Johnson Valley OHV Area
Johnson Valley / Landers (near Barstow) · near Landers / Yucca Valley / Barstow · California Desert
Off-Road
At a glance
- Skill level
- advanced
- Size
- 96,000 acres · BLM managed · 55 miles SE of Barstow
- Best season
- November–April · Summer temperatures exceed 110°F and are dangerous · King of the Hammers race held every February
Permits and booking
- Permit
- BLM land — no permit required for OHV recreation. California OHV registration required (Green Sticker). No entry fee for day use. Camping is dispersed on BLM land. Military training periods occasionally close portions of the area — check blm.gov/california before planning.
What is here
- Terrain
- rock-crawling · desert-wash
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- No
Off-Road detail
- Nickname
- Home of the King of the Hammers
- Vehicles
- 4x4-jeep · atv-utv · any-ohv
- Signature routes
- King Cougar Trail · Rattlesnake Canyon (RC3331) · Cougar Buttes
- Intl tip
- Pioneertown, 15 miles from the eastern edge of Johnson Valley, is one of California's most interesting small communities — a Western movie set built in the 1940s for Roy Rogers films that became a real town, with Pappy & Harriet's as one of California's most beloved live music venues. Combine Johnson Valley off-roading with a Pioneertown dinner and show.
The guide
Every February, Johnson Valley hosts the King of the Hammers — a race described simply as the world's toughest off-road competi…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Johnson Valley OHV Area — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.3615, -116.6253