Olancha Dunes OHV Area
Olancha — 2 miles east on Hwy 190, Owens Valley · near Lone Pine / Olancha · Eastern Sierra
Off-Road
At a glance
- Skill level
- beginner
- Size
- 1,000 acres of open-riding dunes · BLM managed · Dunes reach 75 feet
- Best season
- October–April · Summer temperatures at the south end of the Owens Valley can be extreme
Permits and booking
- Permit
- BLM managed. No permit required for day use. California OHV registration (Green Sticker) required for all non-street-legal vehicles. Helmets required. Primitive camping free throughout the riding area — 14-day limit. Stay within the designated BLM boundary.
What is here
- Terrain
- sand-dunes · desert-wash
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Off-Road detail
- Nickname
- The Eastern Sierra's Hidden Sand Bowl
- Vehicles
- atv-utv · dirt-bike · any-ohv
- Signature routes
- The main dune bowl · Desert wash approaches
- Intl tip
- Olancha sits at the junction of Hwy 395 and Hwy 190 — the eastern approach to Death Valley. Pairing the Olancha Dunes with an Alabama Hills stop (this guide, 18 miles north) and an overnight in Lone Pine makes a complete Eastern Sierra desert day. Death Valley's 4WD routes (this guide) are 60 miles east via Hwy 190.
The guide
The Olancha Dunes OHV Area is one of California's least-publicized sand riding spots and one of its most scenically dramatic — …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Olancha Dunes OHV Area — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.2803, -117.948