Desert Season is Here - 10 Southwest Destinations to Hit the Dirt 2026

Summer is too hot for most desert riding or off-roading, so a lot of us wait until fall (including the Los Angeles Shock Surplus staff).

Once October hits, temps drop, dunes reopen, and race season starts up again from the Mojave down to Baja. Here's a rundown of where to go and what to put on the calendar this season.

Why Fall and Winter Is the Best Time to Ride

If you've ever run Glamis or Johnson Valley in August, you know why we wait. The Shock Surplus team has to put our desert-testing on pause during the summer months because filming content when its 110 out gets old real fast. Once September and October roll around, the whole desert cools off and you're not sweating in your tent. Daytime highs sit in the 70s and 80s, nights are comfortable for camping, and a lot of the dune systems and OHV areas that close for summer heat and wildlife start reopening. 

SCORE International, Best in the Desert, and King of the Hammers all run their biggest events in this window. So even if you're not racing, you can go watch, camp near the course, and see what the fast trucks are running for suspension.

Johnson Valley, CA

Johnson Valley is the largest OHV area in the country, and we're lucky to have it in our backyard here in SoCal. Outside of King of the Hammers week (late January into February), trails like Sledgehammer, Wrecking Ball, and Backdoor are open to the public and just as tough as they look in the videos. Means Dry Lake is right there too, if you want a break from crawling and just want to open it up.

Best for: Rock crawlers and built rigs with decent ground clearance and articulation. Most of the terrain around here isn't friendly to stock-suspension, whether that's in the valley with ruts and whoops galore, or on the rocky trails that this area is known for. The heat just compounds the issues of having a good time, you'll quickly realize whether or not you need more capacity.

Imperial Sand Dunes (Glamis), CA

This is the largest dune system in the country, and the reason half of SoCal heads out that way every weekend from October through April. The recreation season on the BLM-managed Imperial Sand Dunes runs roughly late September through mid-May. The North Algodones Dunes Wilderness is closed to vehicles year-round, so know where that boundary is before you air down. Gordon's Well and Glamis get packed on holiday weekends - we advise avoiding these times unless you're a veteran of navigating the desert with the masses. "Keep your head on a swivel." Thanksgiving and New Year's are the busiest by far, so if you want more room to ride, go on a regular weekend in November or January instead.

Best for: Sand cars, dune buggies, and prepped trucks and UTVs. Long-travel suspension and paddle tires are the norm out here, but plenty of stock-height 4x4s run the perimeter roads and the Mammoth and Buttercup areas without any trouble.

Ocotillo Wells & Anza-Borrego, CA

Ocotillo Wells SVRA might be the most well-rounded spot on this list. It's 85,000 acres, ranging from easy sand washes to very difficult trails like Devil's Slide and Blowsand Hill, and it sits right next to the badlands of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Fish Creek and Split Mountain, just south of there, look a lot like the slot canyons you'd expect to find in Utah, without leaving Southern California. Do not go alone, and do not go without emergency communication.

Best for: Mixed-ability groups. If your crew has a mix of stock and built rigs, this is the one spot on the list where everyone finds something to run.

Dumont Dunes, CA

North of Baker on the way to Death Valley, Dumont is smaller than Glamis but steeper. The "Dumont Devil" faces are some of the tallest rideable dune faces around. Cooler fall and winter temps matter even more since Dumont sits right at the edge of Death Valley. Stick to October through March unless you want to deal with the crushing heat out in the middle of nowhere.

Logandale Trails & Valley of Fire, NV

An hour north of Las Vegas, the Logandale Trails System is a big network of red sandstone and sand-wash trails right next to Valley of Fire State Park. It's a scenic ride, with the same kind of red rock color you'd get in Sedona but way less crowded. It's chill enough for stock trucks and Jeeps, and there are technical trails if you're in something with ground clearance. Winter here is mild and dry, so it's one of the more comfortable spots on this list for camping from December through February.

Sand Mountain Recreation Area, NV

Outside Reno & Fallon, Sand Mountain is one giant dune, about two miles long and 600 feet tall, surrounded by open desert riding. It's less crowded than the California dune systems and a solid winter weekend option for northern Nevada and Reno-area riders who don't want to make the drive all the way to Glamis.

Best for: Dune riders based in Northern Nevada or Northern California who want a shorter drive than Imperial or Dumont.

Crown King & the Apache Trail, AZ

The Senator Highway up to Crown King is a rock-and-shelf road through the Bradshaw Mountains, with serious elevation change and pine trees, which surprises people who think Arizona is all cactus, brush, and sand. Further east, the Apache Trail (State Route 88) runs through the Superstition Mountains along Canyon Lake and Apache Lake. It's officially a scenic byway with unpaved sections, and it's a good add-on or detour if you want to mix sightseeing with wheeling. Stick to fall and winter for either one. Arizona desert summers get too hot to enjoy.

Lake Havasu Dune Country, AZ

Lake Havasu City sits at the edge of a big stretch of open OHV desert on both the Arizona and California sides of the Colorado River. There are sand washes, whooped-out trails, and dune areas that see a lot of traffic every winter as snowbirds and desert racers set up camp. Standing Rocks and the Crossroads area are common staging points. But this isn't all about the dirt, Lake Havasu and the Colorado River offer an incredible time on their own.

Cabezon & Elephant Butte, NM

New Mexico doesn't get as much attention as its neighbors, but it's worth the trip. The badlands and volcanic terrain around Cabezon Peak, northwest of Albuquerque, offer remote and technical trail riding through some pretty unique scenery: old lava flows, eroded buttes, and long open views. In the south, Elephant Butte Lake State Park has been building out an OHV trail system around the reservoir, which gives southern New Mexico riders a new home base that didn't exist a few years back.

San Felipe & the Baja Corridor, MX

Cross the border and the terrain opens up. San Felipe leads into some of the most well-known desert racing terrain around: silt beds, whoops, rock gardens, and long stretches of nothing. Once you see this terrain in person, you quickly understand the beating that race trucks endur in for the 500 and 1000 mile races. Fall and winter are really the only time to run it. If you go, go with a group, tell someone your route ahead of time, and bring cash, recovery gear and a satellite communicator. 

Always confirm current Mexican vehicle permit, insurance, and border requirements before crossing. Cash is also helpful to get you or a friend out of an 'unexpected predicament.'