Off-Roading California

California's off-road system covers every discipline, backed by a state OHV program with no real equivalent elsewhere. Glamis and the Imperial Sand Dunes make up the largest sand-dune riding area in the country, and Oceano Dunes is the only California beach you can still legally drive on. The Rubicon Trail above Lake Tahoe is the most famous 4x4 route in America, 22 miles of granite that takes two to three days, with Fordyce Creek and the Dusy-Ershim harder still. Desert route-finding runs the 138-mile historic Mojave Road, Death Valley's Titus Canyon and backcountry 4WD roads, Anza-Borrego, Ocotillo Wells and Johnson Valley, home of King of the Hammers. Nine state vehicular recreation areas — Hollister Hills, Hungry Valley, Prairie City, Carnegie, Clay Pit and more — offer legal, managed riding close to the cities.