El Mirage Dry Lake Off-Highway Recreation Area — Attraction in Adelanto

Great place to ride. Gets crowded during holiday weekends.

Holidays- Watch out for those who have zero respect for other campers/riders, completely ignoring camp site and main road speed limits during the holidays. This has nothing to do with El Mirage, just ignorant riders. If you have little kids be vigilant of these riders near your campsite. I'd try parking away from everyone else if you can during holiday weekends. Typical normal weekends are the best times to go during riding season. Bathrooms may get overwhelmed but they do clean them in the mornings.

The law- I've seen groups illegally discharge firearms out here before. Rangers and Sheriffs were quick to respond. It didn't go pretty and they do dispatch the ghetto bird. Other than that, they leave you alone. Don't take glass bottles out into the campsite/trails (kept inside cooler or in RV/trailer is ok) or burn pallets because they'll ticket you. They check to make sure you bought a pass at the kiosk.

Weather- The lake is closed during/after it rains, but the rest of the park is open (the best time to go is during/after it rains in my opinion). I recommend ALWAYS check the weather and plan/pack accordingly. This place is dusty. I'd set your campsite up with the wind in mind if it's going to be windy. Wind typically comes from the NNW (just to the right of where the sun sets). May not seem high, but anything above 15 mph winds/20 mph gusts can get unbearable, especially with the dust. The wind is unrestricted out here since there are no trees/windbreak. When it's hot, I'd recommend dusk to morning camping... Show up and ride at dusk into the night, leave mid morning next day.

Bathrooms/Campsite- Smell like bleach every morning, really clean and stocked. Campsites are numbered (the higher the number, the less wind/dust you'll deal with) come with benches, fire pits, awnings. They're raked for metal like nails. Mostly gravel and easy to set up your trailer/RV. Watch out when going after holiday weekends... Pallets were probably burned.

Trails- Hundreds of trails to choose from, unless you're one of those people who will ONLY ride incredibly fast around the campsites and main road, instead of the +24,000 acres available. Jeeps can experience some challenging trails as you enter the park (SSE) and the entire North side. Night riding is great here. There's 2 main trails, East Loop and West Loop, clearly marked and Novice/kid friendly. Both are fun if you're the type to get lost. They're loops, so you'll eventually circle back. Roughly 40 miles in length. 20 miles each. Think of 2 circles that link, forming an 8. Other more challenging trails are scattered throughout the park off the two loops as well. Drive slowly over blind hills, there have been accidents with severe injuries before.

Dry lakebed- Closed when wet to preserve the dry lake. About 5 miles in length, 2 miles at it's widest point. Straight run, where you can test your top speed, or launch model rockets, etc. Rough, bumpier terrain around the edges, smoothest in the middle. Camping and restrooms available and the edges, although it's the most windiest at the lakebed. They're very protective of the lake, and they'll ticket/eject you from the park if you're caught destroying the surface of the lake (burnouts that create holes, doing doughnuts that create ruts, digging holes for a...

I've come to El Mirage a couple of times in the last year for the SCTA runs. The first time my son and I just drove up to a kiosk and paid for the day pass. This last time there were people out stopping vehicles checking if you already had a day pass or if you needed to buy one and they directed you to where you needed to go. At that time we drove up to a side window at the main building to buy our day pass. A lot of off-roaders like to go out to El Mirage. SCTA also uses the dry lakebed a few times of the year for their Land Speed Racing runs. I think there are also people with land sail cars, gyro copters and ultralight aircraft also use the place. The SCTA event is located on the far western side of the dry lakebed. That requires driving across the lakebed. There seems to be two generalized routes that you can take as there is no defined route to take. One is driving along the northern end of the lake where there seems to be some kind of defacto road and the other is to just drive straight across the dry lake. Either way it's a very dusty drive. There is a speed limit on the dry lake so that you are not stirring up a giant dust cloud. In the late Spring and Summer months, it can become very very hot out on the lakebed. So make sure you bring plenty of water, sunscreen and anything that can provide some shade. I'm not 100% sure, but the building where you come in on to the dry lake might have drinks and snacks there, but they are not always open. There is a convenience store in El Mirage where it's the same situation of when they are open. Otherwise your only other options are Adelanto, to the east, or Lake Los Angeles, to the west, for...

California’s beauty can’t hide its ugly inhabitants. El Mirage was cleaner prior to the entrance fees. There’s trash, broken glass and spent ammunition on the ground. Many folks not wearing helmets, yet there’s a sign at the entrance reminding you that the law requires you or your children to take a “riders education course” if they are to ride. I’m sure that whoever was discharging their firearm had a CA Firearm Safety Certificate too. COVID19 has this place CLOSED because the sum vastness of every desert and ocean combined will not protect you from the “sickness”. Truly a beautiful landscape that you too can view...