Center, the Joshua Tree Visitor Center, and the Oasis Visitor Center. Water is available at the Oasis Visitor Center in Twentynine Palms, West Entrance Station, Black Rock Campground, Cottonwood Campground, and the Indian Cove Ranger Station.