Life will never be the same after your first tip to Glamis Sand Dunes. There are many amazing off roading places in america but none are quite like Glamis. Many first timers have many questions from how to get there, where to park, what permits do I need, and where to get food, water and dump. These are all just a small part of the checklist of items to make your first trip successful. Getting there seems to be half the battle while the other half of the battle is making sure your equipment is up to the task.
Non Resident OHV pass
If you are arriving from outside of California you will need to have your current state registration up to date to start. Then upon arrival at Glamis Sand dunes you will need to obtain a NON Resident OHV pass. This can be acquired for $30 at the Rangers station or Sweet Maries on Gecko RD. Or you can purchase on your way to Glamis at one of these vendors. The pass must be placed visible on the vehicle and is good for the calendar year printed on the pass. So if you come twice, once in November and once in February you will need to purchase 2 Non Resident passes, one for the current year and then one for the following year. Upside is you come back in November that same year you are covered. Side note all vehicles in the sand must have a safety flag that measures 8′ from ground to tip. Click Here for all other Glamis Rules and Regulations. Follow this LINK to the California State park website for more information on Non Resident Permits.
Parking Permit
Unfortunately Glamis Sand dunes is a pay to play from October 1 to April 15. You will have two options to make your self legal to park on site. You can purchase a full season Pass for 150 for this period, Every year I purchase my Season Pass From the American Sand Association HERE (portion of the fee will go to help support keeping the dunes open to all). Second option is to buy a week pass for $35 off site prior to arriving or $50 on site or. The Week pass will allow you to scratch the month and days needed for your trip. So you can purchase well in advanced and have ready in your vehicle when you arrive. If you travel to the Glamis outside of October thru April no parking permit is required for access.
You will need a pass for every vehicle that travels in on its own power. If a Pre-Runner truck is brought in on a flatbed for offroad use it will need a OHV sticker or a non Resident sticker. Motor homes will need a pass but not the flatbed or enclosed trailer behind. A truck with fifth wheel or flatbed, will have to have a pass for the tow vehicle and so on. A regular car full of people coming out will need a parking permit. Rangers have been known to walk through camp and check parking permits and off road vehicles for proper permits. Tickets will be handed out if passes are not properly displayed on vehicles. Basically as soon as you turn of the Highway and the vehicle hits the sand it will need to have proper parking pass or offroad permit ( green sticker if local or Non Resident OHV out of state)
Vehicle Registration a must
All vehicles must be registered with California or the state that you reside in. From your sand car, SXS, golf cart, kids quad, and dirt bike all must have current registration. In years past I have seen rangers and police walk into camps for one reason or another and stay for a long time. When the stay is long they will go through everything and all the vehicles that are not registered or show proof of ownership will be towed from the premise back to the holding lot. I always camp on Gecko Rd and every year at one point or another I see this happen. Tow trucks show up removing vehicles from the camp due to no registration. If you frequent the Sand Drags area by the ranger station on Friday, Saturday night of a busy weekend the rangers are out in swarms looking for this. Make sure you have a whip on the vehicle and get your papers straight so you will have no issues.
Where to Camp
Glamis is a first come first serve place. You can camp almost where ever you want as long as you can get there. There is technically a 14 day limit as with all federal land but it is lightly enforced. There is a small area of private land by the Beach store but other than that you are free to make camp where you see best. There are 2 general destinations: 1 being the store and the washes (the biggest area) and 2 being Gecko road. I have created a different page that better describes all of your options HERE. First timers May find that camping by the store is the best option as you are close to resources and there is a lot of open area to find a spot. Wash road is pretty safe for all vehicles but as soon as you get off of it the sand has a tendency to get soft and the chances for getting stuck increase. If you are not familiar with driving in soft sand with your truck or RV please read this to help prevent getting stuck.
Is food, water, and gas available
Glamis Sand Dunes is a dry camping area. Meaning you must bring your own water and No public place on site to Dump your vehicle. Simply put Glamis is a pack it in and pack it out destination. There are places close to Glamis within 30 minutes or so that you can find these kind of amenities, but nothing onsite for general public use. Gas must be purchased ahead of time as there is no Gas pumps on site. Some Vendors may offer some race gas in barrels but not regular pump gas. If you didn’t bring enough food during the season you can survive as long as you brought your money. Vendors row has several good food options and the Beach Store will have a variety of drinks and snacks.
Camp is set up Where to next
This is when the fun starts. The imperial Sand Dunes are open from Highway 78 to the north canal on the West and train tracks on the east all the way south to the Mexico border. You have roughly 125,000 acres to explore. Glamis is the area to the north, Gordons Wells is the area north of Highway 8 and Buttercup is the area south of highway 8 to the border wall. it is roughly 25 miles from highway 78 to the border. there is a small area to the south of Glamis and North of Gordons well that closed due to a protective area for an endangered plant.
Now that you are ready to tackle the dunes there are many destination spots (Top Destinations) in the dunes that people congregate at. You have several hills such as Oldsmobile, Slide, and China Wall. Or places like Flagpole, or everyone’s favorite the SwingSet. The late afternoon you will find people at the Sand Drags, located by the Ranger station on Gecko rd, or The Ledge (Sunset Hill), with after dark trips to Oldsmobile for some nighttime shenanigans. Many people ask for GPS coordinates (which I hate) but you can look up online and some other sites list them for you. My point is that Glamis is there to be explored and driven through. With a Blue dot on the screen people drive straight line through the dunes to the dot. This leads to a horrible ride and not much fun at all as a trip through the dunes should be an experience like riding a roller coaster without the rolls and flips. Its okay to drive through the dunes and not end up somewhere. Stop a the top of a random dune, take in the view, and have some dune waters with friends and family. If you need more help finding your way through the dunes then click HERE as I have put together a page with some tips and tricks to navigate the Dunes. As always never out drive your vision and drive a speed your comfortable at. Safety is Paramount.
