Gordons Well, California, is another great sand place to ride and camp in the Imperial Sand Dunes. The dunes are located almost right between San Diego, CA, and Phoenix, AZ on Interstate 8. Its just west of Yuma, AZ and north of the Mexican border. Gordons Well is more of the family riders place to go. The crowds and parties do not compare to those at Glamis, which makes for a more peaceful and less stressful trip (usually). People here seem to take a little more time to clean up their areas. This makes for a nicer camping environment.
The main camping area is located next to the sand, on hard pack, so there is no problem with getting your toyhauler stuck. The camping is wide open with room for everyone to set up their wagon wheel type of campsites. Groups of two to 20+ rigs have no problems setting up camp with each other. There are no hook-ups in the middle of the desert, but there is the Pair-A-Dice Bar and Grill at the Gordons Well off- ramp on Interstate 8 that has supplies, food, and a great outdoor bar with ice cold beer. The vendors come out on the big weekends and have all the things you never knew you needed until you saw them at the dunes.
If you like sand, the dune riding is really spectacular here, with many huge bowls, big jumps, and special places to visit. Gordons Well has some hot riding spots as well, like sand drags in the afternoon at the southern end of Sand Highway which draws huge crowds and can be seen from the camping area on big weekends. There's also Test Hill, the big competition hill that everyone drag races up to see who is the fastest that day or just to show off their cool new toys. This is also the party spot at night because it is accessible for street trucks to get there and can be seen from the interstate. Then there is Patton's Valley is also a great place where you can dune, race or just ride with all of your friends. Watching the sights and sounds is always a good time. Of course there are all the hot spots that only the local riders know about, but to find those places you have to go there yourself.
The only draw backs with this riding area are that it can get pretty dusty around camp with the hard pack and everyone cruising back and forth to their toyhaulers. There's only one main road in and out so the lines leaving can take a while, with the rangers checking your pass to make sure you paid your dues ($90.00 for the season or $25.00 for the week). On the other hand, the positive outweighs the negative big time, because you can even cruise your bikes to Mexico or Buttercup from here if you desire. Get all the information you need about Gordons Well by checking out this cool website: www.gordonswell.com. Remember...be safe, respect others, and if you brought it in take it out.
KEEP OUR RIDING AREAS CLEAN FOR GENERATIONS TO COME!.
