Wagon Station Encampment in California, USA

Wagon Station Encampment Joshua Tree National Park, California communal outdoor kitchen architecture, USA Pods Images

Wagon Station Encampment in California

Sleeping Pods, CA, United States design by Andrea Zittel

post updated March 3, 2026

Aug 10, 2016

Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California, United States

Design: Andrea Zittel

Wagon Station Encampment in Joshua Tree National Park, California

images courtesy of the architects office

Wagon Station Encampment at Joshua Tree National Park, CA

The Wagon Station Encampment consists of twelve A-Z Wagon Stations, a communal outdoor kitchen, open air showers, and composting toilets. It is open to anyone who feels an affinity with Andrea’s mission in the high desert – including (but not limited to) other artists, writers, thinkers, hikers, campers or those who are engaged in other forms of cultural or personal research. The encampment is an intimate community so we look for people who are thoughtful, considerate and contributors. Ideally you will be a kitchen cleaner, a cool chest organizer, and you won’t mind sometimes making extra coffee to share with others in the morning.

The Encampment is open during two “open seasons” each year: one month in the fall (usually October) and one month in the spring (generally between April 15th and May 15th). Each “open season” is divided into week-long sessions – visitors ideally stay for 1 or 2 sessions, with arrivals occurring on Sunday and departures on Saturday. To reserve a spot, we require those interested to submit a completed application, a short bio, and a non-refundable $20 application fee. If your application is accepted we will require a $100 weekly session fee in order to complete your reservation.*

2016 Fall “Open Season” Sessions
1) October 2-8
2) October 9-15
3) October 16-22
4) October 23-29
5) October 30-November 5

Download application

Deadlines
May 27th: Applications due
June 10th: Applicants notified of acceptance or waitlist.

*Over the last few years, staying at the Wagon Station Encampment has been free of charge, however, as interest has grown, so has the work and effort to keep it running. To offset the immense amount of work required to open the Encampment to the public, we have decided to charge an application fee as well as a weekly session fee. These fees go toward paying the A-Z staff to handle administrative logistics, grounds maintenance, and long-term care of the Encampment.