Question about camping

[WayOutWest]

Exploring DV with 2WD is fun, done it for years, some white knuckle moments, and as you know you have to drive with care and be prepared. 

I suspect you can find the status of the NPS campgrounds which take reservations at recreation.gov.  The large one at SPW is not NPS, but they have a web site (shared with the hotel).  There is also a small NPS campground there.  Emigrant and Wildrose (higher, colder) are free and I think first come, first served.  Emigrant can be noisy from the highwy.

For dispersed camping, both Hole in Wall and Echo Canyon roads, probably fine in the lower sections for 2wd (I've done it, don't know about conditions at the moment), now have a permit system.  It is new, and I don't know how you get a permit.  I presume that means designated sites.  Ditto the Cottonwood road, which can be sandy and is currently closed.  Is that where you got stuck in sand?

Greenwater Valley road is popular for dispersed camping, as is the Harry Wade road.  For both, people mostly camp within a mile or so of the pavement but options abound.  Greenwater generally easier on 2WD in my experience, but both OK.  On 190 east of the park there is a very large area known as Slab Camp which is outside the park and popular with the dirtbag camping crowd - you usually see some parties out there when you drive by.

Thanks for the tips.  I don't know if I've ever been on Greenwater Road so that's good to check out.  
I think the one where I got stuck in sand was either Echo Canyon or Hole in the Wall...
The one where I got a flat tire was either southern West Side Road or Warm Springs Canyon road.  I recall driving over a section completely covered with somewhat "river rock" type smooth but large rocks (eg not gravel, but fist-sized), no sand or earth, just rocks. I was quite concerned as I drove over this and not long after doing this I ended up with a flat. At that point I was driving a small 2WD Toyota pickup. 

My current vehicle is a Ford Transit van, (made into camper van) which "could" have been a high clearance vehicle, if designed better,  but unfortunately due to the design there are a few low spots w/ only 5-6 inch clearance.  It's also an unpleasant drive on unpaved roads so I tend to prefer to not go too far off the pavement, except on smooth, well maintained dirt roads. Such as actually are found less often in the desert and more often in forest locales.   

Interesting about "Slab Camp"---- I hadn't heard of that, may look into it. Any resemblance to Slab City down by the Salton Sea?  However if people go there to party I'm not interested.  My ideal campsite is quiet, with other adult nature lovers enjoying the peace and silence.  I suppose there may be other options in various areas outside the park, but ideally I won't be having to drive outside the park to camp each day as this would not be as convenient as just staying near where I'd like to hike. 

In the past, when needing to camp in a campground, I have found myself at StovePipe Wells more than the others. I guess I was drawn there instead of the ones close to Furnace Creek as I imagined there'd be fewer people, since Furnace Creek has more amenities and draws more people.  I have not tried Emigrant Camp.