El Mirage OHV Area
El Mirage / Adelanto — near Victorville, High Desert · near Adelanto / Victorville · California Desert
Off-Road
At a glance
- Skill level
- beginner
- Size
- 11,000+ acres · El Mirage Dry Lake provides one of the largest flat riding surfaces in California
- Best season
- October–May · Lake surface usable when dry · Summer High Desert heat is extreme
Permits and booking
- Permit
- BLM managed. California OHV registration (Green Sticker) required. No entry fee. Helmets required. Dry lake surface open when dry. OHV events close portions periodically — check BLM for current status. Primitive camping available on surrounding BLM land.
What is here
- Terrain
- desert-wash
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Off-Road detail
- Nickname
- The Flat Track Proving Ground
- Vehicles
- dirt-bike · atv-utv · any-ohv
- Signature routes
- El Mirage Dry Lake flat track · Desert wash and hillside area
- Intl tip
- El Mirage is off Hwy 18 between Victorville and the Mojave Desert. The High Desert cities (Victorville, Apple Valley, Hesperia) have full services. Combine with Stoddard Valley (this guide, ~25 miles northeast) and the Johnson Valley / Mojave Road circuit for a complete Mojave OHV day. Always check the lake surface condition after any significant rain.
The guide
El Mirage Dry Lake is one of the most distinctive off-road destinations in Southern California — a vast, flat, hard-packed play…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to El Mirage OHV Area — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.659, -117.59