Plan a Glamis Sand Dunes trip in southeastern California’s Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. Find camping guidance, permits, riding rules, maps, weather and fuel planning before you tow. Forty miles of sand. Come prepared for it.
MEET THE FASTEST LOCAL
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
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
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.
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Regular
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Before you tow
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 · FlagsA 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 · HeatIt 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 · CampingCamping 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.
Trip & Meal Planner
Build around the way you want to spend your time in the dunes. Choose the details yourself, then bring the trip and the food plan together.
Make it your own
Start with your dates and your group. Choose where to stay, what to do and where to eat. Your selections shape the itinerary, instead of fitting your trip into a preset package.
From the cooler to the camp table
Cook at camp, stop at a restaurant, or mix the two. Open the Meal Planner from your completed trip to plan breakfast, lunch and dinner for your dates and crew, with one grocery list.
Keep your trip tab open while planning meals so your choices save back to it.
Dune Guide USA Radio Network
Original destination songs, Dusty Roads, remixes, and a few questionable sponsors.
Listen here ♫Save it before you leave cell service. Your ride can have a soundtrack too.
Free Dune Guide USA Arcade
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
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.
Set it up before the trip. Installation needs a signal.
Open Camp Compass from its installed icon on your phone. Installation and the offline check should be completed before leaving coverage.
Read and share Camp Compass stories →How this guide works
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.
FREE OFFLINE GUIDE
Save Glamis before you leave. Bring your trip, meals, maps and camping information with you, plus optional original songs for camp.
Save Glamis for offlineSave and check it in the browser you will use on your trip. Live conditions and satellite imagery still need a connection.
Stories from the Dunes
The first trip. The friend who stopped to help. The campfire you still talk about. These are the people and memories behind the miles.
Why helping another rider is part of what makes this community.
Read the story →