Forty miles of sand.
Come prepared for it.
Glamis rewards people who plan and punishes people who wing it. Here is what a permit costs today, what the heat is about to do, how busy the weekend will be, and which side of the Arizona line you should be filling up on.
Meet Fringe
MEET THE FASTEST LOCAL
Built for moving sand.
Born under it.
Fringe is a Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizard, one of the specialized dune runners that actually lives in this sand. His fringed feet grip loose slopes, and when the heat or trouble gets too close, he can disappear beneath the surface.
The illustrated Dune Guide points visitors in the right direction. The cinematic Fringe shows the real little animal behind the attitude: quick, alert, and completely at home where most of us need a map, a permit, and a well-packed trailer.
Glamis at a glance
What you are actually towing to
The basics people ask before they commit a weekend to it. Figures are BLM's own, for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area.
Fees and closures change. Confirm current conditions with the BLM El Centro Field Office before you tow.
The number nobody else gives you
Fill in Yuma,
or fill in California.
You reach Glamis from Highway 78 east of Brawley, or from Interstate 8 west of Yuma. Those are two different states with two very different pump prices, and you are towing. This updates through the day.
El Centro, CA
—
Regular
Diesel —
Yuma, AZ
—
Regular
Diesel —
Before you tow
The four things
that catch people out.
They are seasonal
Required October 1 through April 15 only. $55 in advance, $70 on site, $185 for the season, and the fee covers your primary vehicle rather than each toy.
02 · FlagsEvery vehicle, no exceptions
A 6 by 12 inch red or orange flag on a whip reaching 8 feet from the ground, mounted within 10 inches of the tip. Sound is capped at 96 dBA on machines built since 1986.
03 · HeatSummer here is not a season
It is a hazard. Highs run past 110F for weeks at a stretch and there is no shade on open sand. The tile at the top of this page tells you today's number.
04 · CampingFourteen day limit
Camping is capped at 14 days in the recreation area, and the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness is closed to all vehicles and mechanized use. That is a large piece of the dune system you cannot ride.
Free Dune Guide USA Arcade
A little sand.
A lot of adventure.
Missing the sand? Head into the free Dune Guide USA Arcade and explore the available Adventures. Choose a vehicle, catch some air, and discover another dune destination.
Glamis Adventure available now.
Enter the free Arcade →Play in your browser. Virtual Adventures are for fun, not a substitute for current maps or riding rules.
Free safety tool Works beyond the bars
Mark camp.
Find your way back.
Save camp before you ride. Camp Compass uses GPS satellites to show the distance and direction back, even where cell service disappears. Your marked camp stays on this phone unless you choose to share it.
- Works offlineGPS does not need a cell tower
- One compassUse it at every Dune Guide destination
- Share your locationSend coordinates when help can reach you
Set it up before the trip. Installation needs a signal.
How this guide works
Checked against BLM,
not against a forum.
Every fee, date, closure and safety rule here comes from the Bureau of Land Management, the agency that actually manages the Imperial Sand Dunes. Where something could not be verified against an official source, it is not on this site. When you need certainty, the El Centro Field Office is on (760) 337-4400.
Live numbers come from AAA for fuel and Open-Meteo for weather, refreshed through the day rather than typed in once and forgotten.