Ocotillo Wells SVRA

It was memorable. We had a 2003 Yukon XL 4wd. Only thing extra was Bilstien shocks.
Pole line from S22 to Tule Wash to Pumpkin. Fun, but lots of sand. Little precarious as we were new to the area. Just keep the gas to the floor!!!
Then back on Tule to Pole Line down to the highway. That was a long ride, but a blast. We had a windstorm, but survived.
If you are new (as were we), remember to lower air pressure, bring a shovel (we did not!), and water!!!
This area is awesome!

Fantastic place to rendezvous with friends and family for any occasion. Whether you ride or not, the experience is something for everyone to enjoy. Camping, cooking, sitting around the fire or blazing the trails, Ocotillo Wells is legit. The place even has road signs in the sand/​desert trails. See you there.

Was here over the weekend with my kids. Fun but dangerous! Ride safe and pay attention at all times.

Update: October 21,2014: Went back for another 2 — day trip at Ocotillo Wells. This time we ventured out toward the airport via San Felipe Wash. The boys and I really enjoyed exploring the amazing landscape and varied terrain. Lot’s of fun! Great place to enjoy the outdoors. Hard to believe you can enjoy such beauty and tranquility only 2.5 hours from San Diego. Took 78 east through Ramona and then used the S2 cutoff to avoid the Banner Grade on the backside of Julian. The drive was so scenic! I think even with the added 15 or so additional miles S2 was quicker than the Banner Grade with all of its switchbacks.

Pretty awesome place for any kind of off-​roading activities. There’s a wide variety of terrain to enjoy, from high-​speed washes to dunes to slow and challenging four-​wheeling. And not just all the natural terrain, but there’s also a man-​made challenge area where you can test your skills and vehicle in a more controlled environment.
Bring lots of water, it can get a bit dusty sometimes.

We saw the deals online and got attracted to go for this adventure… But it seems the deals wer just a carrot to attract the rabbits… there wer none available to rent… they said we had a ton of walkins so all got booked… though der were so many quads lying der…
Apart from this riding the quads was super fun… we rented them for half a day for $ 85 each… I would advice automatic quads for beginners and second timers as they r much easy and comfortable to drive… get a lot of water and food to eat between rides, but avoid eating before coming here as its a long hill road of 20 miles to this place… as this was our first time so we burnt our hands on a couple of things which I would advice people…
1. Get your own good pair of biking gloves
2. They give you Helmets and glasses… so get some wipes to clean these before wearing.
3. There is a lot of mud and dust all around while riding these bikes… so get jackets and shoes which u dont mind to get dirty…
4. Get a lot of water/​soda and food as you do get tired riding these…
5. Try to share 1 quad beyween 2 people as its super tiring to keep riding one for a long time…
6. Dont miss the open glider ride there… with this dude named Jimmy… he charged us pennies for a 12 minute ride each person… awesome experience

This place is great! It has terrain for whatever kind of vehicle you want to bring. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert rider you’ll find something fun here! They have trails that range from a graded road to technical and tough.
I’ve been coming here for years and have watched it transform from a place with rocks and dirt to a full service off road facility. They have safety classes for kids to teach them how to not only ride safely but to respect the environment too. There are picnic areas too. Some have shade and some don’t but you can almost always find a great place to stop for lunch (Lunch not provided). They’ve added restrooms in several places throughout the park and they seem to do a pretty good job maintaining them even on busy weekends. They’ve also been doing a great job maintaining the trials and campsites the last couple years. The place is definitely improving.
There’d also a discovery center where kids and adults can learn about the local plants and animals. There’s star gazing on certain nights where you can learn about the stars and constellations.
All in all its a great place for kids of all ages and you may even learn a thing or two while you’re here!

So much fun! This was my first time camping out here and I had a blast riding the quad up and down the dunes checking out every trail along the way. The weather was perfect, not too hot during the day and not too cold at night. It’s still very early in season so you will have very few neighbors close by and plenty of space to do your thing. It took us two hours towing a trailer to get to our site from east sd. But the drive is well worth it. Come prepared for the extremes of desert weather and b prepared for tons o fun. Bring lots of water and shade.

I drove my Jeep to the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) quite a few times already (only two hours from San Diego). This area is particular as it allows vehicles that otherwise would not be street legal (dune buggies, quads…). There are a lot of trails with many difficulty levels that will challenge you in different ways. North of the area is Truckhaven 4×4, a playground with many man-​made obstacles. :)
I was lucky on my first trip there: I took pictures of two coyotes while driving on the Cut Across Trail.
With a street-​legal vehicle, like a Jeep, you are not limited to the SVRA and there is an amazingly large area that you can explore all around it. As an example, just South of the SVRA, follow Split Mountain Rd down to Fish Creek where you can drive on the beautiful wash to the Wind Caves (a mile hike from the trail), climb the Diablo Drop-​Off (locking differentials make that easy) and continue to Carrizo Marsh (mud tires will help you not get stuck). There you will drive on the Old Great Southern Overland Trail, a historic trail!
I strongly suggest that you get yourself a good map. And at night, a good star map. :)

Man! Off Roading is a blast and this place is the number one place to go. The Ranger Station has programs for kids and there is about 60,000 ACRES of land to ride! AMAZING! And they have a Geo Caching event in January which is super cool.
The rangers are nice and the people at the Discovery Center are super helpful if you need information about the park.

came here on saturday to join some friends for some bike/​quad fun, which we had lots of!!! from the random stranger with a dislocated shoulder we helped out to the stalling four times before actually riding and going a little over 60mph in a chevy silverado through a wash, i had a blast!
this spot has free camping, first come first serve if you want a spot with a table and near the bathrooms. it’s a huge area with pretty funny «tourist» points of interest. the first spot my friends took me to was the artesian wells. man, was this place flourishing in palm trees and fresh water. of course some of the boys and a girl couldn’t help themselves but ride through the water and splash those around and soak themselves up in some mud. the second stop were the gas domes. this ‘boiling” water bubbles up like no other! now, the actual adventure getting to these points of interest are much more fun than the points themselves. they just give you a little resting point or something to do in the middle of the desert.
i’m hoping that my friends want to come back here again b. c i wouldn’t mind camping for a whole weekend. maybe then i could shift to a higher gear than first on the quad or even maybe get on a bike!
another plus if you’re coming from sd area, stop by julian for some bomb ass apple pie!!!