Camping
Bring everything.
There is nothing out there.
Camping at Glamis is open desert camping. You are not booking a numbered site with a water spigot. You are parking a self-contained rig on sand, for up to fourteen days, and living off what you brought.
The shape of it
Washes and flats,
not campgrounds.
People camp on the flat ground off the access roads rather than on the dune faces themselves. Rigs cluster together, awnings go out, and by a busy weekend a stretch of open desert has turned into a temporary town. Nothing is reserved and nothing is numbered, so where you end up depends on when you arrive.
That is the single biggest variable in a Glamis trip. On a quiet midweek stretch in season you can effectively choose your spot. On the big holiday weekends the good ground goes early and the arrival time that would have been comfortable becomes hours too late.
Current holiday notice
Osborne Overlook camping
closes on select holidays.
The BLM is restricting overnight camping at Osborne Overlook during these busy holiday windows to keep emergency access and the medical-landing zone clear. Day use remains open.
| Holiday | Overnight camping closure |
|---|---|
| Halloween | October 26 to November 1, 2026 |
| Thanksgiving | November 23 to 29, 2026 |
| New Year's | December 28, 2026 to January 3, 2027 |
| Presidents' Day | February 8 to 15, 2027 |
Source: BLM El Centro Field Office and the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area notice, checked September 18, 2026. Confirm the current closure order before you tow.
Current area closure
Cement Flats is closed
through February 2028.
The BLM is using Cement Flats, off Highway 78 near Brawley, as a temporary ranger station while the Cahuilla Ranger Station is rebuilt. The area is closed to camping and recreational use from September 8, 2026 through February 2028.
Permit sales and emergency services continue at the temporary station. The closure order exempts officers and organized medical, rescue, or firefighting personnel on duty, BLM employees and contractors, and anyone with written BLM approval. Do not plan a camp at Cement Flats.
Source: BLM temporary closure order, posted through the El Centro Field Office. Check the order before you tow.
Self-sufficiency
What you have to
carry in with you.
More than you think
For drinking, for washing and for a margin. In a place where the daily high runs past 110F for much of the year, water is not a convenience you can top up later.
Rig and machines both
There is no fuel on the sand. Arrive full and carry spare in approved containers, secured upright. Compare California and Arizona prices →
You have to bring it
There is none naturally. Awnings, canopies and anything that puts a roof between people and the sun are doing real work here, not decorating a camp.
All of it leaves with you
Pack it out. Open desert shows every trace, and the long-term case for keeping this place open to riding rests partly on it not looking wrecked on a Monday morning.
Rules that apply in camp
Slow down
once you are back.
The speed rules exist mainly for camp, not for the open dunes. Under 15 mph applies within 50 feet of campgrounds, people or animals, and 15 mph on the sand highways within 500 feet of the named roads. Most incidents involving people who were not riding happen around camp.
The 14 day limit applies across the recreation area. Permits are required October 1 through April 15 and cover the primary street-legal vehicle rather than each machine. Full detail on permits and rules.
Being straight with you
This page will
get better.
The limits, permit dates and speed rules above are from BLM and are solid. What is deliberately not here yet is the local detail: which specific areas suit families, which end of the camping is loud, how early you genuinely need to arrive on a Thanksgiving week, and where experienced groups put themselves.
That knowledge belongs to people who ride here regularly, and it is being gathered properly rather than guessed at. When it lands, this page gets the specifics it deserves. In the meantime, the safest planning assumption is to arrive earlier than you think you need to.