I’ll just be blunt, 2009 sucked! I started off the first week of the year with word that I had been laid off by my previous employer. The news was the same for other friends of mine in 2009, some of which are still looking for jobs. So did we crawl in a corner at home, sucking our thumb and hoping for better luck as 2009 came to a close? Hell No! We’re going into 2010 head first, kicking and screaming! We couldn’t think of any place better to shred off another disappointing year than the big dunes in SoCal!
The Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA) is broken up into several completely separated areas where dune addicts can camp and stage from. The closest big towns are Yuma, Arizona to the east and El Centro, California to the west. Up north along Highway 78 is where Glamis can be found, the most popular location in the dunes. Down south, between Interstate 8 and the US/Mexican border, is where the Buttercup campground is, and then the Ogilby camping area is on the opposite side of I-8. Both of the latter two areas are very popular with families.
For this trip, we headed a little further west down I-8 to the Gordon’s Well turnoff. The camping area itself is known by dune addicts as Gordon’s Well, but the name actually refers to the well that was drilled along I-8 in 1916, by owners Sue Gordon and her husband. Gordon’s Well produced fresh water for travelers and their vehicles radiators while passing through the dunes. At that time, the Interstate was actually made of two parallel wooden “plank roads.” The planks were laid flat on the ground and mounted together horizontally in order to form a road that would “float” above the shifting sand. Each lane was twenty-five feet wide and stretched six and a half miles through the dunes.
Today, a standard concrete and asphalt highway stretches across the dune floor, and Gordon’s Well is where you’ll find primitive camping and full hook-ups for RVs. There’s also the “Duner’s Diner” restaurant and store where you can order up a wide variety of hot meals and get parts for your dune scooter or buggy. Dune machines of all types have full access to the dunes from Gordon’s Well.
The dunes near Gordon’s Well contain some of the biggest sand bowls in the ISDRA. Sand addicts hold the throttle wide open in top gear as they rail the upper edges, leaping from one bowl to the next. There’s plenty of jumps, twists and drop-offs to keep even the most expert riders and drivers amongst us entertained indefinitely. If you’re looking for a good workout, be prepared to get spanked!
Stopping for a break on the tallest sand peak offers up endless views to the north and south. The dunes stretch as far as the eye can see, deep into Mexico where the Colorado River dumps into the Sea of Cortez.
There are also a number of steep hills near Gordon’s Well where motor heads can race to the top, testing their fast reflexes and clapped out engines against fellow competitors. The most popular hills are known as Test Hill (a.k.a. Freeway Hill) and Patton Hill. Test Hill parallels the north side of I-8 and is the place to be after the sun goes down. Patton Hill is most popular during the day. It stands tall and as steep as the wind can stack sand. Patton Hill is located inside Patton Valley. The valley is named after General George S. Patton, who was made famous for his military contributions during World War II. General Patton trained his troops in Patton Valley during 1941 and 1942. It’s been rumored that there are military tanks still buried in the nearby sand dunes from the Patton era, but that has never been confirmed.
The Gordon’s Well area provides access to tens of thousands of acres of sand to play in. The sand highways that border the dunes on all sides provide access to Glamis, which is a twenty-plus-mile trek north from Gordons’s Well. There is also a newly constructed bridge that offers legal OHV access to the Buttercup camping area and dunes on the south side of I-8.
A few things you should know before visiting-
• CAMPING PERMITS ARE REQUIRED. $40 for fourteen consecutive days or $120 for the season (ends in September). You must have a permit for each primary transport vehicle (truck, RV). You can save at least $30 by purchasing your permit ahead of time at
www.americansandassociation.org.
• SAFETY FLAGS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES IN THE IMPERIAL SAND DUNES RECREATION AREA (This includes two-wheeled motorcycles.) All vehicles shall be equipped with a whip mast and a 6x12 inch red/orange flag. Masts must be securely mounted on the vehicle and extend 8 feet from the ground to the mast tip. Safety flags must be attached within 10 inches of the tip of the whip mast.
• A 15 MPH SPEED RULE EXISTS ON THE SAND HIGHWAYS AND IN ALL CAMPING AREAS
• FIRES ARE PERMITTED, but the burning of potentially hazardous materials e.g.(but not limited to) gas, oil, plastic and magnesium is prohibited.
• DRINK PLENTY OF WATER, and pack even more while riding in the dunes.
• NO GLASS BEVERAGE CONTAINERS ARE ALLOWED.
• NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ALLOWED WHILE RIDING ON BLM LANDS. No person shall drink an alcoholic beverage, have in their possession or on their person any open container that contains an alcoholic beverage while operating in or on a motor vehicle or OHV on public lands administered by BLM within California.
• DUMPING. Dumping of sewage (black) and/or gray water is prohibited.
• CAMPING LIMITATIONS. A 14 day camping limit is in effect in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area.
• LEASH LAW. Animals must be kept on a leash not longer than six feet and secured to a fixed object or under the control of a person, or otherwise physically restricted at all times.
For the best information on how to plan your next (or first!) trip to Gordon’s Well, or any of the various areas in the ISDRA, visit the American Sand Association on the web at
www.AmericanSandAssociation.org.