Shared use with the Marine Corps means about 53,000 of the 96,000 acres close for military training at the Air Ground Combat Center. Check the closure schedule at 29palms.marines.mil/johnsonvalley before you tow — this is the single most common wasted trip here.
Permit required — Free.
The Hammers is expert terrain, as it is the King of the Hammers course and will break an unprepared vehicle a long way from help. Do not take an unprepared rig into it.
Guide
About this area
• 96,000 acres, about 55 miles southeast of Barstow • Steep red rocky mountains, rolling hills, open valley, dry lake beds and sandy washes • Terrain for every skill level, from easy valley running to extreme rock • Creosote scrub, annual grasses, wildflowers and Joshua trees • 🔴 The Hammers is EXPERTS ONLY — it is the…
Facilities
• Anderson Dry Lake staging area, 10 miles north of Highway 247 east of Camp Rock Road via graded dirt roads
• BLM lists no developed facilities — bring water, fuel and everything else
Full agency description
Johnson Valley is 96,000 acres about 55 miles southeast of Barstow — steep red rocky mountains, rolling hills, open valley, dry lake beds and sandy washes, with riding for every skill level. It is the home of King of the Hammers. It is also the one riding area on this site that you have to check before you tow: roughly 53,000 of those acres are shared with the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center and close for military training.
At a glance
Quick facts
Best season
Fall through spring. King of the Hammers is the marquee event (winter).
Camping limit
14 day camping limit (BLM Barstow Field Office rule for this riding area)
Managing agency
BLM Barstow Field Office
Access
Getting there
Boone Road off of Highway 247 - Old Woman Springs RoadEntrance
🔴 Court-ordered route closures across the West Mojave are in force since 24 March 2026, until further notice.
A federal court order requires the BLM to close all routes in desert tortoise and Lane Mountain milk-vetch critical habitat to off-highway vehicle recreation throughout the West Mojave planning area, roughly 2,200 miles of route.
The open riding area itself is still open; what is closed are designated routes through critical habitat, including connectors and trails you may have ridden in previous years.
Designated county roads and highways stay open for access, but not for public OHV recreational use.
Show all 14 area-specific rules
If you are planning to ride anything outside the open area boundary, check the current route map with the field office first, as maps in older guidebooks and apps are out of date.
All vehicles must be registered or permitted to operate in the State of California.
Flags are required on all OHVs in this recreation area.
Maximum speed is 15 mph within 50 feet of a campsite.
Camping is allowed, but is limited to a 14 day stay.
ATV riders must wear protective helmets.
OHVs must be equipped with an approved muffler and spark arrester.
🪖 Sand car, sand rail, dune buggy, 4x4, or anything home-built or over 1,000cc: no helmet or seat-belt law applies. Wear them anyway — State Parks recommend it, and so do we.
🪖 Any helmet the law requires must meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 and carry a DOT label.
Source: California Vehicle Code §500, §38505, §38601–38602, CVC 27802 — ohv.parks.ca.gov (checked Aug 2026).
Standard OHV rules (7)
Common equipment, registration and trail-use rules still apply.
Ride to the highest safety standard, not the legal minimum. A helmet, eye protection, a flag and proper gear are what get you home.
🪖 Side-by-side / UTV (factory-built, steering wheel, bucket seats, under 1,000cc, does over 30 mph): helmets on the driver and every passenger, and seat belts or a harness fastened whenever it is moving. That is California law on public land.
🪖 Quads and ATVs: helmet on every rider, any age. Dirt bikes: helmet required under 18.
⚠️ Tuned it past 30 mph? A machine built for 30 or under that now goes faster is treated like a side-by-side, helmet and belt rules apply.
👶 A child seat does not replace a helmet. In a side-by-side, a child in a car seat still wears one.
Check the law yourself. These requirements come from California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation, rules change, and you are responsible for compliance.
🗺️ No signal? Take an offline map. BLM publish free georeferenced PDF maps that show your live GPS position with no cell service in an offline map app or similar. Download the map for this area before you leave tarmac: www.blm.gov
Permits
Permits & registration
Weekly pass
Free.
Season pass
No permit required.
Permit and registration details
BLM lists no use fee for Johnson Valley. California registration rules still apply — see the state requirements below.
Registration
California OHV Green sticker required for registered OHVs.
State residents
California residents: OHV must display a current Green sticker or Red sticker registration from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Out-of-state riders
Out-of-state riders: a California Nonresident OHV Use Permit is required unless your OHV carries current registration from your home state. $30 ($31.95 online), valid from purchase through December 31 of that year.
Permit and registration rules change. Confirm current requirements with the managing agency before you ride, you are responsible for compliance.
Trip support
Fuel, food & local help
Local fuel notes (6)
Mobil at 282 Old Woman Springs Rd — OPEN 24 HOURS,. The pick on this side
��️ Hero at 1160 closes 10PM,
Yucca Valley, about 20 miles on, is the real town for food and parts 🛣️ NORTH AND WEST — CA-18 through Lucerne Valley toward Apple Valley
Shell at 32687 CA-18 — OPEN 24 HOURS,(Google also lists it as International Merchant Services; same phone, one station)
��️ SATA Fuel Market at 31581 closes 11PM ⚠️ MOST OF THIS CORRIDOR SHUTS BY 10PM–MIDNIGHT. For a pre-dawn start, especially around King of the Hammers, the 24-hour options are the Mobil on Old Woman Springs, the Shell on CA-18, and the Apple Valley pair.
Fill before you turn onto Camp Rock Road — there is nothing from there on.
Pump gas & diesel
Mobil — 282 Old Woman Springs Rdfuel
HIGHWAY 247 / Old Woman Springs Rd — the south approach, about 11 miles out · 282 Old Woman Springs Rd · (760) 364-3848 · OPEN 24 HOURS. Best pick on this side — cheaper than the Hero and it does not shut.More
HIGHWAY 247 / Old Woman Springs Rd — the south approach, about 11 miles out · 282 Old Woman Springs Rd · (760) 364-3848 · OPEN 24 HOURS. Best pick on this side — cheaper than the Hero and it does not shut.
HIGHWAY 247 / Old Woman Springs Rd — the south approach, about 11 miles out · 1160 Old Woman Springs Rd · (760) 364-2777 · ⚠️ CLOSES 10PM. Fine in daylight, no good for a pre-dawn start.More
HIGHWAY 247 / Old Woman Springs Rd — the south approach, about 11 miles out · 1160 Old Woman Springs Rd · (760) 364-2777 · ⚠️ CLOSES 10PM. Fine in daylight, no good for a pre-dawn start.
CA-18 — the north and west approach through Lucerne Valley · 32687 CA-18 · (760) 248-7363 · OPEN 24 HOURS. Also listed on Google as "International Merchant Services" — same address, same phone, one station. A rider review calls it "a great place to get gas especially in the middle of no where."More
CA-18 — the north and west approach through Lucerne Valley · 32687 CA-18 · (760) 248-7363 · OPEN 24 HOURS. Also listed on Google as "International Merchant Services" — same address, same phone, one station. A rider review calls it "a great place to get gas especially in the middle of no where."
CA-18 — the north and west approach through Lucerne Valley · 31581 CA-18 · (760) 248-7770 · ⚠️ closes 11PM. Reviews single it out as unusually clean.More
CA-18 — the north and west approach through Lucerne Valley · 31581 CA-18 · (760) 248-7770 · ⚠️ closes 11PM. Reviews single it out as unusually clean.
CA-18 west — Apple Valley, the cheap end of the corridor · 21898 CA-18 · (760) 247-4876 · OPEN 24 HOURS. Also listed as "Hd Fuels" on Pawnee Rd; same phone, same operation.More
CA-18 west — Apple Valley, the cheap end of the corridor · 21898 CA-18 · (760) 247-4876 · OPEN 24 HOURS. Also listed as "Hd Fuels" on Pawnee Rd; same phone, same operation.
CA-18 west — Apple Valley, the cheap end of the corridor · 22488 CA-18 · (760) 240-3885 · ⚠️ closes 12AM. The ARCO at the same address runs 24 hours.More
CA-18 west — Apple Valley, the cheap end of the corridor · 22488 CA-18 · (760) 240-3885 · ⚠️ closes 12AM. The ARCO at the same address runs 24 hours.
Area information is informational only and may be inaccurate or out of date. Verify access, weather, closures, permits and hazards before and during any trip. See Terms.
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